State Highlights: ColoradoCare Backers Try To Woo Sanders; States Not Requiring Criminal Checks On Doctors Dwindling

NPR: Campaign For Universal Health Care In Colorado Seeks Bernie Sanders' Help
Backers of ColoradoCare — the state ballot initiative that would establish universal health care in Colorado — think they have the perfect job for former presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders. With the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia behind him, Sanders "comes to Colorado and campaigns for single-payer — and we win," says T.R. Reid, one of the architects of ColoradoCare. The initiative aims to provide every resident of Colorado with affordable health insurance. Sanders made universal coverage one of the cornerstones of his presidential bid. (Daley, 7/29)

The Denver Post: Most States Require Criminal Background Checks On Doctors. Colorado Doesn’t.
Colorado relies on self disclosure when making sure doctors do not have past criminal convictions that would flag them as potentially unfit to provide care. It’s a level of trust that puts Colorado increasingly out of step with other states. As of 2014, 45 state medical boards required criminal background checks to license a doctor. (Osher, 7/31)

Boston Globe: 2 Plead Guilty In Connection With Compounding Pharmacy Case
The majority owner of the New England Compounding Center, the Framingham pharmacy blamed for a 2012 meningitis outbreak that left more than 60 people dead and hundreds ill, pleaded guilty Friday to trying to conceal financial transactions from federal regulators. Carla Conigliaro, who owned 55 percent of the company, and her husband, Douglas Conigliaro, acknowledged they made bank withdrawals in a manner that allowed them to evade federal reporting requirements. Prosecutors are recommending they serve no time in prison. (Valencia, 7/29)

Houston Chronicle: Texas Penalizes Blue Bell For Listeria Outbreak
Texas health officials Friday entered into a settlement with Blue Bell Creameries, penalizing the company $175,000 for last year's listeria outbreak. The amount is remarkable in the food safety world, where fines are rare, though it's barely a scratch on the bottom line for a company that, before the outbreak, was No. 1 in U.S. brand sales. Punishment from Blue Bell's home state is a significant comeuppance for the South's cherished, 109-year-old summer treat. (Collette, 7/29)

Star Tribune: HealthPartners Moves Forward With Iowa Joint Venture
HealthPartners and a hospital system in Iowa have jointly invested $7 million to launch a new health insurer that will compete for Medicare business next year in portions of Iowa and Illinois. In November, Bloomington-based HealthPartners announced it would jointly create the new company with Des Moines-based UnityPoint Health to compete in the growing market for Medicare Advantage health plans. (Snowbeck, 7/31)

New Hampshire Union Leader: Freestanding ER To Open In Seabrook
The town will soon have its own freestanding emergency room, in partnership with Portsmouth Regional Hospital. The hospital’s CEO, Dean Carucci, said the hospital decided to build an ER on Lafayette Road because a number of its patients come from the Seabrook region. Traffic can be heavy, especially in the summer, and the new location is right off Interstate 95. (Haas, 7/31)

The Columbus Dispatch: Fairfield County Hospice To Offer Space For Grieving
The Fairfield County hospice organization that provides care to dying patients here and in surrounding counties is building a “community grief center” to help people endure losing a loved one and other trauma. The nearly $1 million building is expected to open in the fall on the grounds of Pickering House, the Lancaster hospice operated by FairHoPe Hospice & Palliative Care Inc. The nonprofit organization provides end-of-life services to patients and their families both at Pickering House and in their homes in Fairfield, Hocking and Perry counties and elsewhere in southeastern Ohio. (Lane, 8/1)

Minnesota Public Radio: Health Dept. Reports Significant Enrollment In Medical Cannabis Program For Intractable Pain
Nearly 500 pain patients joined Minnesota's medical cannabis program in July, the first month they could do so after intractable pain was added to the state's list of qualifying medical conditions last year. It's the highest number of patients certified by the state in a single month. The Minnesota Department of Health says it has increased staffing at its call center to handle the hundreds of additional calls it has been receiving about the program. (Bernson, 7/29)

California Healthline: University Of California OKs $8.5 Million Payout In Spine Surgery Cases
The University of California regents have agreed to pay nearly $8.5 million to settle two lawsuits alleging a well-known UCLA spine surgeon failed to disclose his conflicts of interest with a leading device maker before using the company’s products in harmful surgeries. The settlements were approved last month in separate Los Angeles County Superior Court cases that focused on the financial ties among the surgeon, Dr. Jeffrey Wang, UCLA and Medtronic, the world’s largest medical-device company. (Terhune, 7/29)

Sacramento Bee: Promises Kept: Girl Scout Troop’s Longevity Honors Leader Lost To Cancer
Modesto Girl Scout Troop 3380 always was, and always will be, “Kristen’s troop” – even now that its 12 members have graduated high school and are going their own ways into adulthood. ...Kristen Machado formed the troop in 2003 and led it for nine years. Seven of those, she also battled sarcoma cancer – a fight she lost Oct. 29, 2012, less than two weeks before her 40th birthday. Months before her death, as her Scouts were nearing the start of high school and some wanted to start work on the Girl Scout Silver Award, Machado’s energy was low and she turned to her friend Serpa for help. (Farrow, 7/30)