State Highlights: In Calif., L.A. County Launches New HIV Prevention Effort; Court Sides With Hospitals In Fla. Medicaid Rate Dispute

Los Angeles Times: L.A. County Officials Launch Effort To Curb HIV
Los Angeles County public health officials on Friday announced an effort aimed at reducing the annual number of HIV infections by more than two-thirds and bringing an end to the virus that causes AIDS. More than 60,000 people in the county live with HIV, the second-largest such population in the nation. Around 1,850 new cases are diagnosed here each year, the majority among LGBTQ residents, Latinos and African Americans. (Etehad, 12/1)

Health News Florida: Court Backs Hospitals In Outpatient Rate Dispute
Siding with dozens of hospitals across the state, an appeals court Thursday said the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration improperly dismissed challenges dealing with Medicaid reimbursement rates for outpatient care. (12/1)

The Wall Street Journal: Some New York City Workers Lacked Training For Lead-Paint Repairs
At least some of the city workers who fixed and repainted walls with possible lead paint in New York City public-housing apartments after the units had gone years without required inspections weren’t federally certified to perform the work. New York City Housing Authority Chairwoman Shola Olatoye said on Friday that the agency has been out of compliance with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rules requiring training for work involving lead paint since 2014. (Gay, 12/1)

The Washington Post: A Man Collapsed With ‘Do Not Resuscitate’ Tattooed On His Chest. Doctors Didn’t Know What To Do.
Doctors in Miami faced an unusual ethical dilemma when an unconscious, deteriorating patient was brought into the emergency room with the words “Do Not Resuscitate” across his chest. The 70-year-old man was taken earlier this year to Jackson Memorial Hospital, where doctors made their startling discovery: a chest tattoo that seemed to convey the patient's end-of-life wishes. The word “Not” was underlined, and the tattoo included a signature. It left the medical team grappling with myriad ethical and legal questions. (Bever, 12/1)

Concord Monitor: Report: Insurance Payment Differences For Mental Vs. Physical Health Is Highest In N.H.
Insurance payments for office visits related to mental health procedures are often lower than those related to physical health procedures, and a national study says that in some cases the discrepancy is bigger in New Hampshire than in any other state. “The number is probably a little fuzzy. If you use a different approach you’d probably get a little different number ... but it agrees with what we’ve found,” said Tyler Brannen, health care policy analyst with the New Hampshire Insurance Department, which has found similar discrepancies regarding Medicare payments. “It’s good to have more evidence: Yeah, somebody else says so, too.” (Brooks, 12/4)

The Boston Globe: Partners Defends Deal With Mass. Eye And Ear
Partners HealthCare and Massachusetts Eye and Ear on Thursday challenged the conclusions of a state watchdog agency that said Partners’ acquisition of the specialty hospital would significantly raise costs for consumers. (Dayal McCluskey, 12/1)

WBUR: Mass. Medical Society Drops Opposition To Medical Aid In Dying
The Massachusetts Medical Society voted Saturday to drop its opposition to physicians being able to help terminally ill patients end their lives. (Sundt, 12/2)

Nashville Tennessean: The Doctor Will See You Now — Via Skype
Why will telemedicine take off in Tennessee next year? Both carriers on Nashville’s individual market cover the service. In fact, it’s a key piece of newcomer Oscar Health’s value proposition to consumers. It isn’t just the individual market, either. Most carriers now cover telemedicine, and 30 states, including Tennessee, require private insurers to reimburse for the service. Even so, more consumers are interested in using telemedicine than have actually used it. According to a survey by Deloitte, half of consumers would be willing to use telemedicine, but tech consulting company Accenture reports just 21 percent of Americans have actually received care via telemedicine. (Tolbert, 12/1)

The Minneapolis Star Tribune: Rep. Matt Dean Tops GOP Governor Straw Poll
Dean, who is serving his seventh term in the state Legislature, has made health care — and particularly doing away with MNsure, the state’s individual insurance market — a focus of his campaign. (Golden, 12/2)

The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio's Abortion Clinic Inspections More Frequent Under Kasich
ince Republican Gov. John Kasich took office, state health inspectors have reported 17 times as many violations a year in Ohio abortion clinics as during the tenure of his predecessor, Democrat Ted Strickland. Although no one can prove a cause and effect absolutely, hundreds of records examined by The Dispatch show that not only the number of violations but also the types of violations found at abortion clinics during the health department’s inspections during the past 10 years have differed greatly depending on who is the governor. (Henry, 12/2)

The Boston Globe: Bridgewater Guards Go On Trial This Week In 2009 Patient Death
The medical examiner ruled that the guards caused Joshua Messier’s death when they forcefully strapped him down. (12/4)

