Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: Despite String Of Defeats, Texas Defends Another Anti-Abortion Measure; D.C. Public Hospital Failed To Report Key Details Of Patient's Death
The Associated Press: Texas Again Defends New Anti-Abortion Measures In Court
Texas defended new anti-abortion measures again Thursday in court following a string of defeats over efforts to change the disposal of fetal remains, deny Medicaid dollars to Planned Parenthood and outlaw a commonly used abortion method. The latest trial centers only on a new law Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed in June that bans a second-trimester abortion procedure known as dilation and evacuation. Federal courts in at least four other states have blocked similar measures. (Weber, 11/2)
Austin American-Statesman: Testimony Begins In Challenge To Texas Abortion Law
A Texas law banning second-trimester abortions on living fetuses requires doctors to use untested, complicated and riskier procedures that have no medical benefit to the woman, an Oregon doctor who teaches and performs abortion testified Thursday. Kicking off a five-day federal court trial on a bid by abortion providers to overturn the law, Dr. Mark Nichols said the regulation would force physicians to choose from several methods of inducing “fetal demise” that carry increased risks of infection and injury before beginning the safest and most common type of procedure – dilation and evacuation, or D&E, beginning in the 15th week of pregnancy. (Lindell, 11/2)
The Washington Post: The District's Troubled Public Hospital Did Not Disclose Key Details To Regulators After A 47-Year-Old Patient Died There In August
Officials at the District’s only public hospital failed to report to regulators key details about the death of a patient in the facility’s nursing home in August, an incident report submitted to the D.C. Department of Health shows. The report, obtained by The Washington Post through a public records request, left out information about the case of 47-year-old Warren Webb that would likely have triggered an investigation of the long-term care unit at beleaguered United Medical Center in Southeast Washington. (Jamison, 11/2)
Orlando Sentinel: Pulse-Inspired Orlando United Assistance Center Extends Counseling Help For Community
he Orlando United Assistance Center, created to help survivors of the Pulse massacre and families of the dead, is now offering free counseling to anyone affected by the tragedy — even those who weren’t in the club and didn’t lose a family member there.The service is expected to continue until at least 2020. (Santich, 11/2)
NPR: Residents Sue Chemical Maker Over Fires During Hurricane Harvey
Shannan Wheeler was born and raised in Baytown, Texas, an industrial suburb east of Houston that is part of the so-called chemical coast. Houses are tucked between chemical storage tanks. Parks back up to refinery smokestacks. (Hersher, 11/2)
Richmond Times-Dispatch: Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance Market Holds Steady; Virginia Employees Average Cost Increased 5.1 Percent
The average total health benefit cost per employee in the U.S. rose 2.6 percent in 2017, according to the Mercer National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans. Over the past five years, that growth has averaged just 3.3 percent annually. (O'Connor, 11/2)
The Baltimore Sun: As Howard County Population Continues To Grow, Hospital Plans For The Future
County officials have been consumed in recent months by concerns over how public infrastructures like roads and schools can keep pace with population growth, leaving some residents and officials to ask: what about the hospital? Between 2010 and 2035, the county’s population is expected to grow by 14 percent, according to state data. With that, Howard County is set to have one of the state’s largest increases of residents over 60 years old between 2015 and 2040. (Magil, 11/3)
Georgia Health News: State’s Top Court Rejects Northside’s Stand On Shielding Financial Records
In a case closely watched by the state’s hospital industry, the Georgia Supreme Court has reversed lower court rulings that barred access to Northside Hospital’s financial records. The unanimous decision, announced Thursday, remands the case back to the trial court. Justice Nels Peterson wrote that the trial court applied the wrong legal standard in ruling against access to the records by plaintiff E. Kendrick Smith, an attorney. (Miller, 11/2)
Kansas City Star: KU Hospital, Shawnee Mission Health And North Kansas City Join Accountable Care Organization
About 1,600 physicians from those three health systems and the independent Kansas City Metropolitan Physician Association announced this week they have formed a clinical integration network called Centrus Health Kansas City. They also announced that the network has an agreement with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, and has applied for one with Medicare, to form Accountable Care Organizations that tie payments to patient outcomes. (Marso, 11/2)
The New York Times: Arrested Nurse Settles With Salt Lake City And University For $500,000
A Utah nurse who was forcefully detained by a police officer in July settled with the University of Utah and Salt Lake City on Tuesday for a total of $500,000. The rough arrest of the nurse, who had refused the officer’s request to draw a sedated patient’s blood as part of a police investigation, was captured on body camera video and viewed widely online. (Stevens, 11/2)
Los Angeles Times: Glendale Health Festival To Provide Free Health Screenings
The eighth annual Glendale Health Festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday at the Pacific Edison Community Center, 501 S. Pacific Ave., Glendale. The event will be free and open to the public. (Kellam, 11/2)
