Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: McCaskill's Bill Proposes Letting States Regulate Air Ambulance Costs; Child Advocate Probes Use Of Restraints At N.H. Facility
St. Louis Post Dispatch: McCaskill Drafts Bill Aimed At Giving States Power To Regulate Air Ambulances
Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., plans to introduce legislation Thursday that would allow states to regulate the medical costs of air ambulances. The legislation would force air ambulance providers to clearly separate the transportation costs from the cost to provide care on a consumer’s bill. McCaskill’s Air Ambulance Consumer Protection Act partially carves out air ambulances from federal regulation, a step that would open the door for state insurance departments to regulate air ambulances. (Liss, 5/10)
New Hampshire Public Radio: Child Advocate Investigating Sununu Youth Center Following Allegations Around Use Of Restraints
The state's new Child Advocate, Moira O'Neill, is launching an investigation into the Sununu Youth Center following allegations of a pattern of illegal use of restraints on juveniles there. ...O'Neill is also raising questions about how state officials have responded since the allegations were made public earlier this week. (Moon, 5/9)
Politico Pro: Background Check Gap Could Allow Florida Mentally Ill To Buy Guns
In Florida, a state with some of the nation’s worst mass shootings in recent years, nearly 20 percent of mental health records are entered late into a background check database, a long-running problem state law enforcement officials now acknowledge could lead to someone with a known mental illness buying a gun. The lapse, which dates back to at least 2014, went unnoticed by state lawmakers and the governor's office until POLITICO asked about the issue. (Dixon, 5/10)
New Orleans Times-Picayune: New Orleans' Only Burn And Trauma Center Opens At University Medical Center
University Medical Center is celebrating the opening of its new Burn Trauma Center this Friday (May 11), making it the only Burn Center and Level 1 Trauma Center between Houston and Mobile, according to hospital officials. The burn unit has been operational for a few weeks. The six people who were injured in an electrical accident last month at the Hampton Inn on North Causeway Boulevard in Metairie were treated at the center, Jefferson Parish Fire Department officials confirmed at the time. (Clark, 5/9)
The CT Mirror: Legislature Overwhelmingly Enacts Bipartisan CT Budget
The legislature overwhelmingly approved a new state budget shortly before their midnight deadline Wednesday that restores aid for towns; reverses health care cuts for the elderly, poor and disabled; and defers a transportation crisis — at least for another year. The $20.86 billion package, which now moves to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s desk, does not increase taxes, though it does raise the maximum tax rate cities and towns can levy on motor vehicles. (Phaneuf, 5/9)
Richmond Times-Dispatch: ACLU Report Critical Of Solitary Confinement In Virginia Prisons, Calls For Limiting The Practice To No More Than 15 Days
Efforts by the Virginia Department of Corrections to cut back on using solitary confinement are not enough, according to a critical but disputed new study of the practice. ...The report was sent to Gov. Ralph Northam on Tuesday along with a letter from Claire Guthrie Gastañaga, executive director of the ACLU of Virginia, who asked the governor to sign an executive order to significantly limit the use of solitary in Virginia’s 30,000-inmate system. (Green, 5/10)
Arizona Republic: Contempt Ruling Ahead In Arizona's Prison Health-Care Case
U.S. Magistrate Judge David Duncan said he is still working on an order to show cause why the state should not be held in contempt of court in connection with an ongoing prison healthcare lawsuit. But he said there will be a judgment against the state and fines, although it is unclear where the money will come from, the state or the managed healthcare company that provides care to the Arizona Department of Corrections. (Kiefer, 5/9)
Nashville Tennessean: Health Care Tech: Why Nashville Will Beat Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley tech companies like Apple, Google and Uber are known for using technology in new ways to solve old problems, and sometimes, radically changing consumer behavior in the process. These three companies are reportedly pursuing health care investments, which could mean health care is the next industry to be disrupted by technology. Of course, these companies aren’t the first to tackle health care. Health care start-ups have been launched across the country, including in Nashville. (Tolbert, 5/9)
Houston Chronicle: Patient Care Intervention Center Expands To New Offices
