State Highlights: Insurers Wary Of Texas Trial Lawyers; Governor Signs Neb. Primary Care Law; Nursing Home Troubles In Kansas, Ga.
News outlets report on health issues in Texas, Nebraska, Kansas, Georgia, Arizona, Wisconsin, Wyoming, West Virginia, Massachusetts, New Mexico and Hawaii.
The Dallas Morning News:
Health Insurers Fear Texas Trial Lawyers Are Seeking Billions, But Attorneys Say That's Hype
Texas health insurers and hospitals clashed Wednesday over whether the insurance companies face a dire threat from computer-assisted, mischief-making trial lawyers. The issue is whether plaintiffs’ lawyers, assisted by data mining companies, are about to collect billions from insurers for dragging their feet on reimbursement claims. (Garrett, 3/30)
The Associated Press:
Ricketts Signs Bill Allowing Direct Primary Care In Nebraska
Medical patients in Nebraska will have the option to pay doctors directly for consultations and physicals rather than through insurance under a bill signed by Gov. Pete Ricketts. The law approved Wednesday allows medical practitioners to offer direct primary care agreements. (3/30)
The Kansas City Star:
Kansas Task Force Targets 'Grossly Substandard' Nursing Home Care
Kansas is one of 10 states where the U.S. Justice Department is launching an Elder Justice Task Force to combat “grossly substandard care” of residents in nursing homes. The task forces combine federal prosecutors and law enforcement agencies with state and local agencies. They are part of the Justice Department’s Elder Justice Initiative. (Davis, 3/30)
Georgia Health News:
Closing Of Troubled Nursing Home Shakes Small Community To Its Core
The nursing home had closed and all its beds were empty, yet its parking lot was jammed with cars one afternoon last week. Former employees of Abbeville Healthcare and Rehab were arriving one last time — to pick up their final paychecks. They were also bringing food and beverages to hold a farewell party in the facility’s cafeteria. (Miller and Fite, 3/30)
The Associated Press:
FBI: Hospice Nurses Told To Overdose Patients To Speed Death
An FBI affidavit alleges the owner of a Dallas-area hospice ordered nurses to increase drug dosages for patients to speed their deaths and maximize profits. A copy of an affidavit for a search warrant obtained by KXAS-TV alleges Brad Harris ordered higher dosages for at least four patients at Novus Health Services in Frisco. It’s unclear whether any deaths resulted from overdoses. Harris has not been charged and the FBI on Wednesday declined to say whether an investigation is ongoing. (3/30)
Cronkite News:
Report: Hundreds Of Arizona Prison Inmates Attempted Suicide In 2015
Nearly 500 convicts in Arizona’s prison system attempted suicide in 2015, despite efforts to push for better mental health treatment and a legal settlement ordering the Department of Corrections to improve psychiatric services. Two inmates, one from the Florence prison and another from the Tucson facility, recently died in the span of three weeks, making a total of four deaths so far since November. (Lieberman, 3/30)
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:
1 More Death Tied To Elizabethkingia Outbreak
One more death has been linked to the outbreak of Elizabethkingia bacteria this week and two more people with infections have been reported to the state Department of Health Services. That brings the number of deaths to 18, as state and federal health officials struggle to identify a source of the bloodstream infections that began showing up in Wisconsin in November. (Gabler, 3/30)
Wyoming Public Radio:
Wyoming's Board Of Medicine Given Low Marks For Keeping Patients Informed
A national magazine has given Wyoming’s Board of Medicine low marks for failing to provide easy access to the disciplinary records of doctors in the state. (Beck, 3/30)
The Associated Press:
Tomblin Signs Bill Giving Nurse Practitioners More Freedom To Practice
Governor Earl Ray Tomblin signed a bill this week giving the more than 1,700 nurse practitioners in West Virginia the ability to diagnose and treat patients without physician oversight. Nurse practitioners in West Virginia are required to work under the guidance of a physician. But in the past, advanced practice nurses couldn’t always find physicians to sign off on their work, sometimes leaving patients without care. House Bill 4334 attempts to address that problem. (3/30)
The Associated Press:
Auditor OKs Plan To Privatize Some Mental Health Services
State Auditor Suzanne Bump has approved a proposal from the state Department of Mental Health to privatize emergency mental health services in the department's southeastern region. Bump said Wednesday the change could save $7 million over one year. (3/30)
The Associated Press:
Judge Bars Companies From Leaving Hospital Service Contract
A judge has barred two companies from ending their dialysis services agreement with Regional West Medical Center in Scottsbluff. Renal Treatment Center and DaVita Healthcare Partners have a five-year contract with the hospital. The two have told the hospital that the agreement provisions had made it financially untenable, so they intended to withdraw from the contract Wednesday unless it was modified. (3/30)
The Casper Star Tribune:
Wyoming Attorney General Settles Claims Against Cancer Charities
The Wyoming attorney general and the Federal Trade Commission have settled claims against two nationwide cancer charities that spent the majority of donations on personal matters, he attorney general announced Wednesday. A permanent injunction has dissolved the Cancer Fund of America Inc. and Cancer Support Services Inc. The leader of the organizations, James Reynolds Sr., is banned from profiting from charity fundraising and nonprofit work and from serving as a charity’s director again. (Schrock, 3/30)
The Santa Fe New Mexican:
Worries Linger Over Pesticide To Be Used In Gila Trout Reintroduction
The New Mexico Game and Fish Department wants to use a pesticide that some scientists say could pose health risks for humans and other species to help re-establish the native Gila trout population in waterways in the Gila National Forest. The trout were wiped out by a massive 2012 wildfire. But recent studies have directly linked rotenone exposure to an individual’s likelihood of developing Parkinson’s disease, and some scientists say the pesticide’s threat to humans and the environment should be studied further. (Moss, 3/30)
The Associated Press:
Hawaii Bill Would Allow Gun Seizure After Hospitalization
Hawaii gun owners are speaking out against a bill they say would allow police to take their guns without due process. State lawmakers moved forward Wednesday with a bill to force gun owners to immediately surrender firearms after undergoing an emergency hospitalization for mental health issues. The proposed law would require police to give gun owners written notice to immediately surrender all firearms. But if gun owners fail to do so, the chief of police could seize all firearms and ammunition. (Riker, 3/30)
