Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: CVS In Indiana Apologizes To Puerto Rican Student Who Couldn't Buy Cough Meds; Measuring California's Air Quality Gets Complicated When Power Shuts Off
The New York Times: He Wanted Cold Medicine, But CVS Rejected His Puerto Rican ID
CVS has apologized for denying a 20-year-old Puerto Rican student cold medicine at a store in Indiana because employees did not believe his driver’s license was a valid form of identification. José A. Guzmán-Payano, a junior at Purdue University, went to a store near his dorm in West Lafayette, Ind., on Oct. 25 to buy Mucinex for a cold, his mother wrote on Facebook. When an employee at the checkout saw his Puerto Rican driver’s license, she asked him for a visa, and “started confronting him about his immigration status,” Arlene Payano Burgos wrote in a post that had been shared more than 10,000 times. (Zraick, 11/4)
The Associated Press: Student: CVS Workers Rejected Puerto Rico ID, Asked For Visa
Guzmán Payano said he tried explaining that Puerto Rico is part of the U.S., but the clerk demanded to see a visa to verify his immigration status before he could purchase his cold medicine. “And then when she asked me for a visa, I was in shock at that time,” he said. “It wasn’t worth talking anymore." (11/4)
The Washington Post: How Bad Is The Air In California? As Wildfires Rage On, It's Hard To Tell
As wildfires raged in Northern California, Bay Area residents checked websites and apps last week to nervously monitor an approaching smoke plume roughly the size Rhode Island. What some people found were multicolored maps showing contradictory information, or in some cases no information at all. The problem: Many of the air quality measurement stations supplying the information had been shut off when Pacific Gas & Electric cut power to the area, leading to inaccurate and confusing information. (Albergotti, 11/4)
Boston Globe: Consumers Struggle To Find Information On Health Care Costs, Poll Shows
Most Massachusetts residents want to know more about the costs of their health care — yet few actually research those costs, according to a new survey. The results of the poll, commissioned by Boston’s Pioneer Institute, reflects the complexity of health care pricing and the difficulties for consumers trying to find out how much they must pay out of pocket for their care. (Dayal McCluskey, 11/4)
The Star Tribune: UnitedHealthcare Assessed $1 Million Penalty For Claims Payment Violations
Pennsylvania regulators have issued a $1 million civil penalty against UnitedHealthcare on allegations the health insurer violated a number of state and federal laws when paying medical claims, particularly for patients seeking treatment of autism and substance use disorders. Minnetonka-based UnitedHealthcare will spend another $800,000 on an outreach campaign to educate consumers about their mental health and substance use disorder benefits, according to the agreement announced Monday. (Snowbeck, 11/4)
Modern Healthcare: CMS Penalty Program Didn't Influence Decline In Hospital-Acquired Conditions
While the number of patients with injuries or infections in Michigan declined over an eight-year period, a new study found it wasn't because of the penalty-driven Hospital-Acquired Condition Reduction Program. The study, published Monday in Health Affairs, found the rate of some hospital-acquired conditions dropped from 61.7 per 1,000 discharges before the program was announced in 2013 to 58.7 after the program was announced. (Castellucci, 11/4)
New Hampshire Public Radio: Debate Over Science And Risks Shapes 3M's Lawsuit Against N.H.'s PFAS Water Standards
New Hampshire's strict new limits on PFAS chemicals have been in effect for more than a month now. Officials say the regulations are based on sound science. But the court battle against them is only just beginning. (Ropeik, 11/4)
Bloomberg: Huntsman Family Gives $150 Million To Fight Mental-Health Crisis
The Huntsman Foundation is giving $150 million to the University of Utah for research into mental illness and to improve mental-health services on the Salt Lake City campus and across the state. The gift will support the school’s Department of Psychiatry and psychiatric hospital, as well as the University Neuropsychiatric Institute, which will be renamed the Huntsman Mental Health Institute. The funds will also be used to expand services to students and into rural areas, and to fund research on genetic and other factors tied to mental health, according to a statement Monday. (Woolley, 11/4)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Illinois Congressman Considering Legislation On Ambulance Diversion
U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., said Monday he is considering sponsoring federal legislation to address the controversial practice of ambulance diversion. His statement comes as the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel continues to investigate the decades-old practice, in which hospitals turn away ambulances when officials declare their emergency rooms are too crowded. (Diedrich, 11/4)
Bloomberg: UnitedHealth’s MyConnections Houses The Homeless Through Medicaid
