State Highlights: Columbia University Sued Over Sexual Abuse Allegations Against Gynecologist; Three Of Four Nursing Homes In Georgia Have Received Penalties From Medicare

The Wall Street Journal: Women Sue Columbia University, Alleging School Failed To Protect Them From Abusive Doctor
Seventeen women who claim they were sexually abused by a Manhattan gynecologist filed a lawsuit Tuesday against hospitals and clinics affiliated with Columbia University, claiming the institution was aware of the doctor’s alleged abuse but didn’t protect its patients. The women, all but one of whom are kept anonymous in the suit, were patients at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center in northern Manhattan and elsewhere, the lawsuit says. (Ramey, 12/4)

Georgia Health News: Medicare Penalties Hit Most Ga. Nursing Homes
Three of four nursing homes in Georgia have received penalties from Medicare for avoidable hospital readmissions of nursing home patients. The 75 percent figure is slightly higher than the national average. The federal government gave bonuses for lower readmissions to 23 percent of the 373 nursing homes in the state. Two percent had no change under the new penalty program. (Miller, 12/4)

Dallas Morning News: Half Of Women Ages 15 To 44 Lack Health Insurance In Dallas County, New Report Says
Almost half of women between the ages of 15 and 44 in Dallas County lack health insurance, according to analysis from the Center for Public Policy Priorities.The finding highlights the daunting challenge before Dallas city and county leaders who want to address the instability that low-income women and single mothers face daily, as well as issues of child poverty, education reform and homelessness. The Center for Public Policy Priorities presented its findings about the state of Dallas County poverty, education and health Tuesday morning at the Communities Foundation of Texas. (Manuel, 12/4)

The Associated Press: New York Hospitals To Repay Victims Charged For Rape Kits
Six New York hospitals have agreed to repay sexual assault victims who were illegally charged as much as $3,000 for rape examinations that should've been billed to the state or their insurers, Attorney General Barbara Underwood said Thursday. The hospitals — five in New York City and the other in suburban Rockland County — wrongly billed victims for at least 200 forensic rape exams in recent years and had collections agencies go after some women who failed to pay, Underwood said. (11/29)

Dallas Morning News: How To Fight Dallas-Fort Worth’s High Health Costs? Stand With Your Insurer, Says Blue Cross
The Dallas area has some of the nation’s highest health care spending, and the state’s largest insurer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, has been pushing back. Among other things, it’s calling for more “value-based” care that rewards providers for keeping people healthy, rather than for providing more services. So it wants to steer more patients to providers with a record of low-cost, high-quality treatment. (Schnurman, 12/4)

The Star Tribune: Telemedicine Sees A Dramatic Rise In Minnesota, With Urban-Rural Contrast 
The popularity of telemedicine has soared among Minnesotans in the past decade, with urban dwellers seeking the convenience of routine care online and rural residents videochatting with distant doctors for everything from prescription refills to psychiatric sessions to cancer consults. A first-of-its-kind report used a Minnesota database of health insurance claims and found that the number of telemedicine visits increased sevenfold from 2010 to 2015. The study is part of a special edition of the influential journal Health Affairs that assesses the national impact of telemedicine — a broad term to describe billable patient care that isn’t provided face to face, including online queries and videoconferencing. (Olson, 12/4)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Atlanta Water Issues Could Mean About $250M In Economic Loss
An Atlanta water system disruption caused problems for residents, schools and businesses for about 25 hours this week and could cost the local economy hundreds of millions of dollars. A boil-water advisory forced some restaurants to shut down, schools to distribute bottled water and hand sanitizer, and residents to take precautions. (Godwin and McCray, 12/4)

The Associated Press: Utah Patients Can Use Medical Pot; But Concerns Still Loom
Patients can use medical marijuana legally in conservative Utah after a compromise agreement was signed into law despite concerns from advocates that it's too restrictive, but they likely won't be able to buy it legally in-state until at least 2020, officials said Tuesday. The state will need time to first build up a database to start issuing patients medical-cannabis cards, and then begin granting licenses for dispensaries, health department spokesman Tom Hudachko said. (12/4)

San Jose Mercury News: Bay Area Cannabis Researchers Claim Breakthrough Against Chronic Diseases
A Marin County medical cannabis and pharmaceutical coalition says it has found a way to ramp up production of one of the rarest compounds produced by marijuana flowers that early studies have shown could be a way to treat diabetes, lower cholesterol and provide other health benefits. This cannabinoid known as THCV, or tetrahydrocannabivarin, is considered one of the rarest cannabinoids and is only found in trace amounts in most strains of the plant. (Houston, 12/4)

Nashville Tennessean: TennCare Seeking $18 Million From Prohealth Rural Health Services
Officials at a Franklin-based health care clinic that filed for bankruptcy in August repeatedly over-billed TennCare for patient visits then lied to state officials about it, according a filing in bankruptcy court seeking $18 million in payments and penalties. Prohealth Rural Health Services operates clinics in Franklin and Columbia, serving patients in 16 surrounding counties. It is designated a "rural health clinic" allowing it to earn higher payments in exchange for seeing patients in under-served communities. (Wadhwani, 12/4)