Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: Mich. Must Offer Water-Bottle Delivery To Flint Residents; Kan. Program Helps People With Mental Illness Leave State Hospital
The Washington Post: Michigan Must Deliver Bottled Water To Flint Residents, Judge Rules
A federal judge in Michigan has ordered state officials to offer bottled-water delivery to Flint residents who can’t easily pick up their own from distribution sites in the city. “A safe water supply has always been critical to civilization,” U.S. District Judge David M. Lawson wrote Thursday in his decision. “The Flint water crisis has in effect turned back the clock to a time when people traveled to central water sources to fill their buckets and carry the water home.” (Dennis, 11/10)
Kansas Health Institute: Pilot Program Helps Disabled Kansans Leave State Hospital
The program is targeted at an underserved population: Kansans with intellectual and developmental disabilities who also have severe and persistent mental illnesses. It is one of several initiatives Keck has launched to reintegrate some Osawatomie State Hospital residents into their communities. The idea was to do a comprehensive review of patients with intellectual and developmental disabilities at Osawatomie State Hospital and determine if their mental illness was controlled enough that they could be discharged to organizations that could provide home and community-based services to support their disabilities. (Marso, 11/10)
Minnesota Public Radio: Health Officials Weigh Testing Newborns For Disability-Causing Virus
CMV is transmitted by contact with fluids, and is generally a non-event, unless a women is infected during pregnancy, and passes the virus to her fetus. There are nearly 500 newborns infected with congenital CMV in Minnesota each year. Eighty percent will be completely unaffected. Ten percent will have symptoms that are evident and treated in the hospital. The remaining ten percent need treatment but don't get it. They go home without anyone knowing they're sick. Eventually they develop serious disabilities, most often hearing loss. (Benson, 11/11)
Georgia Health News: Most In State Health Plan Sign Up With Blue Cross
More than half of the members in the state employee and teacher health plan signed up with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia plans for coverage next year. (Miller, 11/10)
The Philadelphia Inquirer/Philly.com: Physician, Congressman Say Hospital Beds Accumulate Debris
A Philadelphia-area physician and U.S. Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick say a commonly used model of hospital bed has a design flaw that allows the accumulation of unsanitary material, posing a risk of disease transmission for patients. The pair say the hinges on the railings of TotalCare beds, made by Chicago-based Hill-Rom Inc., are housed in a recessed "alcove" that can trap debris in such a way that is very difficult to clean. The physician, Hooman Noorchashm, said he saw grayish debris around the railing hinges on intensive-care beds in October at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He said he first saw debris in the hinges of a bed occupied by his wife, Amy Reed, who was being treated for an advanced cancer. Then he went into unoccupied rooms and saw other bed hinges in a similar state. (Avril, 11/10)
The New York Times: New Charges For 2 Flophouse Operators Accused In Medicaid Fraud Scheme
The New York State attorney general filed Medicaid fraud and money laundering charges on Thursday against a lawyer who runs two outpatient substance-abuse programs in New York City and a couple who ran flophouses that forced residents to seek help from those programs. Their arrangement was detailed in an investigation by The New York Times last year. (Barker, 11/10)
Pioneer Press: UMN To Close Dental Clinic Serving Low-Income Neighborhood
A University of Minnesota-run dental clinic in Minneapolis’ Cedar-Riverside neighborhood is closing next summer because it’s losing too much money serving low-income people. The clinic, operated by eight general-practice residents under faculty supervision, lost $800,000 last year, according to Todd Thierer, the dental school’s acting dean. Thierer said about 75 percent of the clinic’s 7,500 visits last year were with patients on Medical Assistance. Those patients generate only about 45 percent the revenue that other patients pay, he said, because of low state reimbursement rates. (Verges, 11/10)
Health News Florida: 6 More Local Zika Cases Confirmed In Florida
State health officials Wednesday reported six more local cases of the mosquito-borne Zika virus, bringing to 217 the number of transmissions of the disease in Florida. Five of the new cases involved Miami-Dade County residents, while one involved a person from out of state. The Florida Department of Health said it was investigating to determine where exposure to the virus occurred. (11/10)
The Philadelphia Inquirer/Philly.com: Black Patients' Readmission Rates Are Higher. Could Nursing Help?
Older black patients are much more likely than whites to be readmitted to the hospital after a hip or knee replacement. The reasons are complex, but more attention from nurses may help address the problem, a new study from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing’s Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research suggests. Readmission rates matter both because no one wants to go back into the hospital and because the rates are a Medicare quality measure. Hospitals are penalized financially when too many of their patients return after they’re sent home. (Burling, 11/10)
Health News Florida: What's Next For Medical Marijuana In Florida?
Now that Florida voters have passed a medical marijuana constitutional amendment, some are already asking: Is recreational marijuana next? (Aboraya, 11/10)
