State Highlights: Mass. Eligibility Review Results In Removal Of Thousands From Medicaid Program; Medicare Advantage Developments In Colo., N.C.

The Associated Press: Thousands Ruled Ineligible For Mass. Medicaid
Tens of thousands of people have been removed from the state's Medicaid program during the first phase of an eligibility review, according to figures from Gov. Charlie Baker's administration obtained by The Associated Press. The eligibility checks, required annually under federal law but not performed in Massachusetts since 2013, began earlier this year as part of Baker's plan to squeeze $761 million in savings from MassHealth, the government-run health insurance program for about 1.7 million poor and disabled residents. (Salsberg, 7/21)

The Denver Post: Denver Humana Medicare Members Gain Access To SCL Health Providers
Humana Inc. has added SCL Health to its network for Medicare Advantage members, who will have in-network access to SCL's inpatient, outpatient and emergency services at its medical centers, officials announced Monday. Medicare Advantage plans are offered by private companies that contract with Medicare to provide all hospital and medical benefits (Part A and Part B). This move by Humana will give metro area seniors in-network access at Saint Joseph Hospital in Denver, Lutheran Medical Center in Wheat Ridge and Good Samaritan Medical Center in Lafayette. (Draper, 7/21)

Modern Healthcare: North Carolina Health Systems Consider Starting Insurance Plans
One large health system in North Carolina is ready to launch a Medicare Advantage plan, and two others are mulling the pros and cons of becoming a payer. The reason? Nearly every healthcare executive agrees that a hospital or health system today is more than just a site to treat pneumonia or mend a broken leg. For Jim Roskelly, the evolving definition of his organization includes taking on risk to pay for that care. (Herman, 7/21)

Modern Healthcare: Massachusetts Nurses Push For Workplace Violence Bill
The Massachusetts Nurses Association is pushing a state bill that would mandate plans to protect employees from workplace violence. Union President Donna Kelly-Williams and several other members are testifying Tuesday at a Massachusetts state hearing on the bill. Elizabeth Dalton, a nurse in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, will testify about her experience dealing with the irate father of a dying patient who threatened her with a knife, a situation she argues could have been prevented if the hospital had a better handle on the father. (Rubenfire, 7/21)

Los Angeles Times: St. John's Hospital Foundation Sues To Enforce Donation Pledge
Paula Kent Meehan made a fortune after launching the Redken hair-care products company in the 1960s. She spent the last years of her life giving that money to charity. One of the biggest beneficiaries was supposed to be St. John's Health Center, a storied Santa Monica hospital founded by Roman Catholic nuns that has cared for celebrity patients such as Michael Jackson, Elizabeth Taylor and President Reagan. But in 2013, Meehan revoked her pledge to the St. John's foundation after the ouster of the hospital's top executives and the proposed sale of the nonprofit Catholic hospital. And now the hospital's foundation is suing her estate for the $5 million that she originally promised. (Pfeifer, 7/21)

Los Angeles Times: Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom Releases Report On Guidelines For Marijuana Legalization
A panel chaired by Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom hopes to guide the debate on the legalization of marijuana in California with an emphasis on limiting children’s access to cannabis, reducing illegal activity and tightly regulating the drug's growth and sales. In a report released Wednesday, the group lays out 58 recommendations and goals for implementing general legalization -- an issue expected to go before voters next year. The document offers broad principles --“protecting California’s youth” -- as well as nitty-gritty suggestions for collecting data and limiting advertising. (Mason, 7/22)

Minnesota Public Radio: Report: VA's Reduction Of Narcotic Painkillers Had Tragic Consequences
When the Minneapolis Veterans Medical Center decided to limit the dispensing of narcotic painkillers to stop veterans from becoming drug dependent, the new policy led to sometimes tragic results, according to a recent Star Tribune report. (Ibrahim, 7/21)

North Carolina Health News: Report: N.C. Kids Poorer, But Do Better In Health And School
The health of kids in North Carolina has improved over time and they’re also doing better in school. But many children live in families struggling to recover from the economic downturn in 2009. That’s according to the annual Annie E. Casey Foundation KIDS COUNT Data Book, a report on state and national trends in child well-being released on Monday. North Carolina placed 35th in overall child well-being, said the report, which looked at trends between 2008 and 2013. The state ranked in the lower half of all states in the four categories measured: economic well-being, education, health and family and community. (Herzog, 6/22)

The Associated Press: Kids' Well-Being Improves Slightly In South Carolina: Report
The overall wellbeing of South Carolina's children has improved slightly, even while poverty continues to worsen, according to a national report released Tuesday. The latest Kids Count Data Book, released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, shows that South Carolina ranks 42nd overall in a child's chance of succeeding. That's up from 45th last year and the highest ranking South Carolina's achieved in the report's 25-year existence. (Adcox, 7/21)

The Kansas Health Institute News Service: Latest Kids Count Rankings Show Kansas Up In Child Health, Down In Poverty
Kansas improved its ranking in child health but dropped in child poverty in the latest data released by a national nonprofit that advocates for children. The state retained its No. 15 overall ranking from the Annie E. Casey Foundation in 2015 Kids Count data published Tuesday. The latest information comes from 2013 and shows Kansas improving from No. 21 to No. 13 in the nation based on four measures of child health: Low birth weight (7 percent), children without health insurance (6 percent), child and teen deaths per 100,000 (28 percent), and teens who abuse drug and alcohol (5 percent). (Marso, 7/21)

KMGH-TV: Denver VA Halts Some Surgeries Over Sterilization Concerns
There are more problems in the operating room at the Denver VA Hospital. 7NEWS has learned that the hospital is quietly limiting certain surgeries because of problems with sterilization. "What is shut down is anything that takes a lot of complex instrumentation, such as open heart surgery," said Dan Warvi, a spokesman for the Denver VA. During the second week of July, the operating room was shut down for "maintenance," according to an official statement, indicating surgeries would begin against July 13. (Allen, 7/21)