Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: Fla. Gov. Signs Law To Protect Consumers From Surprise Medical Bills; Ohio Steps Up Suicide Prevention Efforts
Modern Healthcare: Florida Governor Signs Law Shielding Patients From Surprise Medical Bills
The movement to protect consumers from surprise medical bills won a major victory Thursday when Florida Republican Gov. Rick Scott signed a bipartisan bill that will exempt patients from having to pay balance bills from out-of-network providers in certain situations. (Meyer, 4/14)
The Associated Press: Ohio Governor Announces Suicide Prevention Initiatives
State officials are hoping more research, access to around-the-clock crisis hotlines and efforts to end the stigma of suicide will help reduce the hundreds of lives lost when people kill themselves each year in Ohio. (Welsh-Huggins, 4/14)
Georgia Health News: Regulators Scrutinizing More Nursing Homes In New Beginnings Probe
More Georgia facilities run by a financially troubled nursing home operator are under federal and state regulatory scrutiny, a state health care agency said Thursday. Clyde Reese, commissioner of the Department of Community Health, made the disclosure during an interview with GHN. He did not specify the number or location of the nursing homes operated by New Beginnings Care that are being reviewed. (Miller, 4/14)
The Associated Press: High Copper Or Lead Levels Seen In 19 Detroit Schools' Water
Detroit's hard-pressed school system has found elevated levels of lead and copper in nearly a third of its elementary schools, contamination that one expert says could be found nationwide, wherever school authorities spend the time and money to look. The news gave parents in the 46,000-student district yet another reason to worry, and prompted the teachers' union to appeal for help from autoworkers, who trucked bottled water to a school where some students were drinking from bathroom sinks after the water fountains were shut down as a precaution. (4/14)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: No One Seems To Want The Top Job At St. Louis VA
The Department of Veterans Affairs continues to struggle to permanently fill the top position at the St. Louis VA medical system, with the second potential candidate over the last nine months leaving federal service before the job could be filled. The position of medical center director has been open for almost three years, filled by temporary administrators who rotate through every few months. Last summer, a top candidate for the job withdrew for personal reasons. More recently, one under consideration left public service before an offer could be made, according to Huntley. (Raasch, 4/14)
Minnesota Public Radio: Low-Income Minnesotans Less Likely To Get Cancer Screenings, Study Says
Low-income Minnesotans on Medicaid are much less likely to receive cancer screenings than people with other health coverage, new research has found. Minnesota nonprofit MN Community Measurement found that a little more than half of Medicaid recipients got recommended colorectal cancer screening, while three-quarters of people with other coverage were screened. (Zdechlik, 4/14)
STAT: Discounted Surgeries Bring The Uninsured New Hope In California
As a young surgeon, Dr. Jorge A. Enriquez watched his peers fly across the ocean to do charity work in far-flung places. But he was struck by the needs of his own community here amid the agricultural lands of the Central Valley. (Leigh Brown, 4/14)
North Carolina Health News: Mental Health Crisis Center To Serve Caldwell, Alexander & McDowell Counties
A new comprehensive mental health care center will provide 24-hour mental health and addiction urgent care, outpatient behavioral health treatment and beds for people in crisis. (Sisk, 4/14)
The Denver Post: Catalyst Signs Three Big-Name Tenants For RiNo Health-Tech Campus
A health-tech innovation campus planned for Denver's River North neighborhood has snagged three big names in health care as tenants — University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Terumo BCT and the American Diabetes Association. (Rusch, 4/14)
North Carolina Health News: NC To Mandate ‘Environmental Justice Reviews’ Of New Coal Ash Dumps
To better shield poor people and racial minorities from excessive impacts from Duke Energy’s statewide coal ash clean up, North Carolina will require “environmental justice” reviews of any landfills the state permits. The reviews, to be evaluated by outside environmental-justice experts, will explore adverse socioeconomic, environmental and health risks from the facilities on these groups. (Clabby, 4/14)
