Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: Mass. Residents Struggle To Get Mental Health Care Even With Insurance; Calif. Mental Health Workers' Weeklong Strike Kicks Off
Boston Globe: Even With Insurance, Getting Mental Health Treatment Is A Struggle In Mass., Study Says
More than half of adults who sought mental health or addiction treatment in recent months had difficulty getting that care, according to a survey of 2,201 residents by the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation in Boston. About 39 percent of those surveyed went without needed treatment. (Kowalczyk, 12/11)
The Associated Press: Mental Health Workers Start Weeklong Strike In California
Thousands of Kaiser Permanente mental health professionals throughout California started a weeklong strike Monday to protest what they say is a lack of staffing that affects care. Outside Kaiser Permanente hospitals and clinics in the San Francisco Bay Area dozens of workers marched Monday holding signs that read "Kaiser, Don't Deny My Patients Mental Health Care," and "Care Delayed is Care Denied." (12/10)
Modern Healthcare: Kaiser Permanente Mental Health Workers Begin Five-Day Strike
Monday marked day one of a five-day strike for 4,000 Kaiser Permanente mental health clinicians and other healthcare professionals across more than 100 California hospitals and clinics. The National Union of Healthcare Workers organized the strike. The NUHW says it has been in contract negotiations with the massive, Oakland, Calif.-based not-for-profit health system since June. The union says Kaiser has rejected therapists' proposals to boost staffing and end long waits for therapy appointments, while Kaiser says it has hired more than 500 new therapists in California since 2015. (Bannow, 12/10)
Politico: 'Praying They Would Make It Out Of There'
As burning ash and black smoke eclipsed six lanes of terrified motorists fleeing the worst fire in California history, Elizabeth Steffen was driving in the wrong direction. Steffen, the director of the SacValley Medshare health information exchange, rushed down Route 99 to Oroville Hospital last month on a single-minded mission: to turn an electronic switch enabling medical records to follow 200 patients evacuated in a mad scramble from a burning hospital and nursing home in Paradise, a town that would soon be annihilated by the Camp Fire. (Allen, 12/7)
Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati's New Health Commissioner Faces Challenge Of Staff Churn
Melba Moore came to town in August to lead the Cincinnati Health Department and shoulder a mountain of challenges, including the primary health care for one of six city residents, the opioid epidemic and a stubbornly high infant mortality rate. But her first major test as the city’s 42nd health commissioner is taking control of the Cincinnati Health Department. (Saker, 12/10)
Houston Chronicle: Lawmakers Pledge Crackdown On Free-Standing ER Billing Practices
Texas lawmakers on Monday vowed to crack down on the state's booming free-standing emergency room industry in the wake of a troubling AARP Texas survey and a Houston Chronicle story that both showed how some facilities are sending confusing messages to patients. The AARP Texas survey showed that 30 percent of the state's 213 for-profit free-standing emergency rooms "appear to not comply fully with state disclosure laws," according to findings presented at a state Senate committee meeting in Austin. (Deam, 12/10)
Des Moines Register: Thanks To Congress, Iowa's Cost To Insure Kids Will Rise By Millions
It’s about to cost Iowa a lot more to provide health insurance to 70,000 children from moderate-income families. The state’s share of the cost for kids in the HAWK-I program is set to more than quintuple in the next two years, from $7 million to $37 million. Iowa legislators, who already face tight budgets, will have to find that money to keep the popular program going. ...The future of HAWK-I and similar programs across the country was in doubt last winter, as Congress let the programs' federal funding lapse during a contentious attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act. (Leys, 12/10)
The Baltimore Sun: University Of Maryland Medical System Investigating Malware Attack
The University of Maryland Medical System is investigating a malware attack on its computer system that occurred early Sunday, according to the hospital network. The ransomware-style attack affected about 250 of the hospital system’s 27,000 devices, said Jon Burns, the hospital system’s chief information officer and senior vice president. (Meehan, 12/10)
The Associated Press: Doctor To Pay $3M To Resolve Improper Medicaid Billing
Maryland officials say a doctor will pay about $3 million to settle civil liability claims from improperly billing Medicaid programs in Maryland and Delaware and the Medicare program. Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh said Monday that the settlement was reached with Zahid Aslam. He owned medical practices in Maryland and Delaware. The Maryland share of the settlement is about $1.3 million. (12/10)
