State Highlights: Diabetes Treatment Resulted In ‘Zombie-Like State,’ Calif. Patient Claims; Ill. Bill To Improve Care For Sexual Assault Victims Moves Forward

inewsource: San Diego Woman Says Controversial Diabetes Treatment Endangered Her Health
A San Diego woman says she was put at risk of hospitalization last year after receiving a series of insulin infusions at Dr. James Novak’s Trina Health clinic in Pacific Beach. The woman and her endocrinologist said the infusions spiked her blood sugar to dangerously high levels. The nation has a limited supply of healthcare dollars to spend on drugs and services, which is why the government and health plans require scientific evidence of patient benefit. This is especially important for the 30.3 million people in the U.S. with diabetes, whose medical costs in 2012 totaled $245 billion.Leadership at Scripps Health started an investigation of Novak’s practice when they learned about the incident, the endocrinologist said. And the founder of the Trina infusion procedure, Sacramento lawyer G. Ford Gilbert, faces federal criminal charges related to his network of clinics. (Clark, 5/25)

Chicago Tribune: Illinois Senate Passes Legislation To Improve Care For Sexual Assault Patients 
The Illinois Senate passed legislation Friday to ensure that rape and sexual assault victims in emergency rooms are seen by someone trained to treat them. The legislation, which passed the Illinois House in a similar form in April, was approved 49-0 by the Senate. It would require that, by 2022, hospitals in the state that treat sexual assault victims have a specially trained provider present within 90 minutes of a patient’s arrival in an emergency room. (Bowen, 5/25)

Chicago Tribune: Alzheimer's In Latinos Expected To Increase By More Than 800%. Chicago Researchers Are Trying To Change That. 
Here in Illinois, 220,000 people are living with Alzheimer’s disease, which gradually, irreversibly degrades cognitive functions, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. By 2025, an estimated 40,000 others are expected to develop the condition, a more than 18 percent increase in this state alone. And though diagnoses of Alzheimer’s are expected to increase as the senior population continues to grow nationally, Latinos like Salvador Campos are 50 percent more likely to develop the disease than their white counterparts, researchers from the University of Southern California say. Between 2012 and 2060, the number of Latinos in the United States living with Alzheimer’s disease is projected to increase 832 percent — from 379,000 to more than 3.5 million, this research indicates. (Olumnhense, 5/29)

San Jose Mercury News: Right To Die: Judgment Interrupts Access To Life-Ending Drug
California’s historic aid-in-dying law is suspended, for now, after a Riverside Superior Court issued a final ruling on Thursday night that called it unconstitutional. The action follows a May 15 ruling by the same judge that the law was passed illegally, and the 4th District Court of Appeal’s refusal Wednesday to grant an emergency stay requested by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra. (Krieger, 5/25)

The Associated Press: San Francisco To Decide Whether To Ban Flavored Tobacco
A major tobacco company is pumping millions of dollars into a campaign to persuade San Francisco voters to reject a ban on selling flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes, certain chewing tobaccos and vaping liquids with flavors like cotton candy, mango and cool cucumber. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. has contributed nearly $12 million to the "No on Proposition E" campaign, filling television and radio airwaves and mailboxes with ads urging voters to reject a law supervisors approved last year that is now on the June 5 ballot. (5/28)

The Star Tribune: Minneapolis Votes To Raise Tobacco-Buying Age To 21
The city ordinance to restrict tobacco sales, including vaping products, to those who can legally buy alcohol goes into effect Oct. 1. Minneapolis is joining seven other Minnesota cities and 300 nationwide that have raised the tobacco-buying age in an effort to discourage young people from picking up the habit. (Ibrahim, 5/25)

The CT Mirror: Already Deep In Debt, Connecticut Struggles With Extremes Of Wealth And Income
When adequate investment in human capital — higher education, adequate health care and decent housing — are impossible because of debt or under-employment, inequality becomes a significant drag on economic growth. Further complicating Connecticut’s struggle with accelerating inequality, the state is divvying up responsibility for paying a historic bill brought on by its own fiscal imprudence over decades: unprecedented pension and other debt costs that already are placing extreme pressure on services and taxpayers. (Phaneuf, 5/29)

The Associated Press: 9-Year-Old Raises $6,000 For Sick Brother Selling Lemonade
A 9-year-old South Carolina boy selling lemonade to help his sick baby brother has raised nearly $6,000 in two hours. Andrew Emery wants to help his parents pay for the medical bills for his little brother Dylan. The infant suffers from Krabbe disease, a rare and often lethal neurological condition. So on Saturday, Emery spent two hours at used truck dealership Southern Wheels in Greenwood, selling lemonade and #TeamDylan t-shirts. He raised $5,860 to be added to $1,300 raised at a Friday benefit concert and $5,600 from a GoFundMe site for his brother, currently in a Pittsburgh hospital. (5/28)

The Associated Press: Florida Ban On Smokable Medical Pot Ruled Unconstitutional
Florida's ban that prevents medical marijuana patients from smoking their cannabis has gone up in smoke. Leon County Circuit Court Judge Karen Gievers on Friday ruled that a state's ban on smokable cannabis is unconstitutional. Florida's Department of Health said in a statement it has appealed the ruling, which will impose an automatic stay. (5/25)

The Hill: Florida Judge Rules State Ban On Smokable Medical Marijuana Is Unconstitutional
A Florida judge on Friday ruled that the state’s ban on smokable medical marijuana is unconstitutional. Leon County Circuit Court Judge Karen Gievers wrote in her ruling that residents “have the right to use the form of medical marijuana for treatment of their debilitating medical conditions as recommended by their certified physicians.” (Anapol, 5/26)

Health News Florida: Duval Students Still Attempt Suicide More Than Their Peers Across Florida
The new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found students living in Health Zone 2, encompassing the Greater Arlington area, had the highest rate of suicide attempts. And more female students than male said they’ve made a suicide plan. (Kilbride, 5/25)

Columbus Dispatch: Devices That Thwart Drunken Drivers Rarely Used In Ohio
Ignition interlocks, which keep drunken drivers from starting their cars, are proven to reduce alcohol-related fatal crashes. But in central Ohio, the majority of first-time offenders aren’t using them, attorneys say. (Cooley, 5/27)

Dallas Morning News: Self-Styled Fitness Expert 'Dr. Dave' Convicted For Bilking Insurers With Millions In Bogus Claims 
A 54-year-old man who called himself "Dr. Dave" has been convicted of swindling health care insurers through millions in bogus claims. David Roy Williams was convicted this week in federal court of four counts of health care fraud for falsely billing insurance companies. Each count carries a 10-year sentence in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. Williams is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 27. (Tsiaperas, 5/26)

Sacramento Bee: Are Giant Tents The Answer To Sacramento's Homeless Crisis? Observers Aren't So Sure
Mayor Darrell Steinberg, who has made curbing homelessness a centerpiece of his administration, announced earlier this week plans to place pop-up structures resembling giant tents in at least three neighborhoods he has yet to identify. Known as "Sprung" shelters, they would each have beds for as many as 200 clients, as well as paid "navigators" who would help connect people to insurance, health care, social services and ultimately permanent housing. (Hubert, 5/27)