State Highlights: Docs Strike At UC Student Clinic; Battle Over Unionizing Home Health Workers In Penn.

The San Francisco Chronicle: In Rare Move, UC Campus Doctors Plan 4-day Walkout
Unionized doctors at UC campus student health centers in Northern California plan to walk off their jobs Thursday as part of the longest labor action waged by staff physicians in 25 years. Nurses and other health professionals routinely picket and strike over bargaining issues, but it’s rare for doctors to be unionized, let alone go through with a walkout. The Northern California walkout will end Monday morning. (Colliver, 4/9)

Los Angeles Times: Doctors At UC Student Health Clinics Start Strike
Unionized doctors began a rolling strike Thursday at student health clinics on UC campuses, accusing the university of unfair labor practices during negotiations for the physicians’ first contract. The walkout started early Thursday morning at five Northern and Central California campuses -- Berkeley, Davis, San Francisco, Santa Cruz and Merced -- and is scheduled to last four days. (Gordon, 4/9)

The Wall Street Journal: Battle Heats Up Over Unionizing Of Pennsylvania Home Health Aides
A new battle over organizing home health aides has sprung up in Pennsylvania as several groups try to block an executive order issued by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf that could make it easier for unions to target the low-wage but fast-growing group of workers. The Pennsylvania Homecare Association and United Cerebral Palsy of Pennsylvania filed a lawsuit Monday in state court arguing that the February order violates state labor law. The order creates a path for labor to organize aides hired directly by consumers. (Maher, 4/9)

The Associated Press: Idaho County Eyes Insurance For Faith-Based Objections
Idaho County commissioners have scheduled a meeting concerning health insurance for county employees who have religious objections to the county's existing plan. The April 21 meeting will offer employees options if they have objections to the county's existing Blue Cross/Blue Shield insurance plan through Regence, which covers abortion, contraception and sterilization procedures. (4/9)

The Kansas Health Institute News Service: Kansas Medical Panels To Discuss Implications Of Antitrust Ruling
Kansas medical regulatory boards and the state Attorney General’s Office are examining whether a recent U.S. Supreme Court antitrust ruling will have any effects on the boards’ memberships. In a Feb. 25 opinion related to a North Carolina dentistry board, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that if a “controlling number” of a board’s members are active participants in the industry it regulates, they could be sued as antitrust law violators if they aren’t being actively supervised by the state. (Booker, 4/9)

USA Today: Arizona Health Law Could Boost Theranos' Bio-Tech Prospects
Much has been written in the past year about the dynamic Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos, her bold quest to overhaul the $60 billion blood taking and analysis business. Holmes’ twist: requiring only one drop of blood vs. many vials for a battery of tests using Theranos’ proprietary hardware and software. The 10-year-old startup – valued at $9 billion on $400 million in raised capital – remains in quasi-stealth mode, testing its proof-of-concept in its Theranos Wellness Centers inside a Walgreens in Palo Alto, Calif., and a number of them around Phoenix. (Cava, 4/9)

Kaiser Health News: Tougher Vaccine Exemption Bill In Calif. Clears First Hurdle
A California bill that would allow parents to opt out of mandatory school vaccinations for their children only if they have a medical condition that justifies an exemption was endorsed by a state Senate committee but still has a long, controversial path before becoming law. The bill was introduced in the California Senate in response to a measles outbreak at Disneyland in late December that’s now linked to almost 150 infections. (Bartolone, 4/9)

The Hill: Two States Move On New Abortion Restriction
Two states this week have gone forward with new abortion restrictions that supporters hope will become models for the country. Bills in Kansas and Oklahoma ban what opponents of the procedure label a "dismemberment" abortion, a second-trimester procedure that has previously been known as "dilation and evacuation." (Sullivan, 4/9)

The Burlington Free Press: Court Takes Up Abortion Health Care Lawsuit
A man opposed to having a portion of his health care premium allocated toward elective abortions appeared in federal court Thursday for the first hearing in his case. Alan Lyle Howe of Guilford is suing the Department of Vermont Health Access, commissioner Steven Constantino and a host of federal officials. Howe's lawyer, Casey Mattox, has said that Howe is deeply religious and believes the use of his money for abortion is a violation of his religious freedom. (Murray, 4/9)

The Associated Press: Nation's Drug Czar Touts Needle Exchange Programs
Venturing into the epicenter of Kentucky's fight against heroin addiction, national drug czar Michael Botticelli on Thursday touted needle-exchange programs as effective grassroots initiatives to combat the spread of infectious disease and to steer heroin users into treatment. Botticelli, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, also urged the medical community's vigilance against overprescribing pain medications. He called for mandatory medical education for prescribers as a way to stop the abuse of painkillers. (Schreiner, 4/9)

The Associated Press: Ex-Mental Health Providers In NY To Pay $3M To End Suit
A federal judge has approved a $3 million settlement between patients and a former mental health facility in Putnam County. The class-action suit filed in 2007 alleged patients were illegally restrained, assaulted, punished and isolated by SLS Residential staff, while the facility falsely advertised compassionate care and effective treatment and received up to $900 a day from individual patients' insurers. The Office of Mental health says the facility lost its license for restraining residents contrary to state directives and restricting their rights to see visitors and communicate. (4/9)

The Associated Press: NY Court Upholds Restriction On Doctor Convicted Of Bribery
A New York court has upheld a state restriction against a doctor convicted of bribing a state senator in a failed attempt to keep Parkway Hospital in Queens operating. The Administrative Review Board for Professional Medical Conduct sustained a professional misconduct finding against Dr. Robert Aquino and said he could have his own private practice but not own or operate a medical facility. (4/9)

The Associated Press: Alaska Lawmakers Discuss Right-To-Die Legislation
During an emotionally charged hearing Thursday, lawmakers heard personal testimony from individuals who believed a loved one would have benefited from the right to choose to die with the help of a physician. The House Health and Social Services Committee discussed a bill proposed by Rep. Harriet Drummond, D-Anchorage, that would allow terminally ill patients to choose to end their lives. (Dischner, 4/9)

The New York Times: For Mentally Ill Inmates, A Cycle Of Jail And Hospitals
For years, Rikers has been filling with people like Mr. Megginson, who have complicated psychiatric problems that are little understood and do not get resolved elsewhere: the unwashed man passed out in a public stairwell; the 16-year-old runaway; the drug addict; the belligerent panhandler screaming in a full subway car. It is a problem that cuts two ways. At the jail, with its harsh conditions and violent culture, the mentally ill can deteriorate, their symptoms worsening in ways Rikers is unequipped to handle. As they get sicker, they strike out at guards and other correction employees, often provoking more violence. (Winerip and Schwirtz, 4/10)