Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: California Hospitals Grapple With Pricey 2030 Earthquake Standards; Advocates In New Hampshire Hail Judge's Decision On Medically Frail
The Associated Press: California Hospitals Question 2030 Earthquake Standards
A Southern California hospital spent $72 million on a building designed to do two things after an earthquake: stay standing and stay open. But when a pair of strong earthquakes struck the region last month, the hospital couldn't use it. Structurally, the building was OK. But some broken pipes flooded a room of mechanical and electrical equipment, and water leaked into operating rooms and elevator shafts. The hospital in Ridgecrest, about 150 miles northeast of Los Angeles, had to evacuate the building as a precaution. (8/4)
Concord Monitor: For ‘Medically Frail,’ Judge’s Decision On Medicaid Expansion Work Requirement Comes As A Relief
Under expanded Medicaid – which covers anyone in the state making up to 138% of the federal poverty line, or $35,535 for a household of four – those who are deemed too infirm to conduct daily activities with ease are medically frail. The distinction has long been central: It used to determine what kind of health insurance Medicaid expansion recipients would receive. But under New Hampshire’s now-shuttered work requirement, it took on special importance: Those who were medically frail could suddenly become exempt. (Andrews and DeWitt, 8/3)
Cleveland Plain Dealer: Ohio Medicaid Gets $100 Million With Aim To Improve Mental Health Care
The Ohio Department of Medicaid is receiving $100 million to increase payments to mental health and addiction recovery providers, who say they have been financially struggling under changes made during the era of former Gov. John Kasich. The announcement was made official in an executive order signed this week by Gov. Mike DeWine. (Hancock, 8/2)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Five Years Later, Emory Unit Remains Prepared For Ebola Patients
With the rise of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Atlanta is once again at the center of containment efforts. The ongoing epidemic in the central African country has infected 2,659 people over the past year, killing more than 1,780, and is now the second-largest Ebola outbreak in history. (Oliviero, 8/2)
The Associated Press: N. Carolina Governor Moves To Block Conversion Therapy Funds
North Carolina's state health department is barred from allowing public funds to pay for conversion therapy for minors, a controversial practice aimed at changing young LGBT people's sexual orientations, under an order signed Friday by Gov. Roy Cooper. Advocacy groups praised the Democratic governor's executive order as a pioneering step to restrict the therapy in the U.S. South. (8/2)
The Associated Press: Florida Latest Place To Declare Emergency Over Hepatitis A
Officials have declared a public health emergency over the rising number of hepatitis A cases in Florida, the latest part of the country dealing with outbreaks of the liver disease. Florida Surgeon General Scott Rivkees declared an emergency Thursday to allow the state to spend more on testing and treatment, saying Florida has had more than 2,000 cases since the beginning of the year compared with 548 all of last year. Most have been in central Florida, and health officials are still investigating the sources. (8/2)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Vaping: Eleven Wisconsin Teens Hospitalized With Severe Lung Damage
Eleven Wisconsin teenagers and young adults have been hospitalized with severe lung damage that has been linked to vaping, and seven other cases are under investigation, state health officials said Friday. Counties with confirmed cases now include Door, Racine, Walworth, Dodge, Waukesha and Winnebago, officials with the state Department of Health Services said. (Spicuzza, 8/2)
Georgia Health News: State OKs New Plan To Cut Pollution At Smyrna Sterilizing Plant
State regulators Friday announced swift approval of plans by a medical device sterilizing company to implement pollution-reduction changes at its Smyrna facility. Sterigenics said earlier this week that it had just submitted an application for a permit for the proposed facility changes. (Boodman and Miller, 8/2)
Austin American-Statesman: With State Financing, UNT Launches Effort To Address Rural Homelessness
Bastrop, Caldwell and Fayette counties are among 15 rural counties the university will be helping to build a framework of services for homeless individuals, which are more often seen in cities. Specifically, the university has received $400,000 from the Health and Human Services Commission — thanks to Senate Bill 1849, which was passed in 2017 — to help construct Healthy Community Collaborative programs for counties with populations under 100,000. (Mulder, 8/2)
NH Times Union: Gov. Sununu Signs Bill Aimed At Preventing Youth Suicides
Gov. Chris Sununu signed a bill Friday aimed at preventing youth suicides by requiring training for teachers and students. Suicide is among the leading causes of death for young people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and has become more common in New Hampshire over the past 20 years. The bill signed into law Friday directs local school districts to develop policies to prevent suicide, assess students at risk of suicide and respond to student suicide, as well as to provide training about youth suicide to staff and students. The bill passed with bipartisan support, and Sununu signed it into law Friday. (Albertson-Grove, 8/2)
WBUR: Seattle Man's Toilet Kit For The Homeless Brings Privacy, Opens Doors
That need has cities across the country wrestling with a major public health challenge: how to provide sanitation to growing populations of unsheltered people. San Francisco is staffing public toilets to serve homeless people. Washington, D.C., is conducting pilot programs to increase access to public toilets. (Spitzer, 8/3)
The Advocate: What Derailed LSU's Lucrative Health Care Software Deal? Conflicts Of Interest, In-House Arguing, More
An unusual setup for the sale of a computer program — created by LSU employees and worth an estimated $50 million — put the daughter of an LSU Board of Supervisors member on both the board of the company contracted to make the sale and the university-affiliated nonprofit issuing the contract. It was an arrangement LSU President F. King Alexander says he knew nothing about. (Ballard, 8/3)
Iowa Public Radio: Medical Cannabis Board Will Not Recommend New Treatments
The state board that oversees Iowa’s medical cannabis industry has declined adding any new conditions to the list of approved uses in Iowa. The Medical Cannabidiol Board denied petitions to approve illnesses such as anxiety and schizophrenia at its meeting Friday. A decision whether to approve post-traumatic stress disorder was delayed until November. (Gerlock, 8/2)
