State Highlights: Lawsuit Charges USC-Sponsored Plastic Surgeon With 12 Needless Surgeries, Fraud; Advocates Hail Landmark Minnesota Deal To Protect Seniors

Los Angeles Times: USC-Sponsored Plastic Surgeon Used Patient’s Insurer As ‘Personal ATM,’ Lawsuit Says
A popular plastic surgeon who practices in Beverly Hills and Newport Beach and leads a USC-sponsored fellowship is being accused of unnecessarily operating on a patient for profit, according to a recently filed lawsuit. Natalie West, a former patient, says Dr. Jay Calvert made up false diagnoses in order to perform 12 unnecessary surgeries on her over four years. In addition, Calvert fraudulently billed West’s insurance company for hundreds of thousands of dollars, even though she paid out of pocket, according to the lawsuit, which was filed Friday. (Reyes-Velarde, 5/15)

The Star Tribune: Deal Reached To Protect Minn. Seniors From Abuse And Neglect
A landmark agreement has been struck to overhaul Minnesota’s porous system for protecting seniors from abuse and neglect. Senior advocacy groups, state regulators and the elder care industry finalized the deal Tuesday after two years of contentious deliberations, hearings and protests. It would license assisted-living facilities for the first time and require them to maintain minimum standards of care, much the way the state already regulates nursing homes. (Serres, 5/15)

The Oregonian: Oregon Pharmacists Wrote 10% Of All Birth Control Prescriptions Since Landmark Law Passed
Oregon’s first-in-the-country law that allows pharmacists to prescribe contraception has reached many people who weren’t already using birth control, an initial study found. Nearly 74% of all prescriptions written by pharmacists were to people who had not used the pill, patch or ring in the month prior. A majority of those had not been using birth control within six months prior, either. (Harbarger, 5/15)

Georgia Health News: Governor Urges Indicted Insurance Chief To Quit
Gov. Brian Kemp has asked Insurance Commissioner Jim Beck to resign in the wake of the latter’s federal indictment Tuesday on wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering charges.“ Your indictment severely undermines your ability to fulfill your official obligations to the people of Georgia,’’ Kemp said in a letter to Beck dated Wednesday. (Miller, 5/15)

NPR: A Federal Court To Rule On Sex Reassignment Surgery For Idaho Inmate
On a late afternoon in September 2015, a 27-year-old transgender inmate named Adree Edmo wrote a note in her cinder block prison cell at the Idaho State Correctional Institution. She insisted that what she was about to do was not an attempt at suicide. (Peacher, 5/16)

The CT Mirror: Senate Approves Bill Requiring Nursing Homes To Disclose Staffing Levels
The state Senate advanced a bill Wednesday that would require nursing homes to disclose on a daily basis the number of direct-care staff members assigned to patients, a measure designed to increase transparency and encourage the facilities to hire more employees who work closely with residents. Under the proposal, nursing homes would have to post the number of registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, advanced practice registered nurses and nurse’s aides they have on staff, along with the hours they are scheduled to work during each shift. (Carlesso, 5/15)

Sacramento Bee: Union Workers Strike Thursday, Say UCD Cuts Them Out Of Jobs
By partnering with a private-sector company to build a new rehabilitation hospital, UC Davis Health is subverting labor contracts with its employees and partnering with a company that has a record of suppressing the wages of health care workers, two unions allege in complaints to a California labor board. Roughly 39,000 employees of Local 3299 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and Local 9119 of the University Professional and Technical Employees will stage a one-day walkout on Thursday at the University of California’s 10 campuses and five medical centers. (Anderson, 5/15)

The Associated Press: Suit: Practice, Hospital Covered For Pedophile Pediatrician
A Pennsylvania pediatric practice knew that one of its physicians was a threat to molest young patients but did nothing to protect them, and in fact took steps to shield the longtime staffer before he was finally arrested and pleaded guilty to sexually abusing dozens of children, according to a civil suit filed Wednesday. Laurel Pediatric Associates in Johnstown knew at least two decades ago that Dr. Johnnie Barto's patients were in "serious danger," but continued to allow him to treat — and molest — children, explaining away parents' complaints about his sexual misconduct, the suit said. (5/15)

San Francisco Chronicle: UCSF Study On Marijuana Legalization Finds Uptick In Drug Abuse, Decrease In Chronic Pain Reports
Hospital visits due to car accidents, alcohol abuse and drug overdoses increased in Colorado in the two years after the state legalized cannabis, but overall health care costs did not rise and visits for chronic pain fell, according to a new study led by UCSF researchers. The results paint a mixed portrait of the effects of pot legalization on public health. But they suggest that in places where cannabis has been recently legalized, like Colorado and California, policymakers should develop plans to address potential health risks. (Allday, 5/15)

Arizona Republic: Cave Creek School District Is Updating Its Sexual Education Curriculum
Though a blog post accused Cave Creek Unified of partnering with Planned Parenthood, district officials say those accusations are not true. The reproductive health organization was mentioned once in curriculum materials as a reference, included with more than a dozen other organizations. (Altavena, 5/15)