State Highlights: Georgia Projects Big Deficits In Employee Health Plan; Tennessee’s Methodist Healthcare Reaches ADA Settlement With U.S. Attorney
Outlets report on health news in Georgia, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Virginia, Florida, Kansas, Missouri, California and New Hampshire.
Georgia Health News:
State Seeks Savings In Employee Health Plan
Projecting big deficits in coming years, the Georgia agency that runs the state employee and teacher health plan is hunting for savings through an array of strategies. Clyde Reese, commissioner of the Department of Community Health, told GHN last week in an interview that the agency is conducting an audit to ensure that all dependents covered by SHBP are indeed eligible for those benefits. (Miller, 5/16)
The Associated Press:
Methodist Healthcare Reaches Settlement With Feds
The U.S. attorney's office in Memphis has reached a settlement with Methodist Healthcare over allegations that it did not provide effective communication with a deaf patient under the American with Disabilities Act. (5/17)
California Healthline:
Three Firms Vie To Run CalPERS’ Drug Benefits
Three industry heavyweights are vying to run the prescription-drug business for one of the nation’s biggest health-care buyers, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System. Express Scripts and UnitedHealth Group’s OptumRx unit are each trying to unseat the current pharmacy-benefits contractor, CVS Health. The stakes are high for the companies and CalPERS, which is struggling along with many employers nationwide to contain fast-rising drug costs. The agency’s medical costs are closely watched as a harbinger of what big employers and their workers might be facing across the country. CalPERS spends more than $8 billion annually on medical care for 1.4 million state and local government employees, retirees and dependents. About a quarter of that, or $1.8 billion, goes to prescription drugs. (Terhune, 5/17)
The Boston Globe:
Schools Struggle To Cope With Rising Mental Health Needs
Over the last decade, many schools have seen the number of cases grow from just a few a year to upwards of several dozen, often transforming guidance offices into de facto psychiatric wards, educators say. But helping students through this journey is complex. They may return to school after receiving treatment fragile, self conscious, and overwhelmed. They’re stressed about being behind in class, confused over how to explain their absences to peers and teachers, and in many cases, tormented by mood swings as their doctors figure out the right dosage of medication. (Vaznis, 5/17)
The Associated Press:
Census: 3 Central Florida Counties Among Highest With Uninsured Adults
Nearly half the counties in Florida, including Orange, Osceola and Volusia, have a high percentage of adults without health insurance, according to new estimates released last week by the U.S. Census Bureau. (5/17)
The Richmond Times Dispatch:
Health Care Clinic For State Employees Opens In Richmond
More than 120,000 state employees — including in excess of 11,000 in Richmond — now have a health care center devoted exclusively to their use. (Demeria, 5/16)
The Wichita Eagle:
Gov. Sam Brownback Signs Bill That Shortens Time Kansas Families Can Be On Welfare
A bill that will reduce the number of consecutive months families can receive welfare was signed Monday by Gov. Sam Brownback, who says it will help push people out into the work force faster. SB 402 will reduce the time frame a family can receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families to 24 months from 36 months, unless a family gets a hardship exemption. (Lowry, 5/16)
The Orlando Sentinel:
Local Health Innovation Meetup Sees Rapid Rise In Membership
In 2014, when Colin Forward wanted to bring together Central Florida's health innovators, he had no idea that in two years the group would become one of the largest health-care innovation Meetups in the Southeast. (Miller, 5/16)
The Wall Street Journal:
Health Diagnostic Laboratory Patients Face Bills Years After Blood Work
Thousands of former patients of Health Diagnostic Laboratory, a Virginia lab that was sold after health regulators accused it of illegally paying doctors for work, have gotten bills for blood work done as far back as 2009 as bankruptcy lawyers try to collect money for the company’s final debts. The Richmond lab’s operations, which tested for cardiovascular diseases like diabetes, were taken over last fall by a competitor. But under the fine print of the sale, the power to collect old bills was kept by lawyers who are properly closing Health Diagnostic Laboratory down. (Stech, 5/16)
The Kansas City Star:
These Hospitals Got ‘A’ Grades For Safety — And These Got C’s
You go to the hospital to get well, of course. But you might not realize that you’re taking a sizable risk of getting sick or injured while hospitalized. Each year, for instance, one in 25 hospital patients contracts an infection. And a Medicare patient has a one in four chance of experiencing injury, harm or death when admitted to a hospital. (Hellman, 5/16)
The Sacramento Bee:
Brain-Dead Toddler’s Family Files Appeal To Block Ventilator Removal
Racing against the clock, lawyers for the family of brain-dead toddler Israel Stinson have filed a federal appeal, seeking to prevent Kaiser Permanente’s Roseville hospital from taking the child off a ventilator by Friday’s court-ordered deadline. (Buck, 5/16)
The Sacramento Bee:
Music Reaches Memories For Sacramento Seniors With Alzheimer’s
Gloria Silott spends most days in her wheelchair, socializing very little and verbalizing only with muffled “yes” or “no” answers. Immobilized by a stroke 15 years ago, she cannot speak clearly or express herself. Typically, say staffers at Eskaton Care Center Greenhaven, she has a flat, sad affect. (Buck, 5/16)
The Orlando Sentinel:
A Push For All Teens To Get Heart Screenings
Sept. 15, 2006, was an exciting day for Matt Nader, an offensive tackle on his high school football team. His family cheered as his team battled its No. 1 rival. Then, in an instant, Nader's life changed. He collapsed, unconscious and with no pulse. His heart had stopped. His parents, both physicians, performed CPR until paramedics rushed him to a hospital. (Mann, 5/17)
New Hampshire Public Radio:
N.H.'s Third Medical Marijuana Dispensary Now Open In Lebanon
New Hampshire’s third medical marijuana dispensary opened Sunday in Lebanon. Temescal Wellness, the company operating the dispensary, opened up another dispensary in Dover a little over a week ago. About a week before that, another dispensary operated by a company called Sanctuary ATC opened in Plymouth. (McDermott, 5/17)
