State Highlights: Lawsuit Accuses Duke, UNC Of Conspiring Not To Poach Each Other’s Medical Workers; Flu Nearing Epidemic Levels In San Diego

The Associated Press: Lawsuit: Duke, UNC Agreed To Not Hire Each Other's Doctors
The basketball rivalry between Duke University and the University of North Carolina battle is legendary, but a federal lawsuit says the two elite institutions have agreed not to compete in another prestigious area: the market for highly skilled medical workers. The anti-trust complaint by a former Duke radiologist accuses the schools just 10 miles (16 kilometers) apart of secretly conspiring to avoid poaching each other's professors. If her lawyers succeed in persuading a judge to make it a class action, thousands of faculty, physicians, nurses and other professionals could be affected. (Dalesio, 1/2)

San Diego Union-Times: As Hepatitis A Outbreak Wanes, San Diego County Turns Focus To The Flu
San Diego County supervisors voted Tuesday to continue the hepatitis A emergency declared in September, although there were just six new cases added to the outbreak total in the last two weeks and the death total has held at 20 for more than two months. But they were much more interested in what's going on with the flu, which is nearing epidemic levels throughout the region. (Sisson, 1/2)

Chicago Tribune: Illinois Suspends Outcome Health's Agreement For EDGE Tax Breaks
The state has suspended a tax credit agreement with Outcome Health — worth an estimated $6.1 million over a decade — in the wake of allegations that the tech company misled investors and advertisers. The agreement was part of the EDGE program, short for Economic Development for a Growing Economy, which provides tax breaks for companies that promise to create jobs in Illinois. ... Outcome Health, which has been considered a star on Chicago’s tech scene, places screens in doctor’s offices that run educational content about health topics and advertisements from drug companies. (Marotti, 1/2)

The Associated Press: Doctor Who Stole $100M From Medicare Could Get 30-Plus Years
A politically prominent Florida eye doctor could get more than 30 years in prison for stealing $100 million in one of history’s largest Medicare frauds. A sentencing hearing for Dr. Salomon Melgen resumes Wednesday after a four-week hiatus. Melgen was convicted last April of 67 crimes including health care fraud, submitting false claims and falsifying records. U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra could give the 63-year-old Melgen a life sentence. Prosecutors are asking for 30 years. ... In a separate case, Melgen is accused of bribing New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez. (Spencer, 1/3)

St. Louis Public Radio: SSM Health Warns 29,000 Patients About Breach Of Medical Records At Its Call Center
SSM Health is reviewing its security procedures after discovering that a former employee with its customer service call center inappropriately accessed patient medical records between Feb. 13 and Oct. 20, 2017. The health care system is notifying all patients whose records were accessed by the employee — about 29,000 people in multiple states — even if the access appears to have been legitimate, SSM officials said in a statement released last week. (Leonard, 1/2)

Denver Post: Colorado Wants Police To Try Therapeutic Approach With Mentally Ill And Drug Addicted Offenders
Colorado is pushing for new approaches to how police officers handle cases involving mental illness and drug addiction, encouraging them to steer low-level offenders toward treatment rather than jail and giving them assistance in dealing with potentially dangerous situations. In one tactic, mental health professionals ride with officers during 911 responses and some routine patrols. In another, local communities place case managers into high-crime areas to help police keep drug users, prostitutes and other offenders out of the criminal justice system. (Osher, 1/2)

Columbus Dispatch: Housing Help Being Provided To Assess Impact On Infant-Mortality Rate
A central Ohio coalition that seeks to reduce the region’s high infant-mortality rate has received a grant of about $991,000 to help 50 pregnant women in extremely low-income areas find and pay for housing. ... A goal is to determine whether providing stable housing with other supports will reduce infant mortality. (Viviano, 1/2)

St. Louis Public Radio: Dropping Temperatures Spell Trouble For The Vulnerable
After a week of below-zero temperatures, with some nights hitting lower than zero, people in the St. Louis region are struggling to keep warm. ... [Heatupstlouis.org founder Gentry W.] Trotter said that senior citizens and people with disabilities are among those at greatest risk. Staying warm and dry can be crucial to their health. (Petrin and Lewis-Thompson, 1/2)

The CT Mirror: Whiting Forensic Division To Separate From Connecticut Valley Hospital
Months after a patient-abuse case that led to the arrest of ten employees and the disciplining of dozens more, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has signed an executive order that separates the maximum security Whiting Forensic Division from Connecticut Valley Hospital. ... Under the order, beds at Whiting Maximum Security will be consolidated with those at the Dutcher Enhanced Security building, creating a 229-bed forensic hospital. (Rigg, 1/2)

Los Angeles Times: Recreational Marijuana Is Legal. But Smoking In Public And Driving Stoned Are Not, LAPD Warns
As Los Angeles moves toward allowing the sale of recreational marijuana, joining cities across the state in the newly legal enterprise, police here offered a stern word of caution. Yes, recreational pot will be legal to sell (and buy, and consume, and cultivate). But there are limits. And the Los Angeles Police Department will help enforce them. "Let me be clear," Assistant Chief Michel Moore said Tuesday. "The use of marijuana needs to be done in a responsible manner that's consistent with the law." (Mather, 1/2)