Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: Mass. Senate Leaders Focus On Curbing State Health Care Costs; Three Pa. Health Systems Report Fiscal 2017 Losses
Boston Globe: Senate Leaders Honing Bill To Rein In State’s Health Care Costs
Massachusetts Senate leaders say they are developing an extensive bill aimed at curbing health care costs in the state budget and for consumers, in what could shape up to be the biggest state health care legislation in five years. Senators expect to finish drafting the bill in coming weeks and file it in October, after several months of research, including meetings with health officials in other states. (Dayal McCluskey, 9/6)
The Philadelphia Inquirer/Philly.com: Three Philadelphia-Area Health Systems Report Fiscal 2017 Losses
The Philadelphia region’s two smallest nonprofit health systems by revenue, Doylestown and Holy Redeemer, slipped into the red on an operating basis in the year ended June 30, according to preliminary operating results. Doylestown Health had a consolidated operating loss of $1.76 million on revenue of $322.45 million. That was the system’s first loss since 2010. Officials declined to comment before a presentation of audited results to the organization’s board on Sept. 25. (Brubaker, 9/7)
Georgia Health News: As Lead Poisoned A Child, A Slow State Response
When tests on a child reveal at least 10 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood, the Georgia Department of Public Health is supposed to investigate to determine where the lead came from. ... The Poteets can’t be sure how Austin was poisoned because caseworkers for the Georgia Department of Public Health took months to contact the family after he tested high. (Goodman and Miller, 9/6)
The Associated Press: 6 More Arrested In Abuse Probe At Psychiatric Hospital
Six more staff members at a maximum-security psychiatric hospital have been arrested in connection with the repeated abuse of a patient, making it a total of nine workers charged with cruelty to persons and disorderly conduct, Connecticut State Police said. Authorities on Tuesday night announced the new arrests of workers at the Whiting Forensic Division of Connecticut Valley Hospital in Middletown. The facility is the state’s only maximum-security hospital for the criminally insane. (9/6)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Anthem, Inclusa Plan Project To Link People With Social Services, Resources
Anthem BlueCross and BlueShield and Inclusa, which manages long-term care services for 15,500 people in Wisconsin's Family Care program, are collaborating on a pilot project to help link people who are severely disabled and covered by Medicaid with social services and community resources. (Boulton, 9/6)
The Star Tribune: Access To Care Seen As Issue As Rural Counties Lose Obstetric Units
Rural counties saw a significant number of obstetric unit closures during the 10-year period ending in 2014, according to a new report, with researchers saying the figures raise concerns about access to care for women of reproductive age. (Snowbeck, 9/6)
