State Highlights: Mass.’s Largest Insurers Dropped By State’s Group Health Insurance Commission; In Phoenix, Program Taps Taxis To Take 911 Calls

WBUR: Major Mass. Insurers Dropped From State Employee Health System
A decision about health coverage for state employees and retirees is shaking the Massachusetts health insurance industry. Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Tufts Health Plan and Fallon Health, which are the second-, third- and fourth-largest insurers in the state, have been dropped by the state Group Insurance Commission (GIC), which manages coverage for 442,000 members. (Bebinger, 1/18)

Arizona Republic: Phoenix Fire Department Tapping Taxis To Take 911 Callers To Hospital
The number of taxi rides is growing — overwhelmingly so for people in poor neighborhoods — as fire officials wrestle with more calls and limited resources. The little-known operation, known as the taxi-voucher program, is billed as a way to tend to medical transports not deemed emergencies. (Cassidy, 1/18)

The Baltimore Sun: Doctors Group Promotes Its Economic Impact In Maryland
There are 17,633 active patient care physicians in Maryland supporting more than 213,000 jobs and generating $3.95 billion in economic output for the state’s economy, according to a study released by MedChi, Maryland’s medical society, and the American Medical Association. The doctors each generated more than $2 million in activity for the state’s economy on average, including more than $1.1 million in workers’ wages and benefits on average, according to the study. (Cohn, 1/18)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Relatives Raising Children Because Of Abuse Or Neglect May Get Help
Kinship Care is a program that pays a monthly stipend to relatives who take in children removed from homes because of abuse or neglect. At the time, the program provided $300 per child per month to relatives. Bevin has proposed $1.8 million for the program in fiscal year 2018-2019 and $3.3 million in fiscal year 2019-2020. (Sellers, 1/18)

Boston Globe: Tufts Medical Center CEO To Take On New Role In Parent Company
Six months after a bitter nurses strike, the chief executive of Tufts Medical Center, Dr. Michael Wagner, is taking a job at Tufts’ parent company to oversee a new strategy aimed at improving the patient-care experience. Wagner plans to leave the CEO job in May, after about four years leading the Chinatown institution, to become chief physician executive for the Wellforce network. (Dayal McCluskey, 1/18)

Houston Chronicle: UT-Austin To Waive Some Mental Health Student Fees 
The University of Texas at Austin will waive students' $10 counseling fees and subsidize the $15 psychiatry services charge, aiming to reduce barriers to care for students seeking help, the school's president said Wednesday. The changes follow student requests. One student petition to make the university's counseling services free for students earned thousands of signatures, the Daily Texan reported. (Ellis, 1/18)

Dallas Morning News: Baylor Scott And White To Stop Delivering Babies At Its Carrollton Medical Center 
Starting next week babies will no longer be delivered at the Baylor Scott and White Medical Center in Carrollton and the neonatal intensive care unit will close next month. While obstetrics services will be discontinued, gynecological care-- including procedures like imaging, mammography and hysterectomies-- will still be provided at that location. (Rice, 1/18)

The Baltimore Sun: Union Hospital To Become Part Of LifeBridge Health System 
Union Hospital in Cecil County has signed a letter of intent to become a part of LifeBridge Health as it seeks more resources to serve its patients. The two sides expect it to take several months to work out a final agreement, which must be approved by the federal government and the boards of both hospital systems. (McDaniels, 1/18)

The Oregonian: Portland Startup NurseGrid Raises $5.7 Million 
A Portland startup called NurseGrid said Thursday it has raised $5.7 million to improve its technology and add staff. NurseGrid offers online tools to help hospitals and other health care facilities manage their staffing. The company says its technology can help organizations run more efficiently to combat a nurse shortage and improve employee retention and job satisfaction. (Rogoway, 1/18)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: Low Water Pressure Forces Closures For Ochsner, Tulane After Thursday Freeze 
Several health care facilities in the New Orleans area have had to close on Thursday (Jan. 18) after losing water service amid freezing temperatures. Ochsner Medical Center reported that its main campus at Jefferson Highway and Ochsner Medical Center - Kenner had lost water service due to the weather conditions on Thursday. (Clark, 1/18)

California Healthline: Judge Orders New Olympus Trial Over Superbug Death
A Seattle judge said Olympus Corp. failed to properly disclose internal emails that raised safety concerns about a redesigned medical scope as early as 2008, several years before the device was publicly tied to deadly superbug outbreaks. Citing those “willful discovery violations” by the Japanese device giant, King County Superior Court Judge Steve Rosen ordered a new trial Tuesday in a wrongful death case brought by Theresa Bigler. (Terhune, 1/18)