Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: Colo. Advocates Step Up Push For Universal Care Plan; Issues Bubble Up For Home Health Care Workers In Mo., Mich.
Health News Colorado: Advocates Amp Up Colorado Universal Care Plan
Advocates for universal health care in Colorado have adopted a new name and are fighting for a “purple plan in a purple state” through a ballot measure that they hope to pass in 2016. (Kerwin McCrimmon, 5/20)
St. Louis Public Radio: Missouri Home Health Care Workers Call On Nixon To Implement Pay Hike
Approximately 80 home health care workers demonstrated outside Gov. Jay Nixon's office Wednesday, demanding that he sign off on an agreement that could lead to their getting higher wages. The agreement between the Quality Home Care Council and the union representing home care workers would set a pay-scale ranging from $8.50 an hour to $10.15 an hour. They currently average around $8.60 an hour, but some earn the state's minimum wage of $7.65 an hour. (Griffin, 5/20)
The Associated Press: Black Health Workers Lose Appeal Over Treating White Patient
An appeals court has upheld a decision that kills a discrimination lawsuit filed by black home health care workers who were told they couldn’t take care of a white patient. The court agreed Wednesday with a Grand Rapids federal judge who said the women waited too long to file a lawsuit against Spectrum Health. Judge Robert Holmes Bell also found that the women couldn’t demonstrate a “long-standing … policy of discrimination” that would let the case go forward. (5/21)
The Denver Post: Mental Health Providers, Lawmakers Raise Red Flags With Colorado Health Services
Four days before more than 80 lawmakers sent Gov. John Hickenlooper a letter saying they had lost confidence in his human services director, the governor received a similar letter from mental health clinics across the state. Mental health clinics have been pushing for contract changes since the Affordable Care Act allowed more people to obtain insurance with mental health coverage. Still, community clinics see people with no insurance and their overall patient numbers have increased. They want to expand their contracts so the state will reimburse them for treating patients whose needs are not as severe, but contracts through the state Office of Behavioral Health have not been adjusted to allow that. (Brown, 5/20)
The Oregonian: Birth Control Access: GOP Lawmaker Revives Plan For Pharmacy Prescriptions
Weeks after his idea was left in political limbo, a Republican lawmaker has revived legislation to expand access to birth control pills by giving pharmacists the power to write on-demand prescriptions. ... If Oregon approves the measure, it would join California as one of only two states willing to let birth control seekers skip a potentially costly doctor's visit. (Theriault, 5/20)
The Miami Herald: Five Busted In Fake-Pharmacy Scheme
The scheme: A ring composed of a doctor, a man whose identity remains hidden and three others paid older folks to order expensive pharmaceutical drugs through Medicare and Medicaid. Then those drugs were repackaged and sold to pharmacies in Florida, Georgia, New York and Puerto Rico. Those pharmacists, police said, had no idea they were often buying stolen and outdated psychopathic and AIDS drugs that could cause harm to their users. (Rabin, 5/20)