After decades in shoestring clinics and nonprofits, [Jeffrey Brenner] become an executive at UnitedHealth Group Inc., America’s largest health insurer. Brenner is expected to contribute to its bottom line. He plans to do it by giving people places to live. The research and development lab for this experiment is a pair of apartment complexes in a down-at-the-heels corner of Phoenix called Maryvale. Here, Brenner is using UnitedHealth’s money to pay for housing and support services for roughly 60 formerly homeless recipients of Medicaid, the safety-net insurance program for low-income people. (Tozzi, 11/5)
The Associated Press: Medical Marijuana In Louisiana: Questions About Cost Arise
Three months after medical marijuana became available in Louisiana, doctors and clinics say some patients are finding the cost for therapeutic cannabis too high for treatment, pricing them out of a medication they waited years to obtain. Nine pharmacies dispense medicinal-grade pot and set their individual prices. (11/4)
The CT Mirror: U.S. Department Of Justice Investigating Conditions At Manson Youth Institution
Federal authorities have opened an investigation into conditions of confinement for juveniles incarcerated at Manson Youth Institution, a high-security prison in Cheshire. In an Oct. 15 letter addressed to Gov. Ned Lamont, Department of Correction Rollin Cook, Attorney General William Tong, Warden Derrick Molden and other federal officials, Assistant Attorney General Eric S. Dreiband said his agency will examine whether Manson’s restrictive housing practices violate minors’ constitutional rights, whether mental health services for juveniles are “constitutionally inadequate,” and whether the state has violated the constitutional rights of children with disabilities. (Lyons, 11/4)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Violence Prevention Model That Worked In UK May Help In Milwaukee Area
Welsh law enforcement officials were concerned. For years, crime had been increasing in their country. Between 1981 and 1995, the number of violent crimes in the United Kingdom as a whole nearly doubled, leaving officials unsure of what to do. But it was around that time that Jonathan Shepherd revisited a discovery he'd made years earlier as a doctoral student at Bristol University — a discovery that led to a new approach that is credited with reducing violence. (Shelbourne, 11/4)
WBUR: Boston Athletes And Coaches Reflect On The Mental-Health Perils — And Promise — Of Pro Sports
On Monday morning, members of the Celtics took part in a panel to preview “Headstrong,” a documentary being produced by NBC Sports; it’s set to premiere nationwide on the network's stations this Friday. In a panel discussion moderated by NBC Sports Boston’s Trenni Kusnierek, fourth-year guard Jaylen Brown and others discussed the problem — and what feels like a turning point, at least in their league. (Larkin, 11/4)
Texas Tribune: Gov. Greg Abbott's Cleaning Of Homeless Camps Sets Back Some Austinites
TxDOT officials last week posted notices that they would remove all remaining property from under overpasses at the order of Gov. Greg Abbott. John Wittman, a spokesman for the governor, said such clearings will be weekly under 17 overpasses — and could possibly be more frequent at the governor’s discretion. (Tatum, 11/4)
Stat: State Treasurers Urge Cardinal Health Shareholders To Reject Board Member
As Cardinal Health (CAH) grapples with criticism of its role in the opioid crisis, a group of four state treasurers is opposing its decision to re-appoint a board member who previously served at a time when the distributor was fined by federal authorities for allowing controlled substances to be diverted. The treasurers from Connecticut, Illinois, Rhode Island, and Vermont voted against re-nominating J. Michael Losh to the board ahead of the company’s annual shareholders meeting on Wednesday. (Silverman, 11/4)
Kaiser Health News: As UVA Scales Back Lawsuits, Pain For Past Patients Persists
Kitt Klein and Mike Miller lost thousands of dollars in hard-won savings more than a decade ago after UVA Health put a lien on their home for a hospital bill they couldn’t pay. They can’t believe they’re at risk of losing a second home today. “Can they do this twice?” said Klein, who lives with her husband, a house painter, in her late mother’s house in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. (Hancock, 11/4)
Miami Herald: There’s A Shortage Of Smokable Medical Marijuana In Florida
The new law allows patients to purchase up to 2.5 ounces of whole flower cannabis every 35 days as recommended by their qualified doctor. Since the law went into effect, medical marijuana treatment centers have dispensed more than 15,000 ounces of the whole flower drug, and the companies are feeling the demand. (Gross, 11/4)
CBS News: Alleged Cancer Fraud: Pennsylvania Woman Facing Felony Charges For Allegedly Faking Cancer And Racking Up $10,000 In Donations
A Pennsylvania woman was arrested for allegedly faking cancer and charged with collecting donations through a GoFundMe page and Facebook fundraiser totaling more than $10,000, CBS Philadelphia reports. Jessica Smith faces a number of felony theft counts for allegedly creating the scam donation pages. This investigation started in June and Smith is now behind bars. The 32-year-old was arrested Wednesday after allegedly lying about having a rare form of colon cancer. (11/5)
