Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: In Calif., Anthem Blue Cross Faces Hefty Fine For Failing To Resolve Consumer Grievances; Texas Nursing Home Chain Files For Bankruptcy
California Healthline: California Fines Anthem $5 Million For Failing to Address Consumer Grievances
California’s managed-care regulator announced Wednesday it has fined insurance giant Anthem Blue Cross $5 million for repeatedly failing to resolve consumer grievances in a timely manner. The state Department of Managed Health Care criticized Anthem, the nation’s second-largest health insurer, for systemic violations and a long history of flouting the law in regard to consumer complaints. (Terhune, 11/15)
Dallas Morning News: Plano-Based Nursing Home Chain Files For Bankruptcy Due To ‘Overwhelming Amount’ Of Lawsuits
The Plano-based operator of one of the nation’s largest nursing home chains filed for bankruptcy Monday, citing an “overwhelming amount” of lawsuits and huge legal payouts. Preferred Care Partners, headquartered on 5420 W. Plano Parkway, noted a $28 million verdict in October for a personal injury claim. But the company also has more than 160 other pending lawsuits, mainly in Kentucky and New Mexico, the court documents said. (Rice, 11/15)
Los Angeles Times: Anaheim Legionnaires' Outbreak Grows; 11 Cases Linked To Disneyland Visits
The number of people diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease after spending time in Anaheim or Disneyland increased to 15, Orange County health officials said Wednesday. The victims were infected between late August and October, officials said. Two patients have died, though neither of them visited Disneyland. (Karlamangla, 11/15)
Boston Globe: Caught In A Financial Crisis, UMass Boston Begins To Cut Jobs
University of Massachusetts Boston officials began a first round of layoffs Wednesday, the latest step in the university’s effort to help solve its major financial problems. ...In all, administrators plan to lay off 36 people this week and reduce the hours of seven more, all of them staff who clean the school, help run academic programs, work in the student health office, or in other ways support the daily operations of the university. (Krantz, 11/15)
Star Tribune: A Model To Protect Seniors
In many states, a violent assault like this one would vanish in a bureaucratic haze. In Minnesota, thousands of allegations of abuse in senior care homes, including beatings and sexual assaults, go uninvestigated each year, records show. (Serres, 11/16)
Bloomberg: California's Famed Cancer Warnings Imperiled By Federal Push
Seizing on the Trump administration’s deregulation drive, corporate lobbyists are pushing to override state laws on ingredient-disclosure rules and warning labels, including landmark California legislation on potential cancer risks. The goal is to set a single federal law that could replace a barrage of state label requirements, making it easier for industries ranging from chemical manufacturing to food production. (Coleman-Lochner, 11/15)
The Associated Press: Couples Sue Fertility Clinic Over Eggs With Genetic Defect
Two couples are suing a New York fertility doctor and his clinic after giving birth to children with a genetic abnormality later traced back to donated eggs. The two children, both born in 2009, have Fragile X syndrome, a genetic condition that can lead to intellectual and developmental impairments. The parents, identified by initials and last names in legal papers, argue the doctor and the clinic failed to test the women who donated the eggs to determine whether they were carriers for Fragile X. They’re seeking damages for the added expenses of raising a disabled child. (Klepper, 11/15)
The Baltimore Sun: Cord Blood Bank Program Struggling Amid Costs And Declining Usage
Similar to bone marrow, stem cells extracted from the blood of an umbilical cord can be used to treat and cure more than 80 life-threatening diseases by helping to rebuild the immune system. Cord blood is often preferable to bone marrow because it is easier to match and has a significantly lower risk of the cells being rejected. But it is often thrown out as medical waste after a baby’s birth. To increase access to stem cells and their use, the federal government in 2005 created public banks like the one at Mercy that [Laura] Brinkley donated to. The 19 banks still open have seen success in the units of blood collected but have struggled financially. Some others closed. (McDaniels, 11/16)
Columbus Dispatch: Firefighters Have To Accept Some Responsibility For Dealing With Carcinogens, State Rep Tells Forum
The 80 new firefighters Columbus plans to hire next year could be among the first to really understand the risk of cancer they face on the job. For the 50 city firefighters who are expected to retire in 2018 and thousands of others, it could be too late. (Rouan, 11/16)
California Healthline: California Firm Running Physician Practices Is Closing Down As Scrutiny Ramps Up
SynerMed, a company that manages physician practices serving hundreds of thousands of Medicaid and Medicare patients across California, is planning to shut down amid scrutiny from state regulators and health insurers. The company’s chief executive, James Mason, notified employees in an internal email Nov. 6, obtained by Kaiser Health News, that audits by health plans found “several system and control failures within medical management and other departments.” (Terhune, 11/15)
KCUR: Shawnee Mission Health Now A Member Of MD Anderson Cancer Network
Shawnee Mission Health has become the 17th member nationwide of the MD Anderson Cancer Network, joining forces with one of the top cancer centers in the United States. The affiliation follows a year-long certification process by MD Anderson and is a big leap forward for Shawnee Mission Health’s cancer center, which opened not quite four years ago. (Margolies, 11/15)
San Francisco Chronicle: California Judge Says Companies Must Remove Pre-1951 Lead Paint In Homes
Paint companies must pay the state for the cost of removing lead paint from the interior surfaces of homes in San Francisco, Alameda, San Mateo and seven other counties, a state appeals court ruled Tuesday. The Sixth District Court of Appeal in San Jose upheld a judge’s ruling that the three companies — Conagra, NL Industries and Sherwin-Williams — had marketed lead paint for decades while knowing of its health dangers to children. But the court narrowed the judge’s ruling, which previously had applied to homes built before the government outlawed lead paint in 1978. Instead, the ruling would cover only homes built before 1951, when the companies stopped advertising the product. (Egelko, 11/14)
