State Highlights: Examining Minn. Measles Outbreak; Arizona Lawmakers Continue Efforts On Workers’ Comp Coverage For First Responders
Media outlets report on news from Minnesota, Arizona, Illinois, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, California, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.
Minnesota Public Radio:
A Look Inside The Measles Outbreak In Minnesota
State health officials confirmed Monday that the number of measles cases has reached 20. The confirmed cases are in kids in Hennepin County's Somali community, which has historically been fed inaccurate information by anti-vaccination advocates. (Weber and Siple, 4/25)
Arizona Republic:
Arizona Firefighters Call For Expansion Of Health-Care Coverage
Arizona firefighters gathered outside the state Capitol on Tuesday to call for an expansion of health-care coverage to treat conditions that could arise later in life. Firefighters have been working with Arizona legislators for several months to pass House Bill 2161 and House Bill 2410, both of which would expand workers' compensation insurance coverage for first responders. (Dantuono, 4/25)
Reuters:
Illinois House Ignores Veto Threat By Passing Abortion Expansion
The Democratic-led Illinois House defied a veto threat by the state’s Republican governor by passing legislation on Tuesday to expand state-funded coverage of abortions for low-income residents and for state employees. (4/25)
North Carolina Health News:
Health Bills Moving Quickly Ahead Of Legislative Deadline
In order to keep bills alive, lawmakers have to get their bills passed through at one chamber of the General Assembly - either the House or the Senate - before midnight Thursday. That means packed committee meetings and late evenings. (Knopf and Hoban, 4/26)
The Star Tribune:
Minn. Ruling On Abuse At Group Home Likely To Be Far-Reaching One
Four years ago, a woman with severe mental illness poured a pot of boiling water over Michael Sorenson as he sat in his wheelchair at a Bloomington group home, leaving him with burns covering 35 percent of his body. This week the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled that the group home operator cannot claim legal immunity under a 1967 state law and shield itself from more than $1 million in potential civil damages. (Serres, 4/25)
Cleveland Plain Dealer:
Cleveland Clinic Joint Venture To Add 200 Jobs Locally In Next Three Years
A healthcare consultancy and outsourcing organization plans to bring 200 new jobs to Cleveland within the next three years at its new patient coordination center east of downtown. Known as RelateCare, the organization is a joint venture established in 2013 between the Cleveland Clinic and RigneyDolphin, an Irish telecommunications service provider. (Christ, 4/25)
The Dallas Morning News:
New Baylor CEO Says Texas' High Rate Of Uninsured Is Not OK
Jim Hinton took the helm as the new chief executive officer of Baylor Scott & White Health in January, succeeding Joel Allison, who led the organization for 23 years. (Rice, 4/25)
Los Angeles Times:
This California University Has A Vending Machine That Sells The Morning-After Pill
Students at UC Davis can now purchase emergency contraception from a campus vending machine. The machine, installed at the school’s Activities and Recreation Center over spring break, dispenses the morning-after pill as well as condoms, pregnancy tests, tampons and over-the-counter medication such as Advil. (Parvini, 4/25)
The Baltimore Sun:
Hopkins' Bloomberg School Gives Scholarship To Displaced Syrian Doctors
Two displaced Syrian doctors have received full-tuition scholarships worth $65,000 each to attend the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. (McDaniels, 4/25)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Novato Oxygen Equipment Supplier Pays $11.4 Million In Settlement
A major supplier of home oxygen equipment has agreed to pay $11.4 million to settle accusations that it profiteered by filing false reimbursement claims with the government and arranging kickbacks with sleep-testing clinics, federal officials said Tuesday. Justice Department and health care officials announced the settlement with Pacific Pulmonary Services, which is based in Novato and has more than 100 outlets in 20 states. (Egelko, 4/25)
Morning Consult:
HHS Settles With Mobile Health Company Over Records
A mobile health company has reached a $2.5 million settlement with the Department of Health and Human Services, in the first case of its kind involving the protection of health records. CardioNet, a Malvern, Pa.-based subsidiary of BioTelemetry that operates a mobile monitoring system for patients diagnosed with cardiac arrhythmia, will pay the settlement for not properly securing sensitive patient data and for possibly violating federal privacy laws. (Reid, 4/24)
WBUR:
'Trauma Teams' To Help Boston Residents In Higher Crime Areas Cope In Wake Of Violence
The city of Boston will deploy "trauma response and recovery teams" to several neighborhoods in the aftermath of violent incidents, as part of a new program announced Tuesday. The teams will connect residents in Roxbury, Dorchester, Jamaica Plain, East Boston and Mattapan who have been victims of or exposed to violence -- like homicides, shootings or stabbings — with mental health services and ongoing support. (Creamer, 4/25)
The Associated Press:
Texas Advocates Push Longshot Pot Bills With Veterans, Moms
Medical marijuana advocates in Texas are promoting support from more conservative sources to push longshot legislation that would ease pot laws in a state that's lagging behind much of the rest of the country on medical marijuana. Conservative Christian mothers of autistic children and veterans suffering post-traumatic stress disorder rallied outside the state Capitol on Tuesday, entreating the Republican-majority Legislature to advance two bills legalizing medicinal cannabis, one by San Antonio Democratic Sen. Jose Menendez and one by Rep. Eddie Lucio III, a Brownsville Democrat. (4/25)
San Antonio Press Express:
Medical Cannabis Advocates Tell Texas Lawmakers: Get Moving
Cherie Rineker, a terminally ill cancer patient, tried marijuana to ease her pain and vomiting. But she had to go to Colorado to do it, she said at a press conference here to urge lawmakers to get moving on a trio of medical cannabis bills stalled in Texas House and Senate committees. (Mejia Lutz, 4/25)
