State Highlights: Medical Malpractice Case On Fla. High Court’s List; Iowa Treatment Center Sues Wellmark Blue Cross & Blue Shield
Outlets report on health news from Florida, Iowa, New York, California, New Hampshire, Arizona, Missouri, Tennessee, Illinois and Ohio.
Health News Florida:
Supreme Court Ready To Hear Medical Malpractice, Other Major Cases
Justices are poised to hear arguments on a series of high-profile issues, including gambling, the death penalty, guns and medical malpractice, according to a schedule released Wednesday. (Saunders, 5/26)
The Des Moines Register:
Addiction Treatment Agency Sues Wellmark, Claims Fraud
An addiction-treatment program is suing Wellmark Blue Cross & Blue Shield, saying the health-insurer withheld millions of dollars in payments in an illegal effort to put the agency out of business. St. Gregory Retreat Centers treat people for drug and alcohol addictions at facilities in Adair and Bayard and in a wing of the Polk County Jail. (Leys, 5/26)
The Associated Press:
New York Makes It Easier To Sign Up To Be An Organ Donor
A new law in New York state aims to make it easier to sign up to be an organ or tissue donor. The measure, signed into law on Wednesday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, will ask anyone signing up for coverage through the state's health insurance exchange if they'd like to register as a donor. Currently, only one in four eligible New Yorkers is registered. That's the second lowest participation rate in the nation. (5/26)
California Healthline:
Impact Of ‘Millionaire Tax’ To Fund Mental Health Care Still Hard To Gauge
An 11-year-old statewide effort to expand mental health services with a tax on high incomes is helping many people, but there’s not enough hard data to measure the overall impact of the billions of dollars raised so far, members of an independent state watchdog agency said Thursday. More work is needed to overcome problems of communication, reporting and oversight in order to assemble a clear picture of how the money’s spent. That, anyway, was the consensus reached at Thursday’s hearing before the Little Hoover Commission, most of whose members are appointed by the governor and the legislature. (Ibarra, 5/27)
Concord Monitor:
N.H. Is Last State In The Country To Create A Registry Of People’s Immunizations
New Hampshire has joined the rest of the country by authorizing an immunization registry, a record of vaccinations that health officials say is valuable to combating outbreaks of contagious diseases. Marcella Bobinsky, acting director of public health, pointed to a 2013 outbreak in Vermont of whopping cough, or pertussis, as an example. (Brooks, 5/27)
The Arizona Republic:
Officials: Two Cases Of Measles Confirmed In Arizona
Two cases of the measles have been confirmed in Arizona and other people may have been exposed, state and county health officials said Thursday. One patient is an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainee at the Eloy Detention Center and the other is an employee of the facility in Pinal County, Arizona Department of Health Services officials said. (Alltucker and Greene, 5/26)
St. Louis Public Radio:
One Missouri Cigarette Tax Hike Proposal Hurt By Lack Of Teachers' Union Support And Judge's Ruling
One of two ballot initiatives that would increase Missouri’s cigarette tax may be in trouble. A Cole County judge has said the fiscal note on a 60-cent-a-pack proposal overestimates the revenue that would be raised. He has directed the auditor to review the projection, and that would invalidate the petitions turned in by Raise Your Hand for Kids. The organization has said it will appeal. (Daily, 5/26)
Nashville Tennessean:
Tennessee Ranks 43rd For Senior Health, Challenges Loom
Tennessee senior citizens are more likely than the national average to get a flu shot and less likely to drink too much alcohol or get moved into a nursing home before necessary. But they’re more likely to smoke, go hungry or experience depression. And if current trends continue, tomorrow’s seniors could face even more challenges. (Nelson, 5/26)
Chicago Tribune:
Nursing Homes For Boomers Gain Traction Over Opposition In Chicago Area
The stigma attached to nursing homes most often is that they're a place you go to die. The last thing baby boomers, who came of age in the '60s and '70s and practically invented youth culture, will ever admit is that they are getting old. A nursing home in Arlington Heights hopes to win them over. It features spacious private rooms with flat-screen TVs, wider beds and Wi-Fi. The dining areas look more like cafes than cafeterias. It takes design cues from hotels to replace the institutional feel of older nursing homes. (Sachdev, 5/26)
The Cleveland Plain Dealer:
Push To Increase Access To IUD, Implants Is Working In Northeast Ohio
A statewide effort to increase access to more effective, long-acting birth control options such as intrauterine devices, or IUDs, and implants is starting to bear fruit in the Cleveland area, a coalition of public and private health leaders reported Tuesday. (Zeltner, 5/26)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Breastfeeding Support Group Creates A Community
Breastfeeding is the natural way to feed a baby, but it doesn’t come naturally to all women. Support from other new mothers is proven to boost breastfeeding success. The I AM: Breastfeeding support group was launched last year to help underserved women meet their breastfeeding goals. The group also offers home and hospital visits, phone advice and lactation counselors on call. (Bernhard, 5/27)
