Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: Mental Health Funds At Texas Schools Take Back Seat To Security Following Shooting; N.Y. Teams Up With Feds To Clear Rape Kit Backlog
Stateline: Mental Health Trails Metal Detectors In School Safety Dollars
Instead, the debate is over how much state money to invest in metal detectors, alarm systems and surveillance cameras versus school counselors and mental health assessments. So far, physical security measures are garnering the lion’s share of dollars in legislative spending proposals. But mental health advocates say they’re confident that the state will make the first substantial investment in school mental health services in decades. (Vestal, 3/13)
The Associated Press: New York, Feds Join To Get 100K Rape Kits Tested Around US
Languishing evidence in over 100,000 sexual assault cases around the country has been sent for DNA testing with money from a New York prosecutor and federal authorities, spurring over 1,000 arrests and hundreds of convictions in three years, officials say. It’s estimated that another 155,000 or more sex assault evidence kits still await testing, and thousands of results have yet to be linked to suspects. Many who have been identified can’t be prosecuted because of legal time limits and other factors. (Peltz, 3/12)
Health News Florida: Nursing Home Staffing Changes Considered
Despite opposition from AARP Florida and others, members of the Senate Health Policy Committee approved a bill that would eliminate a mandate that nursing homes provide each patient an average daily minimum of 3.6 hours of direct patient care, 2.5 hours of which must be provided by a certified nursing assistant. Instead, the measure (SB 1088) would require nursing facilities to provide each resident one hour of direct nursing care per day and 3.9 hours of what is called “direct care staffing.” (Sexton, 3/12)
The Associated Press: City Drops Lawsuit Against DC Hospital Over Closure
The attorney general of Washington, D.C., has dropped a lawsuit against an area hospital and its owner that was meant to prevent the hospital from ending most services. The Washington Post reported Tuesday that a judge dismissed the case against Providence Hospital and Ascension Health last week after D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine filed a motion to dismiss it. Racine’s motion said his office was satisfied with plans submitted by the hospital. (3/13)
The Wall Street Journal: Pittsburgh Air-Quality Problem Recalls The Bad Old Days
The air above this city is raising alarms once again. People who live in Allegheny County, which surrounds Pittsburgh, have lodged more than 2,300 air-quality complaints this year. For most of January, county officials urged residents in 22 municipalities in the Mon Valley nearby to limit outdoor activities out of concern for high levels of sulfur dioxide, and U.S. Steel has begun offering free health screenings. (Maher, 3/12)
The Star Tribune: Medtronic To Pay $20M To Settle Kickback Allegations
Medtronic's Covidien business has agreed to pay $20 million to resolve kickback allegations, becoming the company's third announced federal legal resolution in three months. Medtronic, with operational headquarters in Fridley, agreed in the most recent case to settle claims that Covidien officials provided doctors with free and discounted services until late 2014 to illegally induce sales of its ClosureFast device that were later billed to Medicare and Medicaid programs. (Carlson, 3/12)
