Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: Group Of Large Texas Hospitals Forms Network; Mass. Program Seeks Out Sickest, Poorest Hard-To-Reach Residents
The Dallas Morning News: Health Network Formed By UT Southwestern, Texas Health Announces Executives
Members of the management team of Southwestern Health Resources named Thursday said the massive new health care network will streamline services and patient care at some of the region’s largest hospitals. (Cowan, 3/24)
The Boston Globe: Mass. Health Program Searches For The Hard-To-Reach
[Delis] Rivera is among a new cadre of health care workers enlisted in an ambitious Massachusetts experiment to improve care and reduce costs for some of the state’s sickest and poorest residents. The first-in-the-nation program, called One Care, is for people on both Medicare and Medicaid, those living with disabilities, and with little or no income. Their care is managed by one of two nonprofit health insurers, Tufts and Commonwealth Care Alliance. (Dayal McCluskey, 3/25)
The Texas Tribune: Texas Planned Parenthood Affiliate Joins Lawsuit Over Secret Videos
A Texas-based Planned Parenthood affiliate on Thursday moved to join a federal lawsuit filed in California against the anti-abortion group behind undercover videos of the organization’s clinics. The lawsuit, filed in a San Francisco-based federal court in January, alleges the Center for Medical Progress engaged in conspiracy, fraud and other activities that violate organized crime law and other federal regulations in its pursuit of secretly recorded videos of Planned Parenthood. Citing recordings of staff at a Houston clinic, Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast filed to join the lawsuit as a plaintiff. (Ura, 3/24)
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: Ron Johnson Pushes CDC For Answers On Elizabethkingia Bacteria Outbreak
U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) is calling on the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to answer questions into how the agency is handling a bacterial outbreak in Wisconsin tied at least 17 deaths and dozens of illnesses. (Rutledge, 3/24)
The Cincinnati Enquirer: Community Paramedicine Can Add Followups To EMS Service
Emergency medical programs across the country are studying ways to get medical services to the people who need them, and community paramedicine is a program getting a lot of attention. EMS programs in Springfield Township and Colerain Township are both investigating how to best use a paramedicine model in their communities. (Key, 3/24)
The Denver Post: $3M Of Fraudulent Medicaid Billings Recovered From Colorado AG
More than $3 million of fraudulent Medicaid billings were recovered after an 18-month investigation revealed that eight Colorado anesthesia providers were allegedly charging patients incorrectly. A total of $3,020,953 was recovered by the Colorado Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, according to a news release from the AG's office Tuesday. (3/24)
The Associated Press: License Revoked From Doctor Who Bilked Insurers
New Jersey's Board of Medical Examiners has revoked the license of a doctor who bilked insurers of $280,000. Sixty-one-year-old Albert Ades of Englewood billed insurers, including Medicare and Medicaid, for face-to-face nonexistent office visits from 2005 through June 2014. He pleaded guilty last year to health care fraud and agreed to forfeit his medical license. (3/24)
Minnesota Public Radio: All In The Family: Minneapolis Teen Health Clinic Grows Into New Role
A Minneapolis health clinic credited with helping the state drive the number of unwanted teen pregnancies to historic lows is changing with the times as patient demand wanes for its teen-only reproductive care. (Benson, 3/25)
The Associated Press: Ex-Home Health Care Provider Sentenced In Medicaid Case
A former home health care provider in Virginia has been sentenced to eight months in federal prison for defrauding the Medicaid program. U.S. Attorney John P. Fishwick said Thursday that 43-year-old Amanda Moye Randolph of Palmyra also was ordered to pay more than $136,000 in restitution. (3/25)
The Connecticut Mirror: State To Close Two Centers For Those With Intellectual Disabilities
State officials Thursday announced plans to close by June 30 two state-run facilities that provide residential care for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities. The move was pegged as a "change in strategic direction" as the state looks to outsource those services to private providers to save money. (Rabe Thomas and Levin Becker, 3/24)
