Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: Initiative To Have Taxpayers Foot Bill For Lead Paint Clean-Up To Be On Calif. Ballot; Minn. Health System Suspends Ketamine Sedation Study
The Associated Press: California Lead Paint Liability Initiative Heads To Ballot
California voters will likely see an initiative on the November ballot that limits the liability of lead paint companies by authorizing bond funding to clean up the paint and other health hazards in buildings in the state. The California Secretary of State announced Tuesday that backers of the measure collected enough signatures to make the ballot. (6/26)
The Associated Press: Hospital Suspends Trial Of Paramedics Administering Ketamine
Hennepin Healthcare is suspending a clinical trial of the sedative ketamine in emergency situations following criticism that its hospital, Hennepin County Medical Center, enrolled patients in the study without their knowledge. Paramedics’ use of the sedative on agitated people during emergency calls is already the subject of an independent investigation commissioned by the City of Minneapolis. The number of documented ketamine injections during police calls increased from three in 2012 to 62 last year, according to an investigation by the Minneapolis Office of Police Conduct. (6/26)
The Star Tribune: More Hennepin Healthcare Studies To Be Suspended In Sedation Debate
A day after suspending its study of the use of ketamine on agitated people by paramedics, Hennepin Healthcare said it would halt similar clinical trials that seek consent from patients only after treatment. Dr. William Heegaard, chief medical officer for the hospital system, appeared before the Hennepin County Board Tuesday to respond to ethical concerns over a ketamine study in which patients are enrolled without their consent. (Mannix, 6/26)
San Francisco Chronicle: California Bill Aimed At Lowering Health Care Costs Gets Shelved
A bill aimed at banning a hospital contracting practice that patient advocates say leads to higher health care prices for consumers has been withdrawn by its author, state Sen. Bill Monning, D-Carmel. The proposed legislation, SB538, sought to end so-called “all or nothing” contracting — a practice used by large health systems to require health insurers to contract with all their hospitals and affiliates, or none at all. (Ho, 6/26)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Federal Officials 'Disappointed' In Milwaukee's Lead Crisis Response
An official with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development voiced his frustration with the city's response to the crisis in a recent letter to U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Milwaukee), prompting her to criticize the city's lead poisoning prevention efforts. ...Moore, who requested the federal review, stopped short of directing criticism at Mayor Tom Barrett and interim Health Commissioner Patricia McManus, saying she knows that both care "very deeply" about the issue. (Spicuzza and Bice, 6/27)
The Washington Post: Oklahoma Voters Just Approved One Of The Most Progressive Medical Marijuana Bills In The Country
Oklahoma voters approved a medical marijuana bill on Tuesday, making the state the 30th in the nation to permit the use of marijuana with a doctor’s recommendation. The measure is notable for reflecting one of the most permissive medical cannabis policies in the country. While most states specify a narrow list of medical conditions for which doctors can recommend the plant, in Oklahoma doctors will be able to recommend it for any condition. (Ingraham, 6/27)
Nashville Tennessean: KIDS COUNT Report: Tennessee Improves In Education, Health
Tennessee children saw improvements in education and health this past year, although they still struggle with economic well-being and family and community, according to the 2018 KIDS COUNT report. The report ranked Tennessee 27th overall in health, 33rd in economic well-being, 35th in education and 38th in family and community. The state maintained its overall national rank of 35. (Pair, 6/26)
Los Angeles Times: L.A. County Supervisors Call For Review Of Child Protection System In Wake Of Anthony Avalos' Death
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday ordered officials in charge of child protection to examine shortcomings in the system in the wake of a 10-year-old boy’s death last week. Anthony Avalos was found unresponsive at his family’s home in Lancaster on June 20 with severe head injuries and cigarette burns covering his body. He died Thursday. The Times reported Sunday that at least 16 calls had been made to the county’s child abuse hotline and to police before Anthony died. Callers alleged that he or his six siblings had been denied food and water, beaten, sexually abused, dangled upside-down from a staircase, forced to crouch for hours, locked in small spaces with no access to the bathroom, and forced to eat from the trash. (Agrawal, 6/26)
Dallas Morning News: New $250 Million Medical Center Could Bring 1,800 Jobs To Mesquite
A new 60-acre medical campus being planned in the city of Mesquite is perhaps the latest sign of economic growth for an area some feared had been left behind North Texas’ development boom. The $250 million Verde Center at Peachtree will be located on an undeveloped property at the southwest corner of the Gross Road exit off Interstate 635, around the South Mesquite Creek between Gross and Peachtree roads and the LBJ Freeway. (Rice, 6/26)
Kansas City Star: KCU Breaks Ground On New Simulation Center For Medical Ed
It was him, in the flesh, speaking, but holograms are being used in medical education now, and when the $33 million, 56,000-square-foot KCUMB simulation center opens next year, it will be equipped with virtual reality and haptic technology, which recreates the sense of touch. ...KCUMB is joining medical schools in Kansas City and across the country in moving to more training through simulation before students ever put their hands on an actual patient. (Marso, 6/27)
Boston Globe: Partners HealthCare Shifting 100,000 Employees, Families To Company-Owned Insurer
Partners HealthCare, the state’s largest private employer, plans to shift health coverage for all of its employees and their families to the company’s own insurance business, Neighborhood Health Plan, in a move aimed at containing costs. The company’s decision — which affects about 100,000 people — is a boon to Neighborhood Health Plan and a blow to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, which counted Partners as one of its biggest accounts and has administered Partners employee health benefits for more than two decades. (Dayal McCluskey, 6/27)
California Healthline: At L.A. Clinic, Free Showers Can Get Homeless People In To See A Doctor
Gregory Andrews, 60, sleeps in his Chevy Malibu just outside a health clinic on the west side of Los Angeles. In the morning, he lines up there for a free shower. “Besides trying to find something healthy to eat, the next most important thing is to take a shower,” Andrews said. “It keeps your self-esteem up.” Not many health clinics offer showers, but Saban Community Clinic, where Andrews goes, has been doing it for about three decades. The clinic serves an urgent need, given L.A. County’s growing homeless population, which is up almost 50 percent in the past six years to roughly 53,000, though it dipped slightly this year, according to the annual homeless count. (Gorman, 6/26)
Richmond Times-Dispatch: Northam Grants Up To 8 Weeks Parental Leave To State Workers, Plans Study Of Child Care Options
Gov. Ralph Northam is moving to bolster Virginia’s state workforce with a pair of executive orders that will grant up to eight weeks of paid parental leave to state employees and create an advisory panel to recommend ways to help state workers with child care and early childhood education. ...The governor said the order creating paid parental leave will help state employees with young families who previously have relied on federal law that protects their jobs while on family leave but doesn’t require employers to pay them. (Martz, 6/26)
WBUR: Why Boston Medical Center Is Investing In Housing
A third of the units in Waldeck are uninhabitable, according to Codman NDC. But now, thanks to an $800,000 investment from Boston Medical Center, Codman says it wants to turn the row of downtrodden buildings into a paragon of well-being. (Rios, 6/27)
Texas Tribune: Danny Bible Faces Execution In A 1979 Texas Rape And Murder. He Says He's Too Sick For Lethal Injection.
[Danny] Bible and his attorneys are fighting his execution, in part claiming that he is too sick to be put to death by lethal injection — that his veins are too weak and he will likely choke laying on his back on the gurney. ...They’ve argued that since courts require inmates to propose an alternative when generally challenging a state’s execution method, Texas could consider killing him using a firing squad or nitrogen gas. (Jolie McCullough,6/27)
