State Highlights: Calif. Vaccine Bill Progresses With Changes; Fla. Gov. Rick Scott Calls For Investigation Of Hospital Finances

The San Jose Mercury News: California Vaccine Exemptions: Lawmakers Dilute Legislation To Ease Passage
A bill originally aimed at ensuring that virtually all schoolchildren are fully vaccinated is getting watered down -- but in a politically astute way that will most likely ensure its historic passage. (Seipel, 5/9)

Health News Florida: Florida Gov's Hospital Commission Brings Deja Vu
Gov. Rick Scott’s call for an investigation of hospital finances, officially issued this week, had a familiar ring to Floridians in the health-care industry. “My first thought was, ‘Gee, didn’t we just do that?’” said Linda Quick, president of the South Florida Hospital and Healthcare Association. She was one of those asked to testify at a 2011 hearing held by Scott’s first hospital-financing panel, created shortly after he was sworn into office. (Gentry, 5/8)

The Arizona Republic: Arizona Lawmakers Enjoy Prime Health-Care Benefits
Arizona lawmakers serve the public in a part-time role, but the vast majority of these elected officials take year-round health-insurance plans that are among the most generous state-funded benefits in the nation. (Alltucker, 5/9)

The Wall Street Journal: Connecticut’s Fiscal Showdown
Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy and state Democratic leaders begin budget negotiations Monday as the two sides seek a compromise over their diverging spending plans. Mr. Malloy, a Democrat, has said the proposed budget from the Democratic-controlled Legislature spends too much and places an undue burden on the middle class. ... Last month, the Legislature’s appropriations committee proposed $19.91 billion and $20.57 billion in spending for fiscal 2016 and 2017 that would restore funding to developmental services, mental-health providers, higher education and other categories. That is about $515 million more than what Mr. Malloy proposed in February. (De Avila, 5/10)

Los Angeles Times: Hacienda Heights Temple Bridges Chinese Community, Health Professionals
Waiting to be registered at a health fair at Hsi Lai Temple on Sunday, a group of women exercised, stretching and moving their arms in circles as they complained about the sacrifices required to stay well. "You can't eat noodles, fish, shrimp, rice, beef," said one woman, who asked that her name not be used to protect her medical information. "What am I supposed to eat? "Exercise," suggested one of her friends. "Salads," said another. (Shyong, 5/10)

Kaiser Health News: How One Hospital Brought Its C-Sections Down In A Hurry
Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, one of the largest and most respected facilities in Orange County, needed to move quickly. A big insurer had warned that its maternity costs were too high and it might be cut from the plan’s network. The reason? Too many cesarean sections. "We were under intense scrutiny," said Dr. Allyson Brooks, executive medical director of Hoag’s women’s health institute. The C-section rate at the time, in early 2012, was about 38 percent. That was higher than the state average of 33 percent and above most others in the area, according to the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative, which seeks to use data to improve birth outcomes. (Gorman, 5/11)

The Associated Press: NC Health Agency Violating Part Of Voter Law
North Carolina's health agency is violating part of the federal "motor voter" law requiring voter registration help for low-income residents, a coalition of groups said Friday, adding they'll sue the state unless changes are made. The state Department of Health and Human Services is failing to provide voter registration cards along with applications for food stamps and Medicaid, the groups said. (Dalesio, 5/8)

The Associated Press: Florida Doctor Tied To NJ Sen. Menendez To Remain Jailed
A Florida doctor charged with corruption alongside New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez was ordered Friday to remain jailed while he awaits trial in a separate case alleging he oversaw a massive Medicare fraud scheme. U.S. Magistrate Judge James Hopkins sided with federal prosecutors, who argued Dr. Salomon Melgen's profound wealth and strong international ties offer ample chance to flee to his native Dominican Republic or anywhere else in the world. (Sedensky, 5/8)

The Boston Globe: New Model Aims To Curb Health Costs With Personal Care
Under pressure to control spending, health insurers, doctors, and hospitals are increasingly ditching the old fee-for-service system that compensates them for every test, procedure, and hospital stay, and turning instead to a more personal managed care approach that rewards providers for sticking to a budget while keeping patients healthy and out of hospital beds. (Dayal McCluskey, 5/11)

The Associated Press: NYC Jail Health Provider Fails At Better Rating
Overall performance of the private health care provider for New York City’s jails failed to improve last year amid heightened scrutiny over inmate deaths that put the company’s contract under review, according to an evaluation obtained by The Associated Press. (5/11)

The LaCrosse Tribune: Chicago Needs Kidneys But Sends Many To Other States
At the University of Illinois at Chicago, nearly 800 patients await kidney transplants. Dr. Enrico Benedetti, co-director of the transplant program, is reluctant to operate on most of them. The federal government cited his program last year for success rates that were lower than expected, given the mix of patients and quality of organs used. To become compliant, Benedetti said he must be extra careful about which organs he accepts and which patients he puts them in. (Wahlberg, 5/10)

North Carolina Health News: Q&A: Taking Stock Of North Carolina's Rural Hospitals
These are uncertain times for North Carolina’s rural hospitals. Hospital systems are buying small, struggling independent hospitals, while all hospitals have taken financial hits due to budget cuts and the state’s decision not to expand Medicaid. North Carolina Health News’ Taylor Sisk asked UNC-Chapel Hill health economist Mark Holmes to assess the status of rural hospitals in North Carolina today and to talk a bit about what he sees in their future. (Hoban, 5/11)

The Connecticut Mirror: GOP Controls Fate Of Labor Bill Sought By Firefighters
The House Republican minority controls the fate of a heavily lobbied labor bill that would expand workers’ compensation coverage in Connecticut by declaring some forms of cancer to be an occupational hazard of firefighting. (Pazniokas, 5/11)