Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: CareFirst Faces Proposed Class Action Suit Over Cyber Attack; Calif. Right-To-Die Debate Heads Back To Courtroom
The Baltimore Sun: After Cyberattack, CareFirst Faces Class Action Lawsuit
Two CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield customers have filed a proposed class action suit against the Maryland health insurer after a cyberattack exposed about 1.1 million current and former members' personal information. The suit alleges that CareFirst, the region's largest health insurer, failed to protect their data after the company became aware of security weaknesses during an attempted hack last year. The attackers, who left behind hidden back doors that let them later re-enter undetected, gained access to names, birth dates, email addresses and insurance identification numbers during a breach in June 2014 CareFirst officials said when they disclosed the hack in May. (Sherman, 8/15)
The San Jose Mercury News: California Right-To-Die Debate Heads To Court
With efforts to legalize doctor-assisted suicide stalled in the California Legislature, the contentious issue of providing end of life treatment to the terminally ill is now headed back to the courts. A San Francisco judge on Friday is expected to hear one of the leading legal challenges to California laws forbidding physicians from providing medical treatment that helps the dying end their lives. (Mintz, 8/14)
The Hill: States Shift Health Care Dollars, Activists Cry Foul
States are shifting dollars they once spent on children’s health into roadways and tax cuts, raising fears for advocates that important healthcare programs could lose their funding. Kansas, Indiana and California are among the states looking to relocate money away from their Children’s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP) as the federal government begins picking up more of the tab this year. (Ferris, 8/15)
The Daily Journal: New Statewide Database Makes Keeping Track Of Vaccinations Easier
For school nurses, preparing for the start of a new year begins months before classes start. The nurses must make sure each student is up to date on vaccinations, unless that child has an exemption. Often, tables are set up during school registration to check if students have all the necessary shots. Nursing departments call, email or send letters to parents about six months ahead of the upcoming school year. (Armbruster, 8/14)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Charity Care Slides At St. Louis Area Hospitals, Report Finds
After seven years of increases, the level of charity care provided by area hospitals dipped slightly in 2013, according to a new report by the St. Louis Area Business Health Coalition. While the reason for the slight decline remains unclear, it came at a time when hospital profits were on the rise and when the state had yet to expand Medicaid to cover more uninsured individuals throughout the state, the report found. Overall, in the St. Louis area charity care as a percentage of revenue slipped to 2.93 percent in 2013 from 3.02 the year prior. (Liss, 8/14)
The New York Times: Order To Clean Towers Strains Crews Amid Legionnaires’ Outbreak In Bronx
When the bacteria that cause Legionnaires’ disease were discovered last week in a cooling tower above a South Bronx deli, New York City officials decided the cleanup could not wait. At their request, Rich Parker rushed his best cleaning crew over to the two-story building at 903 Sheridan Avenue on Tuesday night, arming them with respirators, power washers and an arsenal of chemicals for an emergency disinfection. The Fire Department’s Ladder Company 44 was summoned to lift the crew to the roof using a fire truck ladder. (Hu, 8/16)
Kaiser Health News: California’s Plan To Absorb Medically Fragile Children Into Managed Care Proves Controversial
When Kausha King’s son Christian was born with cerebral palsy, along with a seizure disorder and lung disease, doctors told her he would not live past the age of three. Today, Christian is 18, and although he cannot walk or speak, he is happy and thriving, King says. King credits much of her son’s progress to a little-known state program known as California Children’s Services (CCS), which pays for specialized medical care for children with severe illnesses or birth defects. (Ostrov and Gorman, 8/17)
Los Angeles Times: Taxes And Fees Are On The Table As Gov. Brown And Lawmakers Tackle Tough Challenges
Gov. Jerry Brown and lawmakers will start tackling some of the state's toughest challenges this week, and the solution to many of them may be new taxes and fees for Californians. The Capitol's ruling Democrats want to hit up residents and businesses for billions of dollars as they seek new ways to fund public healthcare, subsidize construction of affordable housing and pay for road repairs. (Megerian and McGreevy, 8/15)
The Associated Press: Montana Developmental Center Staff Voice Closure Concerns
As lawmakers grappled with and ultimately decided to shutter Montana's center for people with developmental disabilities, the voices of those closest to the decision say they largely went unheard. But those living and working at the Montana Developmental Center in Boulder are well aware of what happened and hold unique insight into a center most Montanans will never see. The center's clients also include people with mental health issues and personality disorders. (Baumann, 8/16)
North Carolina Health News: 'Those Days' Are Over, So What Lies Ahead For A Rural Hospital?
