State Highlights: Mass. Insurer Expands Quality-Based Doctor Pay System; Missouri House Advances Med-Mal Lawsuit Caps

The Boston Globe: Blue Cross Vastly Expands Quality-Based Payment Systems
The Massachusetts health care industry’s traditional system of paying doctors for every office visit, test, and procedure may be nearing its end. The state’s largest health insurer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, will vastly expand its system that pays doctors based on how well they care for patients — not just for the number they see and volume of services they provide. (Dayal McCluskey, 3/5)

The Associated Press: Missouri House Endorses Lawsuit Caps For Medical Malpractice
The Missouri House is moving forward with a measure to limit the amount of noneconomic damages that can be awarded to victims of medical malpractice. The House gave initial approval Wednesday to a bill to reinstate limits on how much juries can award in some types of damages such as pain and suffering in medical malpractice cases against health care providers. (3/4)

Los Angeles Times: Superbug Outbreak Extends To Cedars-Sinai Hospital, Linked To Scope
In the latest superbug outbreak, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center discovered that four patients were infected with deadly bacteria from a contaminated medical scope, and 67 other people may have been exposed. The Los Angeles hospital said Wednesday that it began investigating the possibility of patient infections after a similar outbreak at UCLA's Ronald Reagan Medical Center that sickened seven patients, including two who died. The widening problem is certain to ratchet up the pressure on the Food and Drug Administration, already under fire for ignoring warnings about these medical instruments. (Terhune, 3/4)

The Associated Press: Short-term Mental Health Measures Advance In Legislature
Three Republican-sponsored bills to bolster short-term mental health care have passed through the Montana House with unanimous support, but cover only a fraction of what the governor proposed in January. Republican Rep. Ron Ehli of Hamilton says the plans push mental health care toward hometown treatment and would send fewer patients and inmates to the Montana State Hospital in Warm Springs. The measures do not include long-term care, staff enhancements, preventative measures, and specific forensic and dementia units included in the $20 million mental health package that Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock recommended in his budget proposal. (Noon, 3/4)

The Associated Press: State Senate OKs Joel's Law: Judicial Review Of Mental Health Decisions
The Washington state Senate has approved a bill that would allow family members to ask a judge to step in if a mental-health professional will not involuntarily commit a relative they believe could be suicidal or a danger to others. (3/4)

Los Angeles Times: Lawmakers Announce Renewed Push For Medi-Cal Funding
California lawmakers and advocates are gearing up for a new chapter in the battle over the state's healthcare program for the poor. They announced new legislation on Wednesday that would pump more money into Medi-Cal, which has expanded to cover more residents even while suffering from recession-era funding cuts. (Megerian, 3/4)

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia Bill Requires Insurers To Include Trauma Centers In Networks
Insurers offering polices through the Georgia’s health benefits plan would be required to include in their service networks Level I trauma centers under legislation state lawmakers advanced this week. (Redmon, 3/5)

The Wall Street Journal: Push To Expand Paid-Leave Law In Connecticut
Advocates of Connecticut’s paid-sick-leave law hope a hearing Thursday begins the process of extending its benefits to more workers, reigniting a debate over whether such measures hurt the state’s business climate. Connecticut became the first state in the nation in 2011 to pass a law requiring businesses with 50 or more employees to offer five paid days off for illnesses. Gov. Dannel Malloy, a Democrat, hailed it as one of his biggest legislative achievements during his re-election campaign last year. (DeAvila, 3/4)

The Kansas Health Institute News Service: Bill Would Give Parents More Leeway To Refuse Medication For Kids
In Kansas, when parents or guardians decline to provide their children treatment the medical community deems necessary, the state can use medical neglect statutes to compel treatment unless that treatment would run counter to religious beliefs determined to be legitimate by a judge. A bill that overwhelmingly passed the Kansas Senate could alter that. Sen. Forrest Knox, a Republican from Altoona, said he introduced Senate Bill 157 to keep schools from forcing parents to medicate children with behavior-control drugs like Ritalin, which is used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. (Marso, 3/4)

The Charlotte Observer: As Negotiations Continue, Carolinas HealthCare Offers Guidance For Patients Covered By UnitedHealthcare
Three days after their contract expired, Carolinas HealthCare System and UnitedHealthcare are giving patients contradictory information about how their medical expenses will be covered. Since Sunday, when negotiators failed to reach an agreement, UnitedHealthcare has told members they're considered "out-of-network," which means they'll pay more, if they use Carolinas HealthCare hospitals or doctors in the Charlotte area. Exceptions are for patients with emergencies or who are in the midst of treatment (such as chemotherapy or pregnancy) and get "continuity of care approval." (Garloch, 3/4)

North Carolina Health News: Practicing Rural Health Care Right Here At Home
A residency program in Hendersonville is preparing primary care physicians to live and work in the state’s rural areas. (Sisk, 3/5)

North Carolina Health News: Legislators Contemplate Privatizing State-Run Substance Abuse Centers
A legislative study recommends integrating state substance abuse treatment facilities into a community-based system run by local mental health management organizations. (Namkoong, 3/5)

The Associated Press: Nurse Who Survived Ebola Sues Dallas Hospital System
The Dallas hospital that treated the first patient to be diagnosed in the U.S. with Ebola lied to Congress when it said its staff was trained to handle the deadly virus, a nurse who contracted the disease contends in a lawsuit filed Monday. Nina Pham, who was an intensive care unit nurse at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, says after being told last fall that she would be treating a patient suspected of having Ebola, “the sum total” of information she was given to protect herself was “what her manager ‘Googled’ and printed out from the Internet.” (3/4)

ABC 4 UTAH: Growing Gap Between Number Of Latino Docs And Growing Latino Population
In ten years, 2025, there will be a 90,000 doctor shortage in the US. This according to a report from an association of medical schools. That means longer wait times like weeks or even months to see a doctor and for the Latino population, that rate is even worse. According to a UCLA report, there are 51 million Latinos in the country, but only 15 Latino doctors per 100,000 Hispanics. (Crow, 3/4)