State Highlights: Mass. Gov. Proposes Revised Tax On Employee Health Plans; Family Files Wrongful Death Suit Against Opioid Maker

Boston Globe: Baker Administration Floats Alternative To Health Plan Levy 
After a backlash from the business community, Governor Charlie Baker is floating a new plan for employers to help cover the state’s soaring health care costs. But the proposal, an alternative to the one the administration included in its January budget proposal, still lacks broad support among businesses. (Dayal McCluskey, 3/24)

Stat: Lawsuit Blames Improper Marketing Of Potent Opioid For Woman's Death
The family of a New Jersey woman who died after using a prescription version of the potent opioid fentanyl filed a wrongful death lawsuit Thursday against the drug’s maker, her doctor, and a specialty pharmacy that provided the drug. The lawsuit, filed in a New Jersey state court, alleges 32-year-old Sarah Fuller was the victim of a nationwide push by Insys Therapeutics to entice doctors to prescribe its Subsys fentanyl spray for patients for which the drug was not suitable. (Armstrong, 3/24)

St. Louis Post Dispatch: Illinois Supreme Court Delivers Partial Win For Hospitals On Property Taxes 
Illinois' not-for-profit hospitals can continue to skip paying property taxes, for now, after an Illinois Supreme Court decision Thursday that follows years of battles between hospitals and municipalities over those dollars. The state Supreme Court on Thursday vacated the ruling of a lower court, which had found that an Illinois law exempting not-for-profit hospitals from paying property taxes was unconstitutional. The justices said the lower court didn't have jurisdiction. (Schencker, 3/24)

The CT Mirror: State Worker Union Launches TV Ad To Fight Layoffs
Two days after Gov. Dannel P. Malloy threatened to lay off 4,200 unionized state workers unless concessions are granted, Connecticut’s largest healthcare workers union launched a television ad urging viewers to keep its members on the job. The 30-second spot, funded by 1199 New England SEIU, also comes five months after the union went to court to block nearly 500 layoffs tied to an administration plan to privatize 40 group homes for the disabled. (Phaneuf, 3/23)

Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Slips In National Mental Health Care Assessment
Ohio continues to slip in terms of mental health prevalence and access to care in a national ranking by Mental Health of America. The Buckeye State's overall ranking, 26th among the 50 states, was a slot lower than last year and a drop of three positions since 2011, according to the report released today. The national organization looked at 15 indicators, including the number of adults and juveniles with mental illness, the incidence of adults with drug or alcohol problems, prevalence of suicide, and people with unmet needs for treatment. (Johnson, 2/23)

Columbus Dispatch: Elderly Often Victimized By Addicted Relatives, Friends
Addiction to prescription painkillers among seniors also is growing, with older adults increasingly seeking emergency treatment or coming to the attention of authorities. With the rise in heroin use, more grandparents are also raising their grandchildren because their parents are dead, in jail, chasing their next high or in rehab. It can be particularly challenging for those with limited financial resources or health problems. (Pyle, 3/24)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: New Digital Health Fund In Philadelphia Makes Its First Deal
A $6 million digital health investment fund launched in December by Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania, Independence Health Group, and Safeguard Scientifics has made its first investment, of $150,000 in seed financing. The recipient was VitalTrax, a Philadelphia company started last year to help facilitate clinical trials for patients and researchers through a smartphone app and cloud-based data services. VitalTrax is expected to use the money to continue developing its system. (Brubaker, 3/23)

Stat: Mississippi's Middle Class Carries The Burden Of High Medical Debt
Americans are no strangers to medical debt, and the burden is most severe in Mississippi, where nearly 40 percent of adults under age 65 owe hospitals or doctors, according to the Urban Institute. But the men and women carrying that debt are not always poor – they’re increasingly middle class. And their inability, or refusal, to pay their bills is straining hospital budgets and threatening the availability of care. (Blau, 3/24)

WBUR: Can Cardboard Boxes Save Infants' Lives?
Since January, about 3,800 New Jersey parents have opted to lay their infants to sleep in simple cardboard boxes. It’s a public health initiative to reduce cases of sudden infant death syndrome, which killed 3,700 babies in the United States in 2015. (Young, 3/23)

Nashville Tennessean: Hendersonville Doctor Arrested On Prescription-Related Charges
A Hendersonville doctor has been arrested for issuing prescriptions for narcotics in exchange for money and sexual acts, police said. Special agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the 18th Judicial District Drug Task Force and the Gallatin Police Department began investigating Dr. Lawrence Joseph Valdez after complaints he was issuing prescriptions for sexual favors. The investigation found he had made these exchanges to multiple individuals. (Todd, 3/23)

Des Moines Register: These Families With Children Injured By Doctor Mistakes Say They Don’t Want Caps On Malpractice Payouts
Families of Iowans who were severely injured by medical errors traveled to the Statehouse on Thursday to denounce bills that would limit awards in malpractice lawsuits. The families said if the bills were in effect, they probably couldn’t have found lawyers to take their cases, even though medical providers’ mistakes or neglect caused permanent disabilities or death of patients. (Leys, 3/23)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: An Epidemic Of Childhood Trauma Haunts Milwaukee 
In Milwaukee, the nation’s third most impoverished big city, trauma researchers contend the seeds of distress were planted years ago when the current generation of adults were children. They say new seeds are being planted right now. That revelation is beginning to shift how Milwaukee and other cities respond to social and economic decline. It also is prompting researchers to explore why some who are exposed to childhood trauma emerge undefeated — and whether their resilience can be coaxed out of others and even scaled to entire neighborhoods. (Schmid, 3/23)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Why Christie Has More Than Tripled N.J.’s Funding Of Doctor Training
Gov. Christie wants more doctors in New Jersey, and he’s budgeted money to train them. But increasing the number of medical professionals — and getting them to stay in New Jersey — isn’t as easy as graduating more students. The calculation also includes the number of postgraduate residencies offered in New Jersey and the number of doctors who stay afterward. The state already has increased the number of graduates, with Cooper Medical School of Rowan University opening in 2012 and Seton Hall University’s medical school slated to open next year. Older schools also have added seats. (Lai, 3/24)

Sacramento Bee: Sacramento County Sheriff Adds Mental Health Beds To Jail 
As the Sacramento County Main Jail handles more inmates with psychiatric problems, the Sheriff’s Department is developing a new section staffed by UC Davis medical professionals, social workers and deputies that can provide intensive mental services without 24-hour care. The county currently keeps inmates who are suicidal or deemed a threat to others in an 18-bed “acute care” unit, which functions like a residential treatment facility. (Garrison, 3/23)

Houston Chronicle: Confusion Over Medical Facilities Could Cost A Bundle 
Walking into one type of neighborhood medical clinic instead of another can be a $2,000 mistake. Or at the very least, a big surprise. That is the finding of a new Rice University study that examines the proliferation of free-standing emergency rooms in Texas in recent years, which to the uninformed patient can look a lot like their lower-cost storefront cousin, the urgent-care clinic. (Deam, 3/23)

The Star Tribune: State: Waite Park Nurse Did Nothing For Patient's Seizures Before He Died 
A Minnesota Health Department investigation lasting six months ruled that the nurse’s neglect was to blame for the anguish that 58-year-old Kenneth L. Allers endured last August for at least 11 hours at the Sterling Park Health Center in Waite Park. The licensed practical nurse, who is not identified in the state’s findings released this week, was suspended during the investigation and later fired. (Walsh, 3/23)