The Patient Care Intervention Center, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve health care quality and costs for the community's most vulnerable, has leased 5,130 square feet in the 3701 Kirby Drive building, founder and president Dr. David S. Buck said. The center partners with organizations such as Houston Methodist Hospital, Community Health Choice, Harris Health System, Houston's fire and police departments, Healthcare for the Homeless, Amerigroup RealSolutions, Houston Recovery Center and the Coalition for the Homeless to provide better outcomes for patients and cost savings. (Feser, 5/9)
The Star Tribune: UnitedHealthcare Expands Program For Hip, Knee And Spine Procedures
Minnetonka-based UnitedHealthcare has expanded a program that is changing payment terms for certain hip, knee and spine surgeries in hopes of improving quality while lowering costs. Launched as a pilot in 2015, the program is now saving employers about $18,000 per procedure, the insurer announced Wednesday, and has been expanded this year to nine new markets. (Snowbeck, 5/9)
Dallas Morning News: FBI Agents Raid Healthcare Company's Offices On Top Floor Of Dallas Highrise
Federal agents on Wednesday raided the northwest Dallas offices of a healthcare company. The target of the raid was Medoc Health Services, whose website says it provides "healthcare management services to an extensive network of top-tier ancillary service providers." The company occupies the 17th floor in the ClubCorp building at LBJ Freeway and Webb Chapel Road, where, on Wednesday, federal agents kept guard while FBI agents collected enough material to fill at least one of two white vans parked outside. (Wilonsky and Hallman, 5/9)
Austin American-Statesman: Austin Health Officials Investigating After About 17 Sickened At NCAA Golf Tourney
The Austin Public Health department is investigating after about 17 people got sick with gastrointestinal symptoms this week at the NCAA Austin Regional Tournament. Four golfers could not compete Tuesday and one played while sick. (Huber, 5/9)
Boston Globe: Lawmakers Move (Again) To Raise Tobacco Age To 21
The Massachusetts House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill Wednesday raising the minimum legal sales age for tobacco products from 18 to 21. The bill would also set the minimum age for purchasing vaping products at 21. (Miller, 5/9)
California Healthline: Longtime ‘Fighter’ Lands Top Spot In Powerful Nurses Union
Bonnie Castillo’s first experience with organized labor dates to the mid-1960s, when she was just 5. Her father was a railroad worker in Sacramento, Calif., and an active union member. More than once, she and her mom drove him to a picket line, where workers demanded better pay and benefits. “We’d pick him up within a matter of hours because they’d win,” Castillo, 57, recalled with a slight smile. “That was quite a time.” (Ibarra, 5/8)
Sacramento Bee: Nurses Strike In Support Of Workers At UC Medical Center
After more than a year of negotiations, the patient-care and service workers, represented by AFSCME 3299, rejected the university's last-and-best offer of 3 percent across-the-board wage increases and a prorated, lump-sum payment of $750. AFSCME 3299 negotiators have sought wage increases of 6 percent, a freeze on health care premiums and job security that eliminates contracting out jobs for which its members are trained. (Sullivan, 5/9)
San Francisco Chronicle: Tax For Teacher Salaries, Ban On Flavored Tobacco Highlight SF Ballot
On June 5, San Francisco voters will be asked to weigh in on a range of important policy matters, from creating a new tax to raising wages for teachers and banning flavored tobacco products. Here’s a look at the propositions San Francisco voters will consider on election day. (Fracassa, 5/9)
Kaiser Health News: Listless And Lonely In Puerto Rico, Some Older Storm Survivors Consider Suicide
A social worker, Lisel Vargas, recently visited Don Gregorio at his storm-damaged home in the steep hillsides of Humacao, a city on Puerto Rico’s eastern coast near where Category 4 Hurricane Maria first made landfall last September. Gregorio, a 62-year-old former carpenter who lives alone, looked haggard. He said he had stopped taking his medication for depression more than a week earlier and hadn’t slept in four days. He was feeling anxious and nervous, he said, rubbing his bald head and fidgeting with the silver watch on his wrist. His voice monotone and barely audible, he told Vargas he had had thoughts of suicide. (Varney, 5/10)
Denver Post: Colorado Marijuana Stores Usually Suggest Cannabis For Pregnancy-Related Nausea, A New Study Shows
Should women suffering from morning sickness during pregnancy use marijuana to control their nausea? Colorado health experts, regulatory officials and even industry advocates have consistently answered no, and they’ve backed that message up with studies, public service announcements and warning labels on cannabis packaging. But a new study by doctors at Denver Health and the University of Colorado School of Medicine reports that, when asked for advice on mixing pot and pregnancy, employees at an overwhelming majority of marijuana stores in Colorado will say that it’s OK. And fewer than a third of those stores will recommend that a pregnant woman consult with a doctor about cannabis use — unless they are prompted to. (Ingold, 5/9)
