State Highlights: Group Sues To Change Wording Of Ballot Initiative To Raise Montana’s Tobacco Taxes; States’ Top Health Concerns Revealed In Study On Google Trends
Media outlets report on news from Montana, Texas, D.C., Louisiana, Minnesota, California, Massachusetts, Colorado, New Hampshire and Florida.
The Associated Press:
Tobacco-Funded Group Sues Over Montana Citizen Tax Measure
A tobacco industry-funded group wants to change the wording of a citizen's ballot initiative that would significantly raise Montana's tobacco taxes, a legal challenge that is part of the group's expensive effort to defeat the measure when it goes to voters in November. The lawsuit filed with the Montana Supreme Court Monday by Montanans Against Tax Hikes takes issue with specific phrasing contained in the 135-word ballot statement, saying the language is incorrect, will cause confusion and prevent voters from casting an informed ballot. (8/7)
Houston Chronicle:
ADHD, Syphilis And AIDS: Study Reveals Each State's Most Googled Health Problem
A new study found that the most Googled health problem in Texas for 2018 was ADHD. Texas was joined by nine other states who also had residents searching for more information on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Medicare Health Plans, a health insurance company, put together the research using Google trends. (Ramirez, 8/7)
The Washington Post:
‘Sex-Positive’ D.C. Briefly Promoted Trump’s Abstinence-Only Sex Education Policy
Talk about strange bedfellows. The District government — which proudly boasts a “sex-positive” public health strategy — this week became an unexpected and fleeting ally to the Trump administration’s abstinence-only approach to sex education. D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser’s office on Monday headlined its weekly roundup of local, federal and privately funded grant opportunities with $14 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for “sexual risk avoidance education.” (Nirappil, 8/7)
The Star Tribune:
UnitedHealth Deal In Louisiana Includes Clinics
UnitedHealth Group's acquisition this summer of a Medicare health plan in Louisiana also includes a small addition to the Minnetonka-based company's growing network of medical clinics. Last week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) cleared a deal announced in June for UnitedHealth Group to purchase Peoples Health Inc., a Louisiana-based HMO operating in one of the few states where the health insurer isn't already one of the three largest sellers of Medicare Advantage health plans. (Snowbeck, 8/7)
The Star Tribune:
Measles Sickens 5-Year-Old Child In Hennepin County
A 5-year-old in Hennepin County’s Somali-American community has been sickened by the measles after returning from Africa, the Minnesota Department of Health said Tuesday. The development comes nearly a year after a 2017 measles outbreak infected 75 children and adults — the state’s largest measles outbreak in roughly three decades. Most, but not all, were Somali-Americans in Hennepin County who had not been vaccinated for the infection. (Howatt, 8/7)
Los Angeles Times:
USC Names Retired Aerospace Executive Wanda Austin As Acting President, Announces Nikias' Departure
USC appointed a retired aerospace executive as interim president and laid out a detailed plan for selecting a permanent leader Tuesday, ending speculation about whether outgoing President C.L. Max Nikias might remain in the post. Nikias, embattled over his administration’s handling of a campus gynecologist accused of sexually abusing patients, relinquished his duties after a meeting of USC’s board. The trustees tapped one of their own, Wanda Austin, an alumna and former president of the Aerospace Corp., to temporarily run the university. (Ryan, 8/7)
Boston Globe:
Brown’s Medical School Will Keep Affiliation With Care New England Even If Partners Moves In
Brown University will keep its affiliation with Rhode Island’s second-largest hospital system even if that system is acquired by Boston-based Partners HealthCare. The organizations said Tuesday that they have signed an agreement ensuring that Brown’s Warren Alpert Medical School will be the primary research and teaching partner of Care New England Health System of Providence. (Dayal McCluskey, 8/7)
Modern Healthcare:
Tenet CEO: Conifer Buyer Should Pay For Value We've Added
Tenet Healthcare's CEO on Tuesday hinted at behind-the-scenes price wrangling as the company tries to sell its revenue cycle subsidiary, Conifer. Ron Rittenmeyer told analysts and investors on its second-quarter earnings call Tuesday morning that the Dallas-based for-profit hospital chain has improved Conifer's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization by more than $70 million over the past three quarters, and it expects cost savings to reach $90 million by year-end. (Bannow, 8/7)
Los Angeles Times:
L.A. County To Test New Efforts To Assist People Living In Vehicles
The L.A. County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to create a pilot program to assist people living in vehicles and to reduce the hazards associated with vehicle dwelling. The program will consist of outreach to people living in their cars, vans and RVs to connect them with social services, money to discourage the use and reuse of dilapidated RVs as dwellings, and a solid- and hazardous-waste collection program, including free sharps containers. (Agrawal, 8/7)
Boston Globe:
Neighborhood Health Plan To Be Rebranded As AllWays Health Partners
For decades, Neighborhood Health Plan was known for serving the poor. ...Now, reflecting a remarkable shift in the company’s focus, poor and low-income people make up a fraction of its business. The company is doubling down on a strategy to sell insurance to employers and their workers in hopes of competing with the state’s largest health plans. (Dayal McCluskey, 8/7)
KQED:
Malfunctions At Shell's Martinez Refinery More Serious Than First Reported
Several malfunctions at Shell's East Bay refinery last month, which led to a health advisory in Martinez and Pacheco, were more dangerous than first acknowledged. In the hours following a flaring incident on July 6, the company initially reported that a fire in a compressor unit at its Martinez facility led to the release of more than 100 pounds of hydrogen sulfide. (Goldberg, 8/8)
Denver Post:
Centura Health, Arapahoe Community College Launch Apprenticeship Program For Medical Assistants
Facing a growing demand for workers, Centennial-based Centura Health has teamed up with Arapahoe Community College to create a new apprenticeship program for medical assistants in hopes of creating a pipeline of employees. The six-month program, which launched last month, aims to train future medical assistants by pairing online and laboratory education components with 32 hours per week of paid apprenticeship work at Centura Health facilities. Those who complete the program successfully and become certified will be hired on as medical assistants by Centura Health. (Seaman, 8/7)
New Hampshire Public Radio:
Southeast N.H., Higher Elevations Will See Poor Air Quality This Week
State officials say current unhealthy ozone concentrations will spread in New Hampshire through mid-week. (Ropeik, 8/7)
Health News Florida:
Ruling Rejects Limits On Medical Marijuana Businesses
In a ruling that could have a revolutionary impact if it stands, a Tallahassee judge has found a law limiting the number of medical marijuana operators in Florida runs afoul of a constitutional amendment approved by voters two years ago. The cap on the number of “medical marijuana treatment centers,” as they are known in Florida law, “directly contradicts the amendment,” Leon County Circuit Judge Charles Dodson ruled in an eight-page order last week. (Kim, 8/7)
