Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: How Colo.'s Single-Payer Ballot Question Is Splitting The Liberal Vote; In Ariz., Banner Health Buys 32 Urgent Care Centers
The Denver Post: Liberal Groups Split On ColoradoCare Universal Health Care Measure
A ballot measure that would provide universal health care coverage to all Coloradans has split open liberal politics in the state, with typical allies now standing on opposite sides. On Wednesday, the liberal group ProgressNow Colorado held a news conference outside its Uptown Denver offices to announce its opposition to the measure, known as Amendment 69 or ColoradoCare. The organization was joined by the abortion-rights group NARAL ProChoice Colorado and by Crisanta Duran, a Democrat who is the state House majority leader. (Ingold, 8/17)
Modern Healthcare: Banner Health Buys 32 Arizona Urgent-Care Centers
Banner Health said Wednesday that it has acquired 32 urgent-care centers in Arizona from Urgent Care Extra. Terms were not disclosed. Banner, which operates hospitals in seven Western states, said that the centers provide an important access point for patients outside of hospital emergency departments. The centers will be rebranded as Banner Urgent Care on Oct. 1. (Barkholz, 8/17)
Dallas Morning News: Texas' Rate Of Pregnancy-Related Deaths Nearly Doubles, And Neither Researchers Nor The State Knows Why
The rate of Texas women dying of pregnancy-related causes nearly doubled from 2010 to 2014, with the state seeing more than 600 such deaths in the four-year span. In a new study, set to be published in the September issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology, researchers found that Texas experienced a dramatic increase in pregnancy-related deaths from 2010 to 2012. While the rest of the country also experienced an increase, no other state saw the rate nearly double like it did in Texas. (Martin, 8/17)
Houston Chronicle: Life Flight: Saving Lives For 40 Years
At a time when Houston didn't even have an official ambulance system, the idea of medical helicopters swooping into urban mayhem and whisking away patients fighting for their lives might have seemed impossible. But Army veteran and trauma surgeon Dr. James "Red" Duke knew military helicopters saved lives on the battlefields of Korea and Vietnam, and he wanted to bolster survival rates by getting civilians who had been shot, stabbed or in car accidents to a hospital as quickly as possible. (Schiller, 7/17)
San Francisco Chronicle: Out-Of-Network Coverage Legislation Misdiagnoses Problem
A “surprise medical bill” is any bill where the insurer paid less than the patient expected, according to a 2015 Consumers Union report. To address “surprise” bills, Bonta’s AB72 has set a pay cap on doctors. That will only create more problems. ... AB72 would require insurers to reimburse out-of-network providers at 125 percent of the rate Medicare pays or of the insurer’s average contracted rate, whichever is greater. It does not address that insurers have narrowed their provider networks so significantly over the past five years that it is nearly impossible for patients to find a full complement of providers who work within their discounted network. (Natuzzi, 8/17)
Health News Florida: Supreme Court Sets Arguments On Abortion Waiting Period
The Florida Supreme Court will hear arguments Nov. 1 in a closely watched case about a 2015 law that would require women to wait 24 hours before having abortions. The court issued an order Tuesday setting the date for arguments. Abortion-rights supporters challenged the law, contending that it violates women's privacy rights. (News Service of Florida, 8/17)
Health News Florida: Worker Comp Insurers Looking For 19 Percent Rate Hike
Insurance researchers are recommending a nearly 20 percent hike in workers compensation rates. The increase comes in the wake of recent court decisions. Employers in Florida—nearly all of them—purchase workers compensation insurance to cover employee injuries. Those benefits can cover missed wages, medical costs and rehab. Right now, Florida premiums are near the middle of the pack compared to other states, but it wasn’t always that way. (Evans, 8/17)
The Star Tribune: Medtronic Warns Doctors On Heart Valve Delivery System After 19 Deaths Reported
In a letter publicized late Tuesday, the Minnesota-run company informed doctors that it is voluntarily updating its instructions for using the minimally invasive EnVeo R delivery system, which doctors use to implant the Evolut R aortic valve in the heart. The device is used to treat a narrowing of the valve called aortic stenosis, which can lead to heart failure, irregular heart beats and fainting. (Carlson, 8/17)
The Baltimore Sun: University Of Maryland, Frederick Memorial Hospital Team Up To Provide Dental Care To The Underserved
The University of Maryland School of Dentistry and the hospital have opened the Monocacy Health Partners Dental Clinic in a unique arrangement that school officials hope will serve as a model for providing dental care to low-income adults, who often still lack coverage even as access to health insurance has been vastly expanded in recent years under the federal Affordable Care Act. Last year alone more than 1,200 people seeking relief for a terrible toothache came to Frederick Memorial. (Cohn, 8/17)
Health News Florida: Transgender Inmate Sues Department Of Corrections Over Hormone Therapy
A transgender inmate is suing the Florida Department of Corrections. The woman argues she is being denied medically necessary treatment. Reiyn Keohane is a transgender woman currently being held in a male prison. Keohane has identified as female since the age of 12, and began hormone therapy at the age of 19. Since entering the Everglades Correctional Institution she has been denied that therapy. (Payne, 8/17)
Seattle Times: Blood Donors Needed As Supply Dips To Critical Low, Agency Says
With less than a day’s supply of vital type O blood on hand, Bloodworks Northwest has issued an urgent appeal for summer donors. Vacations typically cause blood supplies to dip by 15 percent, but this year, they’re down by as much as 25 percent, according to David Larsen, spokesman for the Seattle-based agency. It takes about 900 donors each day to maintain a sufficient supply of blood for more than 90 hospitals served by Bloodworks in Washington, Oregon and Alaska. (Aleccia, 8/17)
Arizona Republic: UA Medical-School Chief Fights Allegations Over Spending, Documents
The University of Arizona's top administrator overseeing medical schools in Phoenix and Tucson on Wednesday defended his agency's accomplishments and said he was "deeply troubled" by recent questions about his agency's spending of public funds and the accuracy of its public documents. Dr. Joe G.N. "Skip" Garcia, UA's senior vice president for health sciences, said in a statement that he was not aware of the "specifics of the allegations" that Arizona Board of Regents President Eileen Klein publicly aired during a meeting last Friday. (Alltucker, 8/17)
Pioneer Press: Transgender Woman Settles Lawsuit With Fairview Health
Fairview Health Services has settled a lawsuit brought by a transgender woman who was denied onsite treatment for chemical dependency. After moving from Colorado to attend Carleton College in Northfield, Minn., Nova Bradford developed a serious drug abuse problem and became homeless in 2014, according to a complaint filed last year in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis (Verges, 8/17)