To anyone who’s been around Yadkinville for a while (and most folks up here have), it was “Hoots,” and forever would remain so. Sure, the name – Hoots Memorial Hospital – was changed about five years back, but, as Yadkin County Manager Lisa Hughes sees it, when Yadkin Valley Community Hospital has been long forgotten, “this will still be Hoots.” In fact though, Hughes and many of her fellow Yadkin County residents would prefer that Yadkin Valley Community Hospital, which today sits shuttered, not soon be forgotten. Rather, they’d like for it to be reopened and revitalized in the spirit of the community institution that Hoots was. (Sisk, 8/17)
Dallas Morning News: Ebola Crisis Was Not A Financial Crisis For Dallas Area Taxpayers
Dallas-area taxpayers picked up the tab for more than $825,000 in costs related to the Ebola outbreak last fall, ranging from cleanup and overtime expenses to barbecue dinners and special T-shirts. Most of the costs — more than $600,000 — were paid by Dallas County, which led the multi-agency response last October. (Hunt, 8/14)
The Associated Press: Officials: Man Posed As Doctor, Treated Patients In Basement
More than 100 patients were duped by a “dangerous scam artist” who posed as a clinical psychologist, met with patients in his basement and prescribed antidepressants, prosecutors said Friday in announcing his arrest. Donald Lee-Edwards, 43, pleaded not guilty Thursday to criminal impersonation, drug sale, scheme to defraud and other charges. (Balsamo, 8/14)
Reuters: New York Becomes Most Populous State To Ban Powdered Alcohol
New York on Friday became the most populous U.S. state to ban the sale of powdered alcohol, a controversial just-add-water beverage that opponents say will lead to a rise in underage drinking and abuses. The new drink that comes in freeze-dried liquors like rum and vodka has gotten a swell of political pushback, with more than 20 states banning the beverage since federal regulators approved it in March. (Kearney, 8/14)
The Associated Press: Judge Temporarily Blocks Alabama Abortion Clinic Regulation
A federal judge has blocked an Alabama abortion regulation that could have permanently closed the state's busiest abortion clinic, saying Thursday that the rule was unnecessary to protect women. U.S. District Myron Thompson issued a temporary restraining order blocking the regulation last week, saying that the closure of the West Alabama Women's Center in Tuscaloosa could prevent women from obtaining abortions. He followed up the order with an 81-page opinion issued Thursday. (Chandler, 8/14)
The Associated Press: Decatur Hospitals Stand Ready Against Tornadoes
When the tornado sirens go off, people know to seek shelter in a basement and away from windows, but that option isn't always available inside a hospital. The windows are large, patients can't move themselves, elevators aren't an option for those on top floors and visitors don't know where to go. During tornado season, Decatur's two hospitals are especially at risk when storms hit the area, so staff constantly monitor local weather and regularly revisit and practice their emergency plans. (Steele, 8/16)
The Wisconsin Rapids Tribune: Federal Inspectors Look At Wood County Psychiatric Hospital
A federal agency threatened to halt Medicare payments to Norwood Health Center after inspectors discovered serious problems there earlier this year, newly released records show. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found 32 deficiencies at the center, including dangerously low staffing levels, insufficient information in medical records and failure to use the least-restrictive methods of restraining patients, according to more than 120 pages of documents obtained by News-Herald Media under the state’s open records law. (Anderson, 8/14)
The Baltimore Sun: Rutherford Says Governor Won't Back Lead Liability Limits
Disavowing remarks made by the state's chief housing official, Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford said Saturday that the Hogan administration will not propose any easing of liability for landlords whose tenants' children are harmed by lead paint in rental homes. Rutherford, who took the governor's traditional place as closing speaker at the summer convention of the Maryland Association of Counties, said Secretary of Housing and Community Development Kenneth C. Holt's call for such limits does not represent administration policy. (Dresser, 8/16)
MinnPost: 25 Years After ADA, Those With Hidden Disabilities Still Work For Equal Protection
When the Americans With Disabilities Act was passed 25 years ago, many people may have assumed that the law was written only to protect the rights of people with physical disabilities. But that’s never been the case, said Cindy Held Tarshish, ADA Minnesota program manager for the Metropolitan Center for Independent Living. The ADA is an inclusive piece of legislation, she pointed out, that also provides legal protections for Americans with hidden disabilities, including mental illness and addiction disorders. (Steiner, 8/14)