Modern Healthcare: Scripps Will Cut Hospital Leadership Positions And $30 Million In Corporate Services
Scripps Health is eliminating chief executive positions and cutting corporate services by $30 million in order to remain "relevant and viable in a new health care era," according to the San Diego-based system's CEO. The CEO positions at each of the system's four hospitals will be cut. Scripps instead will have one CEO overseeing Scripps Encinitas, Green and La Jolla campuses, another chief executive for the Scripps Mercy San Diego and Chula Vista campuses and one CEO over ancillary services. These leaders will supervise chief operations executives at the facilities.In another move, Scripps will create a joint leadership model between hospital executives and physician leaders "to further align physician and hospital objectives." (12/2)

Los Angeles Times: Is This What The Doctor's Office Of The Future Will Look Like?
The new Forward medical clinic in Century City does not have a waiting room. The initial check-up with a doctor at Parsley, a new medical center in Playa Vista, involves a 75-minute meeting with a doctor and a session with a health coach. Loom, in Los Angeles, has a cozy space for clients to chat with a counselor about trying to get pregnant or dealing with a miscarriage. As people tire of long wait times, rushed visits, a reliance on prescription medicines and dealing with the morass that is the insurance system, some doctors, practitioners and entrepreneurs — especially those trying to attract millennial customers — are finding another way to deliver wellness. (Daswani, 12/2)

Los Angeles Times: Former Official Accused Of Stealing $800,000 From Nonprofit San Diego County Clinic
The former head of information technology at the nonprofit North County Health Services, which aids low-income people, pleaded not guilty Friday to siphoning nearly $800,000 from San Diego County organization. Hector Ramos, 55, of Murrieta, was charged with 49 counts related to the loss of the money, which authorities say happened over the course of eight months in 2015. (Figueroa, 12/1)

The Cleveland Plain Dealer: Quest Diagnostics Finalizes Purchase Of Cleveland Clinic Spinoff Cleveland HeartLab
Quest Diagnostics today finalized its acquisition of Cleveland Clinic spinoff Cleveland HeartLab. Cleveland HeartLab, a cardiovascular diagnostic testing company, has proprietary tests that use biomarkers to predict cardiovascular disease. With the deal, Quest, a New Jersey-based medical testing laboratory with locations around the world, adds those diagnostic tests, and others, to its offerings. (Christ, 12/1)

The Orlando Sentinel: Nemours Changes Strategy For Heart Transplant Application
Nemours Children’s Hospital is no longer planning to file an application for a pediatric heart transplant program during the state’s current certificate-of-need cycle. Instead, the hospital is focusing on its previous application, which was denied last year and is going through hearings with the state. (Miller, 12/3)

The Washington Post: Medical Marijuana Has Arrived In Maryland, And Sales Have Begun
At least 200 would-be customers were lined up outside Rockville’s first medical marijuana dispensary Friday afternoon when one of the owners announced that a cannabis shipment — including elixirs, tablets and flowers — had arrived. Bill Askinazi promised that everyone in line would go home with at least some marijuana, then said computer issues were delaying the start of sales, and rushed back inside. (Nirappil, Siegel and Gregg, 12/2)

Georgia Health News: Possible Bright Spot In Georgia’s Grim Infant Mortality Picture
Georgia’s infant mortality rate has risen over the last few years while the national rate has flattened or declined, Department of Public Health statistics show. (Miller, 12/1)

Los Angeles Times: Porter Ranch Residents Informed Of Brief Surge In Methane Levels At Aliso Canyon Gas Storage Facility
Methane levels briefly surged Friday night at the Aliso Canyon gas storage facility in the San Fernando Valley, prompting Southern California Gas Co. to notify nearby residents in Porter Ranch. The company sent out the notice late Friday night, saying that increased levels of methane had been found earlier that evening on two fence-line monitors along the facility border. (Reyes, 12/2)

Houston Chronicle: Texas Officials Issue Alert About Typhus Threat
Texas officials have issued a health alert about the rising threat of typhus in Houston and other parts of the state. The alert by the Texas Department of State Health Services calls on healthcare providers to increase their "clinical suspicion" for typhus symptoms, including fever, headache, muscle pain, anorexia, rash, nausea and vomiting. Such symptoms are often confused with many viral ailments. (Ackerman, 12/1)

Des Moines Register: Medical-Marijuana Firms May Have Been Dissuaded By Iowa's Fees And Restrictions
Potential medical-marijuana production companies might have shied away from Iowa’s new program because of high fees and a relatively small number of patients who could qualify, a top state administrator said Friday. Just one company, MedPharm Iowa, applied for a state license to grow marijuana plants and produce medications from them. The Iowa Department of Public Health announced this week that it intended to grant a license to the Des Moines company, which is owned by the president of the food supplement company Kemin Industries. A new state law allows the Iowa Department of Public Health to license up to two medical-cannabis production companies. (Leys, 12/1)