State Highlights: Illinois’ Psychiatric Facilities For Kids So Bad Some Teens Chose Jail, Advocates Say; D.C. Failed To Provide Mental Health Services For Troubled Children, Suit Claims

ProPublica: Illinois Lawmakers Search For Solutions For Children Stuck in Psychiatric Hospitals
Illinois lawmakers Tuesday heard testimony from nearly a dozen doctors and child welfare advocates describing circumstances facing children who languish in psychiatric hospitals even after they had been cleared for discharge — circumstances so harrowing that some children chose jail over another night at a psychiatric facility. State Sen. Julie Morrison, a Democrat from Deerfield, called for the Senate Human Services Committee hearing following a ProPublica Illinois investigation that revealed that hundreds of children in care of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services spent weeks or months at a time locked in psychiatric hospitals after doctors had cleared them for release. (Eldeib and Floyd, 8/14)

The Washington Post: Lawsuit Alleges D.C. Has Failed Hundreds Of Emotionally Disturbed Children
Attorneys at several disability rights organizations have filed a class-action lawsuit against the D.C. government, alleging that District officials have failed to provide adequate mental-health services for hundreds of severely troubled children. The suit, filed in federal court Tuesday on behalf of two unnamed minors, states that the District did not give the children access to intensive outpatient counseling and mentoring programs. (Jamison, 8/14)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: For The First Time In Years, Health Care May Be A Winning Issue For Democrats
Democrats are optimistic that the health care divide will break in their favor for the November election; polling, Google Analytics data and special election results point to an electorate more concerned about the issue. But Republicans are confident that a strong economy will stave off any blue wave in Ohio, regardless of the increased interest in health care. (Richardson, 8/14)

Reuters: Monsanto Roundup Appeal Has Uphill Climb On 'Junk Science' Grounds: Legal Experts
Bayer AG unit Monsanto faces long odds on an appeal blaming an "inflamed" jury and "junk science" for a verdict of $289 million in damages to a man who said the company's Roundup weed killer caused his cancer, according to some legal experts. Last week's verdict ended the first trial over whether glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup, causes cancer. Monsanto, which says decades of scientific studies have shown Roundup and glyphosate are safe, is facing about 5,000 similar lawsuits nationwide. (8/14)

Sacramento Bee: Sacramento Medical Society Aims To Curb Physician Burnout
The medical society, one of the oldest medical societies in the west, celebrating its 150th anniversary this year, is attempting to curb the effects of physician burnout through its Joy of Medicine program. The program is a multi-disciplinary approach to address burnout by encouraging wellness and resiliency among physicians in the region. (Holzer, 8/15)

Nashville Tennessean: Blue Cross Customers May Get 'Surprise' Bills For Anesthesia In Nashville
[Halie] Gallik is one of many pregnant women and surgery patients caught in the middle of a corporate tug of war that threatens to cost them hundreds or thousands in unexpected medical bills. Unless two giant companies broker a peace agreement soon, patients throughout Nashville and Middle Tennessee will end up paying more for anesthesia during non-emergency surgeries, including births. This abrupt rise in out-of-pocket costs is the result of stalled negotiations between the state’s largest insurance company, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, and the state’s largest anesthesiologist company, Anesthesia Medical Group, or AMG, which works in nearly every hospital in Middle Tennessee. The companies have been unable to agree on new insurance reimbursement rates, so BlueCross plans to remove AMG from its coverage network if a compromise is not reached by the end of the month. (Kelman, 8/14)

The Associated Press: Maryland Takes Responsibility For Mistakes In Player Death
The University of Maryland acknowledged Tuesday that the football player who collapsed during practice and subsequently died did not receive proper medical care and the school must accept “legal and moral responsibility for the mistakes.” Maryland also parted ways with strength and conditioning coach Rick Court, who resigned in the wake of the death of offensive lineman Jordan McNair. (Ginsburg, 8/14)

Sacramento Bee: 14,000 CalPERS Members Must Find A New 2019 Health Plan
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System recently negotiated its lowest premium increases in the past 21 years, which will mean lowered health premiums for 800,000 members in 2019. As a result of the changes, CalPERS will part ways with two major providers – Health Net and Blue Shield – in some areas. (Holzer, 8/15)

