State Highlights: LA County’s Use Of Psychiatric Drugs On Children; New Orleans Planned Parenthood Clinic Blocked

Los Angeles Times: Rampant Medication Use Found Among L.A. County Foster, Delinquent Kids
Los Angeles County officials are allowing the use of powerful psychiatric drugs on far more children in the juvenile delinquency and foster care systems than they had previously acknowledged, according to data obtained by The Times through a Public Records Act request. The newly unearthed figures show that Los Angeles County's 2013 accounting failed to report almost one in three cases of children on the drugs while in foster care or the custody of the delinquency system. (Therolf, 2/16)

The Washington Post: Jindal, Antiabortion Activists Block Planned Parenthood In New Orleans
Planned Parenthood began construction here last year on a clinic that would perform abortions and provide other medical services for women. “High-Quality, Affordable Health Care for New Orleans,” a sign promised. “Seeing Patients Early 2015.” That sign is now crumpled on the ground behind a chain-link fence at the project’s abandoned construction site, victim of efforts by Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) and other abortion opponents to block the clinic. The push against the project began last year, when the Catholic archbishop of New Orleans wrote a public letter threatening to blacklist contractors on the clinic from any of the church’s numerous real estate projects. (Bridges, 2/14)

Georgia Health News: Merger Would Create A Giant In Atlanta Health Care
It’s a long way from being a done deal, but if it happens it will shake up metro Atlanta health care. Emory University and WellStar Health System announced last week that they are discussing a merger of their medical assets, a fusion that would face regulatory and logistical challenges. Completion of a deal is at least a year away. (Miller, 2/15)

The Des Moines Register: Medicaid Managed Care Plan Details Disclosed
Gov. Terry Branstad's plan to have private companies manage Medicaid would affect most of the 564,000 Iowans covered by the $4 billion program, administrators said Monday. The Department of Human Services released a formal "request for proposals" Monday afternoon. The idea is to have two to four managed-care companies oversee patients' care. Proponents say such an arrangement can help ensure that participants get the most effective, efficient care, which should help them avoid critical, expensive illnesses. (Leys, 1/16)

North Carolina Health News: NC Doc Gets Help With Funds To Pay For Practice Despite Lack Of Medicaid Reimbursement
When the state rolled out new software to track Medicaid treatment and payments, some physician practices went months without getting reimbursed for their work. (Ferris, 1/16)

The Kansas Health Institute News Service: Sebelius Criticizes Brownback At Kansas Event
Former Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius didn’t mince words when asked about the direction of Kansas politics during an event Thursday night at the Dole Institute of Politics. Making one of her first Kansas public appearances since stepping down in June as secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Sebelius called the re-election of Republican Gov. Sam Brownback “a low point” in the state’s political history. ... Finally, Sebelius said Kansas’ refusal to expand Medicaid has deprived tens of thousands of low-income Kansans of coverage they need. “Folks who are in states not expanding Medicaid are in terrible trouble,” she said. (McLean, 1/15)

The Texas Tribune: As State Ages, Families Face Caring For Elderly At Home
It was a difficult decision, made with love. After the fire, when Eva Bonilla’s father was released from the hospital, she quit her job, loaded his wheelchair and oxygen tank into her car and made a home for the 84-year old man in her living room. ... The circumstances of Bonilla's father's decline, from 2008 until his death in 2010, were unique. But her story is one version of an oft-told tale in Texas, where an aging population is living longer but requiring more expensive and sophisticated care, often provided at home. Shifting demographics paint a troubling picture for the future of at-home caregiving. Growth of the state's elderly population is expected to outpace other age groups at a time when the cost of long-term care is projected to rise. Experts say experiences like Bonilla's will become even more common, as family members end up bearing much of the responsibility — and cost — of caring for their loved ones. (Walters, 1/15)

The Des Moines Register: Patients Seek Legal Marijuana For More Ailments
Iowans with serious chronic medical conditions gave emotional testimony Monday at the Statehouse in favor of expanding the state's fledgling medical marijuana bill, but they have a heavy lift ahead in trying to get more legislation passed this year. A bill passed last spring was designed to legalize possession of a marijuana extract for treatment of serious epilepsy. Critics say that it's unworkable because it doesn't allow distribution of the oil. They also want to expand the law to allow people with other conditions to try marijuana products. (Leys, 1/16)

The Des Moines Regiser: App Lets Hospital See What Troopers See
For victims of a high-speed automobile crash, every second counts. Researchers at the University of Iowa were disturbed to learn a few years ago that, on average, personnel at UI Hospitals and Clinics only had seven to eight minutes of warning before an ambulance arrived at the emergency room with a crash victim. (Charis-Carlson, 1/16)

The Connecticut Mirror: Medicaid Rate Holdup Costs Mental Health Providers
Mental health and substance abuse treatment providers are losing out on more than $5 million budgeted for them this year because the state hasn’t yet received federal approval to spend the money. That’s led some who oversee the public mental health coverage system to warn of dire consequences, including reduced access to services. (Levin Becker, 2/17)

The Connecticut Mirror: 6 Health Care Things To Watch For In Malloy’s Budget Proposal
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy will release his proposed two-year budget Wednesday, an attempt to fill a $1.3 billion deficit while keeping his campaign pledge not to raise taxes. Many people who work in or advocate for health care and social services are bracing for a tough year, even as some make pitches for increased funding. (Levin Becker and Phaneuf, 2/16)