Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: Kansas Nurse Sets Off Organ Donation Chain With Decision To Give Kidney To Friend; Calif. Regulators OK $69 Billion CVS-Aetna Merger With Conditions
The Associated Press: Nurse’s Kidney Donation Triggers Bi-State Transplant Chain
A nurse’s decision to donate a kidney to a patient triggered a series of events that led to three people getting new organs at two Kansas City-area hospitals. Christa Jordan, a nurse at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, wanted to donate to her friend and patient, Dayshanae Hosman, who has a genetic condition called Alagille syndrome and went on dialysis in April, the Kansas City Star reported. (11/15)
Modern Healthcare: CVS-Aetna Merger OK'd By California Regulators
California regulators approved the $69 billion CVS-Aetna merger with conditions on Thursday, bringing the deal another step closer to the finish line. The state's Department of Managed Health Care said CVS and Aetna agreed to keep premium increases "to a minimum" after the merger, though the agency didn't define a threshold in its announcement. Like other commercial health insurers, Aetna will still be subject to rate reviews by the department. (Livingston, 11/15)
The Associated Press: 150 Victims Detail Sexual Abuse By Ex-Doctor At Ohio State
A law firm hired by Ohio State University to investigate a former team doctor accused of sexual misconduct against athletes and students hopes to wrap up its fact finding by the end of the year. The investigators told the university’s governing board Thursday about 150 former students have given firsthand accounts of alleged sexual misconduct by the now-deceased doctor. The law firm says the allegations against Richard Strauss cover a time from 1979 through 1997. (11/15)
New Hampshire Public Radio: Lawsuit: Dartmouth Failed To Prevent Harassment, Sexual Assault In Psychology Department For Years
Seven current and former students in Dartmouth's Psychological and Brain Sciences Department are suing the school over alleged mishandling of sexual assault and harassment reports, saying administrators ignored years of criminal behavior by tenured faculty members. A complaint filed in federal district court in New Hampshire Thursday describes a “21st Century Animal House,” where female students were harassed, assaulted and raped. The lawsuit seeks $70 million in damages. (Greene, 11/15)
Reuters: California Judge Orders Next Monsanto Weed-Killer Cancer Trial For March
A California judge on Thursday granted an expedited trial in the case of a California couple suffering from cancer who sued Bayer AG's Monsanto unit, alleging the company's glyphosate-containing weed killer Roundup caused their disease. The order by Superior Court Judge Ioana Petrou in Oakland, California, comes on the heels of a $289 million verdict in the first glyphosate trial in San Francisco, in which a jury found Monsanto liable for causing a school groundskeeper's cancer. (11/15)
The Associated Press: California Recommends Ending Use Of Chlorpyrifos On Most Crops
California regulators recommended new restrictions Thursday on a widely used pesticide blamed for harming the brains of babies. The Department of Pesticide Regulation issued temporary guidelines for chlorpyrifos that include banning it from crop dusting, discontinuing its use on most crops and increasing perimeters around where it's applied. (Melley, 11/15)
Texas Tribune: Report: Toxic Herbicide Found In Many Texans' Drinking Water
More than 10 million Texans have consumed drinking water with some level of atrazine – a toxic herbicide – with 472 water utility systems statewide testing positive in at least one detection, according to a new report from an environmental group. Comparing the test results submitted by water utilities to state environmental regulators to those from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Washington D.C.-based Environmental Working Group concluded that water utilities are testing for atrazine at times when farmers aren't using it — the growing season typically spans late spring and early summer — and also appear to be lowballing their numbers. The group is calling for updates to federal federal drinking water standards. (Anchondo, 11/15)
New Hampshire Public Radio: State Responds To N.H. ACLU Suit Over ER Boarding Of Mental Health Patients
State officials say they are working to address the issues behind a recent lawsuit filed by the New Hampshire ACLU. The federal suit alleges that mental health patients in New Hampshire are routinely denied their constitutional rights by being detained in emergency rooms without a hearing, what is called ER boarding. (Moon, 11/15)
Health News Florida: Barber Shops And Churches Could Improve Health In Minority Communities
Negative experiences with health care have caused some minority patients, particularly African American men, to distrust the medical system. Experts say these patients are less likely to visit the doctor or participate in screenings and medical research, which can negatively impact their health. (Colombini, 11/15)
Houston Chronicle: New Medical School At UH To Offer ‘Value-Added’ Campus Experience, Renu Khator Says
The University of Houston will build its medical school on campus, regents decided Thursday, a location pivotal to the role it plans to serve in the Third Ward. The Board of Regents selected a 43-acre tract of undeveloped property just southeast of the campus proper over a building in the Texas Medical Center for the planned college, which would be the first new medical school in Houston in nearly half a century. (Ackerman, 11/15)
Fox News: Doc: 2 Boys Killed In NJ Outbreak Were In ‘Irreversible Shock’ When They Arrived At Hospital
A New Jersey doctor who manages the pediatric emergency room where two severely ill boys from the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation were taken is claiming that the children were allegedly too sick to save when they arrived. They are among the 10 children who have died in an adenovirus outbreak at the facility that has also sickened more than 20 others. Dr. Frank Briglia told NJ.com that the boys were “both in irreversible shock upon arrival.” (Hein, 11/15)