The Associated Press: Medical Device Maker Settles Suit Over Psychologist’s Death
A medical device maker has settled a lawsuit over the death of a prominent Yale University psychologist who died in 2013 when a machine part detached and caused her blood to be pumped onto a hospital room floor. Germany-based Maquet Cardiopulmonary and its U.S. sales division based in Wayne, New Jersey, settled the lawsuit in Connecticut with the husband of Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, according to documents filed Friday at Waterbury Superior Court. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. (Collins, 8/14)

Arizona Republic: Arizona Has Highest Ratio Of Students To School Counselors In U.S.
Arizona's student to school counselor ratio is the highest in the nation, averaging 903 students to every one counselor in public schools in the 2015-16 school year, according to data from the American School Counselor Association. Arizona held a 743-1 ratio a decade ago, but climbed as high as 941-1 in the post-recession years before slowly improving, data shows. (MacDonald-Evoy and Altavena, 8/14)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: East Jefferson General Hospital, HCA Partnership Talks End 
East Jefferson General Hospital and a partnership between Tulane University and national health care giant HCA have ended negotiations to form an alliance that might have had HCA take over the 420-bed Metairie medical center. It's the latest setback in a six-year effort to shore up finances and secure the legacy of one of Jefferson Parish's two publicly owned hospitals. The talks with University Healthcare System began in 2017, two years after the collapse of similar discussions between East Jefferson General and the Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA. HCA already jointly owns or operates Tulane Medical Center in New Orleans, Lakeside Hospital for Women and Children in Metairie and Lakeview Regional Medical Center at Covington. (Broach, 8/14)

Chicago Tribune: Northwestern Memorial Ranked Best Hospital In Illinois 
It’s lucky No. 7 for Northwestern Memorial Hospital: For the seventh year in a row, the Chicago hospital has been named the best in the state by U.S. News & World Report. Northwestern was also the only Illinois hospital to crack the top 20 in the country, settling into the No. 13 spot for the second year in a row, according to the rankings, which were released at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time Tuesday. (Schencker, 8/13)

Georgia Health News: Cancer Report Ranks Georgia Low, Cites State’s Tobacco Tax, Funding
Georgia earned high marks in just two of nine categories related to fighting cancer, according to a recent report. ...The state scored Green on access to palliative care and on funding for early detection of breast and cervical cancer. Medicaid coverage of tobacco cessation services received a “Yellow,’’ signifying moderate progress. (Miller, 8/14)

New Hampshire Union Leader: Study Points To Failing Skills, But AARP NH Says Many Drive Capably 
A new national study concludes many seniors outlive the age they are capable of driving by seven to 10 years, yet more than 80 percent fail to talk to a doctor or family member about it. But leaders of the New Hampshire chapter of the American Association of Retired Persons say many seniors can and do drive capably into their 80s and each person’s skills on the road erode on an individual basis. (Landrigan, 8/14)

The Associated Press: California May Redo Law To Treat, Free Suspects
California Gov. Jerry Brown wants to tighten a law he signed weeks ago that critics say could have freed rapists and murderers who completed two years of mental health treatment. The proposal obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday specifically bans those charged with murder, rape and other sex crimes from participating and allows judges to bar a much broader range of dangerous suspects. (Thompson, 8/14)

Pioneer Press: Former U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman Says He Has Lung Cancer
Former U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman announced on Facebook Tuesday that he has advanced lung cancer. Coleman, who served as mayor of St. Paul from 1994 to 2002, had previously battled throat and neck cancer. He said he is two weeks into chemotherapy treatment for Stage 4 lung cancer, an advanced stage where “the prognosis … is typically not optimistic.” (Melo, 8/14)

Arizona Republic: Circle The City Comes Full Circle With Phoenix Homeless Respite Clinic
It's been just a few weeks since Circle the City cut the ribbon on its new medical respite center — a 50-bed facility where people experiencing homelessness and medical concerns can live and get treatment from onsite doctors. Circle the City's concept for the respite center is simple and novel at the same time: "Everyone deserves a time and place to heal." (Boehm, 8/14)

The Associated Press: North Dakota Recreational Pot Measure Approved For Ballot
Supporters of legalizing recreational marijuana in North Dakota have succeeded in bringing the matter to a public vote later this year. Proponents submitted more than the required 13,452 valid petition signatures to get a measure on the November general election ballot, Secretary of State Al Jaeger announced Monday. Supporters submitted 17,695 signatures last month, and 14,637 were deemed valid, he said. (Nicholson, 8/14)