Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: Ga. House Approves Bill Mandating Insurance Broker Commissions; Colo. AG OKs Sale Of Nonprofit Insurer
Atlanta Journal Constitution: Bill Mandating Commissions For Insurance Agents Passes House
Legislation that mandates Georgia health insurance agents be paid a commission for all sales passed the state House on Thursday. House Bill 64 is the second attempt from state Rep. Shaw Blackmon, R-Bonaire, to protect agents. It passed the House by a vote of 172-1. (Gould Sheinin, 2/9)
Denver Post: Coffman OKs Rocky Mountain Health Plans Sale
Colorado’s attorney general has given her blessing to the proposed sale of Rocky Mountain Health Plans, a Western Slope insurer, to UnitedHealthcare. In an opinion issued Thursday, Attorney General Cynthia Coffman wrote that she had concluded the sale can proceed legally. Rocky Mountain Health Plans is a nonprofit, and the sale will require it to convert to a for-profit company and leave the proceeds of the sale — some $36 million, according to Coffman’s opinion — to the Rocky Mountain Health Plans Foundation, which will use that money for charitable projects on the Western Slope. (Ingold, 2/9)
Texas Tribune: Texas Nurse Practitioners Push For Independence From Doctors
Texas nurse practitioners are once again seeking independence from costly agreements that require them to sign contracts with doctors in order to treat and write prescriptions for their patients. State Rep. Stephanie Klick, R-Fort Worth, introduced House Bill 1415 Thursday, saying the bill would get rid of so-called prescriptive authority agreements that require nurse practitioners — who have advanced degrees in a nursing speciality — to pay up to six-figure fees to "delegating" doctors. (Alfaro, 2/9)
San Francisco Chronicle: Kim Wants City To Ensure Access To Birth Control
Supervisor Jane Kim is working on legislation to require that San Francisco pick up the tab for birth control for any woman living in the city whose free prescription stands to be cut off under President Trump. While Trump has so far focused mostly on immigration policy and working himself into a lather over “Saturday Night Live” skits, Kim said she is bracing for an anticipated crackdown on birth control access from the new administration. (Knight, 2/9)
Detroit Free Press: Michigan Ending Discounts For Flint Water Bills
State officials have decided to end the state-funded subsidies that since 2014 had helped Flint residents pay their water bills after the city's water system became contaminated with lead. Word of the subsidies' impending cutoff surfaced Thursday after a senior adviser to Gov. Rick Snyder sent a letter to Flint’s interim chief financial officer, saying the subsidies will stop after Feb. 28, according to a news release from the City of Flint. The reaction of Flint's mayor and other city officials was mild, characterizing the governor's decision as a sign that the city's water quality had improved although they stopped short of saying it was entirely safe. (Laitner and Zaniewski, 2/9)
KCUR: Dozens Of New Cases Expected Over Alleged Sexual Abuse At Leavenworth VA Hospital
A torrent of civil lawsuits over alleged sexual abuse by a former employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Leavenworth is expected now that a federal judge has refused to dismiss one of the cases. Three more lawsuits were filed this week in federal court, bringing the total to 15 so far, and dozens more are expected to be filed in coming months. The suits by military veterans accuse Mark E. Wisner, a one-time physician’s assistant at the hospital who held himself out as a doctor, of sexually molesting them during physical exams. (Margolies, 2/9)
Richmond Times Dispatch: Bill To Redirect Reproductive Health Funds Passes State Senate Committee
A bill that would restrict the funds available to Planned Parenthood clinics operating in Virginia has passed a state Senate committee. House Bill 2264, sponsored by Del. Benjamin L. Cline, R-Rockbridge, does not mention Planned Parenthood by name but proposes to restrict the state’s Department of Health from providing any funds to a Virginia clinic that provides abortions that are not covered by the state’s Medicaid program. (Demeria, 2/9)
Boston Globe: Mass. Is A Magnet For Foreign Students, But They’re Anxious About Trump
Trump’s order was designed to stop terrorists and others who would commit violence in the United States. But it has also ensnared a highly educated community of Iranian scholars, researchers, and professionals who, over the last century of immigration, have risen to the top echelons of Boston’s academic, health care, and high-tech institutions. (Levenson, 2/10)
New Orleans Times-Picayune: Fairway Medical Center Near Mandeville Sold To LCMC Health
LCMC Health, the not-for-profit, academic health care system that includes Children's Hospital and University Medical Center in New Orleans, has purchased Fairway Medical Center in western St. Tammany Parish. LCMC Health bought the surgical hospital near Mandeville in partnership with several local, specialty surgeons, the system announced Thursday (Feb. 9). The joint ownership is effective immediately. In addition to Children's Hospital and the University Medical Center, LCMC is also comprised of New Orleans East Hospital, Touro Infirmary and West Jefferson Medical Center. The purchase price was not disclosed. (Chatelain, 2/9)
Health News Florida: Humana To Lay Off Hundreds In Florida
Humana, Florida’s largest Medicare managed-care company, says it will lay off hundreds of employees in April, including 328 in Florida. Of those, 260 are in the Tampa Bay area, according to Humana spokeswoman Nancy Hanewickel. (Gentry, 2/9)
