Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: In Calif., New Rules Limiting Narrow Networks Kick In; Md. Sick-Leave Bill Triggers Committee Debate
California Healthline: New Rules To Limit Narrow Networks
New regulations requiring California health care insurers to follow stricter guidelines for provider network adequacy, out-of-network notifications and accuracy of provider lists when dealing with the state Department of Insurance went into effect on Monday. (Gorn, 2/3)
The Washington Post: Mandatory Sick-Leave Bill Sparks Heated Debate At Md. Senate Committee Hearing
A bill that would mandate paid sick leave for Maryland businesses with 10 or more employees drew strong support and criticism Tuesday during a Senate Finance Committee hearing. Advocates said the legislation, sponsored by Sen. Catherine E. Pugh (D-Baltimore), would help employers by allowing their workers to stay home while ill, preventing the spread of disease and getting them back on the job faster. About 40 percent of private-sector workers — or more than 700,000 Marylanders — lack paid sick leave, according to the advocacy group Working Matters. (Hernandez, 2/4)
Arizona Republic: Arizona Sued Over Poor Foster-Care Conditions
The suit seeks a series of remedies, ranging from an increase in foster homes to timely medical care. The suit uses pseudonyms for the 10 child plaintiffs, who range in age from 3 to 14. It seeks class action by the court on behalf of all children in state foster care. As of September, there were 16,990 children in state custody, according to the latest data from the Department of Child Safety. (Pitzl, 2/3)
The Wall Street Journal: Lawsuit Accuses Arizona Of Placing Foster Children In Jeopardy
Child-welfare advocates filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday accusing Arizona officials of jeopardizing the well-being of nearly 17,000 children in the state’s foster-care system by failing to provide sufficient health-care services and an adequate number of foster homes. The complaint comes as Arizona’s foster-care population rose more rapidly in recent years than any other state in the nation. Some foster children, the lawsuit alleges, slept in offices because they didn’t have homes. (Lazo, 2/3)
The Associated Press: Lawsuit Claims Arizona Fails To Care For Foster Children
Children's advocacy groups on Tuesday sued the state of Arizona, claiming it violated the civil rights of nearly 17,000 children in its foster care system by exposing them to possible harm. The suit filed in U.S. District Court in Phoenix said the state fails to provide needed mental and other health care, and enough foster homes to house children removed from their families. (Christie, 2/3)
The Kansas Health News Service: Cost Concerns Cloud Fate Of Disability Savings Accounts
A Kansas House committee unanimously passed a bill Tuesday to allow for tax-free savings accounts for children with disabilities. But even as they sent the bill to the full House, committee members expressed concern that cost could keep it from coming up for a vote there. House Bill 2100 would allow the families of Kansas children with disabilities up to age 26 to set aside up to $14,000 a year for them, with up to $100,000 not counting against their Medicaid benefits. (Marso, 2/3)
The Kansas Health Institute News Service: Kansas Proposed Budget Reduces Grants For Safety Net Clinics
Gov. Sam Brownback’s plan for plugging a more than $325 million hole in the current fiscal year’s budget includes a $254,000 cut in state-funded grants for safety net clinics that provide care for the poor and uninsured. The governor also has proposed taking an additional $378,000 from the grant program in fiscal 2016 and 2017. (Ranney, 2/3)
Stateline: The Changing Face Of Heroin
Beginning in the 1920s, when heroin became illegal, people tended to think of heroin abuse as a problem plaguing people of color in the big cities. But in the past decade, heroin abuse has exploded—and it is hitting white people in suburbs and rural areas particularly hard. As the demographics of heroin use have changed, so have states’ efforts to combat the problem. Twenty-seven states and the District of Columbia now have laws designed to make naloxone, a heroin antidote that is 99 percent effective, more easily accessible to overdose victims, according to the Network for Public Health Law. Last year, 21 states and the District adopted so-called “Good Samaritan laws” that provide some type of immunity for people calling 911 to report or seek help for an overdose. (Wiltz, 2/4)
The Chicago Tribune: Sheriffs Look For Funding To Care For Prisoners' Health
As the role of a county jail evolves into more than a prison to a mental and medical health provider for the incarcerated, paying for the ever-growing costs associated with that care has become a problem for sheriffs across the state. And with recent changes in legislation last year that forced county jails and community corrections programs to house low-level state offenders instead of sending them to the Indiana Department of Correction an anticipated influx of as many as 14,000 new inmates, many with special mental health needs, has sheriffs looking for more funding from the state to help pay for those costs. (Napoleon, 2/3)
