State Highlights: Mich. Medicaid Expansion Available To People Exposed To Flint’s Water Crisis; 13 Percent Of Pennsylvanians Don’t Have A Primary Care Doctor

MLIve: Expanded Medicaid For Flint Water Crisis Not Limited To Residents
Gov. Rick Snyder along with officials from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced this week that people ages 21 and under and pregnant women who have been exposed to Flint water may be eligible for a Medicaid expansion program. ... The plan, which opened enrollment May 9, is at no cost to participants with incomes up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level. For example, Falk said a single person making $47,520 a year or less qualifies for benefits and a family of four earning about $92,000 or less also qualifies. (Johnson, 5/12)

WITF: CDC: 13% Of Pennsylvanians Don't Have Primary Care Provider
A primary care provider knows your health history, spots problems before they become major issues, and can monitor any chronic conditions. But some Pennsylvanians go without one: nearly 13 percent of Pennsylvanians didn't have a primary care provider in 2014. That's actually better than the national average of 17 percent, but it trails many northeastern states like New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. (Allen, 5/12)

The Associated Press: Doctor: Decision To Reverse Well Warning Made Under Pressure
North Carolina's state health director feared legislators would take away some of his authority before deciding in March to reverse warnings that hundreds of water wells near Duke Energy power plants were too contaminated to use, according to testimony provided by environmentalists Thursday. Dr. Randall Williams, the health director, was concerned that if the state didn't reverse its 2015 letter urging residents living hear Duke Energy coal ash pits against drinking their well water, the General Assembly might restrict his division's authority, according to a deposition state epidemiologists Dr. Megan Davies gave last week. (Dalesio, 5/12)

WBUR: Health Care And Civic Leaders Launch Serious Illness Care Coalition
A group of health care and civic leaders meets at the Kennedy Library Thursday morning with a mission: ensuring that Massachusetts residents live their final weeks or months as they choose. They’re launching a new statewide effort called the Serious Illness Care coalition. The aim of the group is to encourage patients, doctors and family members to talk about what type of care they want when facing a serious illness — the kind that could lead to death within a year. (Becker, 5/12)

The Star Tribune: Death Of Patient At Hopkins Nursing Home Linked To Medication Error
For the second time in just over a month, a Minnesota nursing home has been cited for neglect in the case of a patient who died after a medical transcription error. (Serres, 5/11)

The Boston Globe: Report Faults Cataract Surgery Errors
In recent years, more than two dozen Massachusetts patients have been victims of medical errors during cataract surgery — a wildly popular procedure that is now the most commonly performed operation in the country. (Kowalcyzk, 5/12)

Modern Healthcare: Postcard Triggers Ohio Mental-Health Privacy Mea Culpa
Ohio health officials are notifying 59,000 state residents that they were inadvertently identified as behavioral-health patients in mailed correspondence, resulting in a breach of protected health information. In February, the Ohio Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services sent postcards to former patients that read "Your Consumer Voice," strongly inferring that the recipient had used the agency's services. The agency received a complaint from a woman whose son received one of the 10,000 cards inviting patients to take an online survey. It was the only complaint, according to agency spokesman Eric Wandersleben. (Conn, 5/11)

Georgia Health News: Two New Health Care Laws You May Not Have Heard About
Two of these pieces of legislation did not attract much fanfare or criticism. They were approved by the Legislature with little media attention, and have won praise from patient advocates in Georgia. ... One measure, House Bill 1037, allows Georgians to file complaints against certified nursing assistants (CNAs) who work as caregivers in an individual’s home. ... Another bill hailed by patient advocates makes Georgia the second state, after Rhode Island, to license lactation consultants. These consultants help mothers who are having problems breastfeeding their babies. (Miller, 5/12)

The Cleveland Plain Dealer: Cleveland Clinic Mum On Details Of Alliance With Embattled Blood-Testing Company Theranos
It was supposed to be a pairing of America's medical elite. In October 2014, the Cleveland Clinic formed a strategic alliance with Theranos, then a fast-rising company from California whose 31-year-old chief executive was promising to revolutionize blood testing. (Ross, 5/12)

The Connecticut Mirror: A Handshake, Then A Vote On Connecticut’s Next Budget
The budget also moves approximately $3.9 million in public health programs currently funded through the state’s General Fund, the main source of operating money, to the Biomedical Research Trust Fund. The programs being shifted include those addressing children’s lead poisoning, children with health care needs, children’s health initiatives and a genetic diseases program. Under the budget deal reached between the Malloy administration and Democrats in the legislature last week, they would have been funded through the state’s insurance fund, which is paid for by insurance companies that generally pass the costs on to customers. (Phaneuf, Levin Becker, Rabe Thomas and Pazniokas, 5/12)

The News Service of Florida: Court Allows Case Against Pharmacy In Man's Death
A state appeals court Wednesday said a lawsuit can move forward against a compounding pharmacy in the death of an Ohio man who received a fatal dose of pain medication while on vacation in Southwest Florida. The 2nd District Court of Appeal, in a 2-1 ruling, reversed a circuit judge's decision to dismiss allegations against Professional Compounding Pharmacists of Western Pennsylvania. The case stems from the 2012 death of Darryl Ray Sorenson, who suffered back pain because of injuries from an auto accident. (5/12)

The Tampa Bay Times: Behind The Scenes At The Doctor's Office, A New Business Model Aims To Keep You Out Of The Hospital
Dr. Christopher Pittman's vein care practice looks like a typical doctor's office. Patients read magazines in a nicely appointed waiting area. Physicians scan medical charts and prepare for procedures. Under the hood, however, it is a unique operation. (McGrory, 5/12)