Chicago Tribune: 'I Think People Are Sadly Used To It Now': Northwestern University Grapples With Suicides
Alarmed by the suicides of four students this year, including a sophomore found dead in his dormitory in late November, Northwestern University is boosting staff at the campus’ main counseling center. Two new employees will join its mental health center, Counseling and Psychological Services, to perform suicide screenings and clinical support services, Vice President for Student Affairs Patricia Telles-Irvin announced in a message to students last week. (Rhodes, 12/11)
San Jose Mercury News: Santa Clara County Buys Hospitals For $235 Million
Santa Clara County has succeeded in buying two financially struggling hospitals for $235 million, the cornerstone of its plan to relieve overcrowding at the county-run Valley Medical Center and expand services to central San Jose and south county. The purchase came after the county entered the only bid in Friday’s auction of O’Connor Hospital in San Jose and St. Louise Regional Hospital in Gilroy, including the De Paul Health Center in Morgan Hill. (Kaplan, 12/10)
The Washington Post: Stepped Up Disinfecting Of UMd Dorm Rooms Is Announced To Combat Viruses
A total of 30 cases of adenovirus have been confirmed at the University of Maryland, and university officials announced plans to intensify its dormitory cleaning program to help prevent additional infections. An announcement made last week by the university’s department of resident life gave the updated adenovirus infection numbers. Of the 30 confirmed cases, eight of the students have been hospitalized. It said four cases have been confirmed of adenovirus 7, a particularly virulent strain of the virus. (Weil, 12/11)
WBUR: Report Finds A 'Mixed Bag' Of Health Outcomes For Mass. Seniors
The mortality rate for Massachusetts residents 65 and older is down, but some specific health problems, like asthma and breast cancer, are getting worse. Those are among the findings of the 2018 Massachusetts Healthy Aging Data report, out Monday from the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston. (Wasser and Chanatry, 12/10)
Richmond Times-Dispatch: 'Devastating Report' Highlights Virginia's Poor Oversight Of Local Foster Care Programs
Virginia does such a poor job of supervising local foster care programs that the state doesn’t have a list of foster parents currently in the system, according to a new legislative study. The study by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission finds that the state’s 120 foster care programs don’t do a good job of recruiting foster parents, especially relatives; working to reunite children with birth parents; or finding them permanent homes. (Martz, 12/10)
The CT Mirror: Shingles Vaccine Scarce In Conn. Shortage To Continue
A new vaccine to protect against a painful disease known as shingles is a victim of its own success and nearly impossible to find in Connecticut and many parts of the United States. The vaccine, produced solely by GlaxoSmithKline and called Shingrix, became broadly available in the United States about a year ago. (Radelat, 12/11)
Houston Chronicle: Texas Prisons To Start 3D-Printing Dentures For Toothless Inmates
[David Ford] waited four years before finally getting his dentures in November after a Houston Chronicle investigation revealed that toothless inmates in Texas prisons were routinely denied dental prosthetics and instead forced to gum their food or drink it, pureed in cups. But Ford’s new pearly whites could mark the end of an era for the state’s prison system. Starting in the spring, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice will no longer have traditionally molded dentures made for its inmates. Instead, they’ll become what’s believed to be the first corrections agency in the country to 3D-print them on site. (Blakinger, 12/10)
New Orleans Times-Picayune: How 2 New Orleans Health Providers Are Beating National Rates For Colon Cancer Screening
The second most deadly form of cancer among U.S. adults is also one of the most treatable, if caught early. However, many health care providers have struggled to improve screening rates for colon cancer. The American Cancer Society kicked off an initiative called 80 by 2018 three years ago to boost screening rates to 80 percent, but nationally, that rate has fallen short, said Letitia Thompson, vice president of Regional Cancer Control for the ACS. Two New Orleans-area health providers, however, recently proved that reaching the 80 percent mark is possible. (Clark, 12/10)
San Jose Mercury News: See San Jose's New Tiny Homes For Homeless Residents
In a new memo to the City Council, the head of the city’s Housing Department, Jacky Morales-Ferrand, and the budget director recommend putting 40 of the homes at a Valley Transportation Authority staging site on Mabury Road near Coyote Creek and another 40 at a Caltrans site in the southwest quadrant of the intersection of Highways 680 and 101, adjacent to Felipe Avenue. The council is expected to approve the suggestion on Dec. 18, with the pilot program running at least through January 2022, when the state law that permits the homes is currently scheduled to expire. (Deruy, 12/10)
