State Highlights: Legislative Panel Votes To Increase N.H. State Retiree Health Premiums; Calif. Measure To Slash Drug Prices May Soon Hit State Ballot

The Concord Monitor: Committee Votes To Raise Health Care Premium For State Retirees Under 65
Roughly 3,000 state retirees will pay an additional $46 a month for health care under a plan lawmakers approved Tuesday. The Joint Legislative Fiscal Committee voted 6-4 to raise premium contributions from 12.5 to 17.5 percent for state retirees under age 65. The change will take effect Jan. 1 and save about $2.8 million, helping lawmakers close a $10.6 million deficit in the state retiree health plan that has been driven by rising pharmaceutical costs. (Morris, 11/4)

San Jose Mercury News: Measure Slashing Drug Prices May Go To California Voters Next Fall
The skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs -- already a hot issue on the U.S. presidential campaign trail -- may be headed to California's statewide ballot next fall. Advocates of a proposed measure that would require state programs to pay no more for prescription drugs than prices negotiated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs said they had turned in 542,879 signatures by Monday's 5 p.m. deadline, well beyond the 365,880 required by the state. (Seipel, 11/3)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Compact Aims To Help Doctors Practice Across State Lines
In every state, it is a crime to practice medicine without a license. But a medical license is good only in the state that issued it after a rigorous credential and background check. The result, many experts say, is an outmoded, red-tape-laden medical licensing system that is hampering efforts to relieve physician shortages, improve health-care access, and expand telemedicine. The Interstate Medical Licensure Compact aims to streamline matters by allowing doctors licensed in a state that belongs to the compact - a sort of treaty - to quickly and easily get privileges in other participating states. (McCullough, 11/3)

The Associated Press: After UCare's Big Loss, Huge Shift Of Those On Minnesota Public Health Care Plans Is Underway
State health officials are in the midst of a massive transition of residents on public health programs, shifting hundreds of thousands of low-income people to new coverage plans as the state aims to book millions of dollars in savings. The unprecedented effort is a byproduct of a competitive bid for companies to cover MinnesotaCare and Medical Assistance enrollees — the first statewide offer for those massive contracts. The big loser in that process was UCare, which lost its contracts in all but one county, forcing its 350,000-plus customers to pick new plans for next year — and perhaps leave behind their current doctors. (Potter, 11/3)

Georgia Health News: Struggling Rural County In The Vanguard Of Telecommunication Revolution
While health care across rural Georgia has many shortcomings, Hancock County has languished at the more desperate end. Located between Atlanta and Augusta, the county — named for the Founding Father who made history with his signature — has been marked by economic troubles for years. Its 9,400 residents have no hospital and no community physician, and roughly half the county’s children live in poverty. But Hancock recently received new medical technology that officials hope will bring health care more easily to chronically ill residents. Georgia is a leader in telemedicine, and Hancock now is at the forefront through home patient visits. (Miller, 11/2)

California Healthline: Local Drug Take-Back Programs Could Be Pre-Empted By State Regulations
In the absence of state or federal systems for proper disposal of prescription drugs, cities and counties in California are creating their own. But some local regulations may come up against new state rules being hammered out now. Last week the California State Board of Pharmacy approved a draft plan for statewide drug take-back that calls on pharmacies to voluntarily participate in the program. That approach is at odds with one county ordinance already passed that requires pharmacies to participate and could cause other counties and cities to rethink programs under consideration. (Lauer, 11/2)

The Miami Herald: Miami Lawmaker Pushes Bill To Ban Unexpected Medical Charges For ER Services
Like most patients, Robert Delfino did what his doctor told him: Go to the hospital for an outpatient cardiac procedure to determine the cause of his heart condition. Delfino, 54, was following the advice of his cardiologist, listed in his insurance company’s provider network catalog. Fortunately for Delfino, of Delray Beach, his coronary blockage was not serious enough to require a stent. The real problem came two months later, when Delfino received a bill for $15,000 from the hospital, which was not an in-network provider. (Chang, 11/3)

Stateline: States Look For Help With Bilingual Mental Health
The U.S. is grappling with a severe shortage of mental health professionals. But the situation is particularly dire for some minority communities, where barriers of language and culture can make it hard to seek and get help. Most good mental health care requires subtle, intimate conversation with patients. But too often, mental health experts say, professionals lack the language skills needed to serve those who struggle with English. “It’s difficult to trust that translation will capture nuances in the soul-baring process of mental health treatment,” said Sita Diehl, director of state policy at the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). (Henderson, 11/4)

The New Hampshire Union Leader: NH Taking Medical Pot Applications
State health officials announced Monday they have begun to accept applications from medical patients who want to use marijuana or its active ingredient to treat a host of medical conditions. The announcement was made months before any of the four medical marijuana stores are expected to open in New Hampshire. But it allows patients and their caregivers to get ahead of the paperwork the state is requiring. (Hayward, 11/3)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: UPenn Nursing School Selling Elder Care Operation To Trinity Health
The University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing has agreed to sell its operation serving low-income people 55 and older sick enough for a nursing home but want to keep living at home, to Trinity Health. Terms of the deal, which was disclosed Tuesday, were not released. Penn said it plans to continue to use the program's West Philadelphia facility for training and research. (Brubaker, 11/4)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Employers' On-Site Health Clinics Provide Convenience And Control Costs
James Sheeran, director of corporate benefits for MillerCoors, has lost count of the number of people who have toured the company's worksite health clinic in Milwaukee over the past year. "Interest in on-site clinics" he said, "is exploding." Employers large and small increasingly see the clinics as an integral part of initiatives to encourage employees and family members to live healthier lives - and help control health care costs. (Boulton, 11/3)

The Denver Post: Colorado Study Says Patients Spend $800M A Year On Unneeded ER Visits
A new Colorado study estimates that residents rack up an extra $800 million per year in medical costs from unnecessary emergency room visits. The study, released Wednesday by the nonprofit Center for Improving Value in Health Care, used a state health care database to compare the cost of going to an ER, a doctor's office and an urgent-care clinic for the same ailment. It found what it called "staggering cost differentials" between emergency rooms and outpatient settings for treating identical ailments. (Olinger, 11/4)

The San Francisco Chronicle: Report Details Alzheimer's Huge Financial Toll In California
Aging Baby Boomers who are living longer due to medical advancements will cause Medi-Cal expenses for Californians with Alzheimer’s disease to rise nearly 59 percent to close to $4.9 billion annually, according to a report released Wednesday. The state-federal Medicaid program for the poor will take on a growing share of the burden of paying for the care of people with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia because average households will not be able to pay the high costs of having in-home caregivers, long-term nursing care and other forms of help, the Alzheimer’s Association said in its report. (Colliver, 11/4)

The Baltimore Sun: Baltimore's Behavioral Health Authority Gets New Leadership
Kathy Westcoat, a veteran of nonprofit health care services, was tapped to head Baltimore’s behavior health authority, city officials said Tuesday. Westcoat comes from HealthCare Access Maryland, one of the groups aiding people enrolling in health care through Maryland’s new online health insurance exchange. The group also has worked to expand behavioral health services for pregnant and postpartum women, immigrants, homeless people, foster care children and those with substance use disorders. (Cohn, 11/3)

Minnesota Public Radio: Hallberg's Picture Of Health: The Doctor-Patient Relationship
At some point in your life, chances are you'll need a new primary care physician. Even though that's an essential search in today's healthcare environment, it's not always easy — and is fraught with questions of etiquette and ethics .... Dr. Jon Hallberg, a doctor of family medicine at the University of Minnesota, spoke with MPR News' Steven John about the doctor-patient relationship in the current health care environment. (John, 11/3)

California Healthline: General Plan Forums Scheduled
The state's Office of Planning and Research has launched a series of public forums this month to go over its recently revised General Plan Guidelines. Some health advocates are paying close attention, according to Ruben Cantu, associate director at the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, a health advocacy group based in Oakland. The long-awaited revised general plan guidelines include new sections on how cities and counties can promote health communities and social equity in future development," Cantu said in a written statement. "The guidelines can potentially impact health in many ways," he said. (Gorn, 11/3)

Tampa Bay Times: Black Results Matter: New Program Aims To Boost Minority Participation In Clinical Trials At USF, Moffitt
John Harrell was out of options. Diagnosed with a rare form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2009, he had tried everything available. The seven drugs and two types of radiation didn't stop his cancer, nor did the bone marrow transplant. So in 2013, Harrell, 48, became one of the few African-Americans to try an experimental drug being tested in a clinical trial at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa. Those in the business of clinical trials would like to see more volunteers like Harrell, and a new local effort is trying to make that happen. (Maher, 11/3)