Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: Mich.'s New Vaccination Waiver Rule Triggers Debate; More Scrutiny Proposed For Sale, Closure Of Mass. Nursing Homes
The Detroit Free Press: Vaccination Waivers: New Mich. Rule Reignites The Debate
A new state rule requiring parents to attend a class at their local health department if they want a vaccination waiver for their kids before school starts is reigniting the debate over mandatory vaccinations. The rule applies to children entering a licensed day care, a preschool, the Head Start program, kindergarten, seventh grade or enrolling in a new school district. The goal? Slash the number of vaccination waivers in Michigan, which has the fourth-highest rate of waivers in the nation, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Higgins, 8/13)
The Boston Globe: More Nursing Home Scrutiny Proposed For Sales, Closures
Companies aiming to sell or close Massachusetts nursing homes would be required to first notify residents, families, and a wide array of officials, under proposed new rules detailed by regulators Wednesday, a year after state lawmakers directed them to create a more public process. The rules come amid mounting concerns by patient advocates that elder care is suffering as the state’s nursing home industry experiences an upheaval, with many facilities being sold and some closed. (Lazar, 8/13)
The Wall Street Journal: Potent New Stimulant Flakka Ravages Florida
Late last year, sheriff’s deputies in rural Lewis County, Ky., began encountering drug users suffering bouts of extreme paranoia. One tried chopping down a tree that he thought contained officers conducting surveillance on him. “It was crazy,” said Sheriff Johnny Bivens. (Campo-Flores, 8/12)
Connecticut Mirror: Law Enforcement Access To Drug Monitoring Data Raises Privacy Concern
Connecticut’s Prescription Monitoring Program aims to stop the misuse of opioids and other dangerous drugs and save lives. But some are concerned these programs have given law enforcement officers access to private information about prescription drugs in your medicine cabinet. (Radelat, 8/13)
The Minneapolis Star-Tribune: MNsure Plans Fixes, New Consumer Tool For Website
MNsure has scheduled IT upgrades for late August that are meant to respond to long-standing complaints the system can’t keep up with important life changes for enrollees. The state’s health exchange also is spending $473,000 to provide website users with an online tool that will help them understand out-of-pocket costs associated with different health insurance options available through MNsure. (Snowbeck, 8/12)
The Washington Post: When Life Begins In Rehab: A Md. Baby Heals After A Mother’s Heroin Addiction
After a month of painful withdrawal that bunched her body into a tight ball, after tremors and diarrhea and sleeplessness and difficulty eating, Makenzee Kennedy went home to her bed in a drug rehab facility to celebrate a milestone: turning 2 months old. (Bernstein, 8/12)
The Kansas City Star: Testing Of Drug To Help Dialysis Patients Moves Forward In Kansas City
The arduous process to prove that a drug works — so far taking 14 years and about $170 million — is being pushed ahead by Proteon Therapeutics. The company, founded in the Kansas City area by Nicholas Franano and Bill Whitaker, has enrolled its first patient in its second phase 3 clinical trial, supervised by Christie Wynette Gooden, a surgeon at St. Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City. (Stafford, 8/13)
Newsday: Two East Islip Doctors Agree To Pay $1.1M In False Medicare Claims Case
Two doctors who were affiliated with an East Islip general practitioner's office have agreed to pay more than $1.1 million to resolve charges that they submitted claims to Medicare for procedures that were not medically necessary, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. Prosecutors said the doctors ordered and performed nerve conduction studies on patients who didn't medically need them. The procedure involves the electrical stimulation of a patient's nerves and muscles to measure the conduction speed of electric impulses and nerve and muscle function. (Ruud, 8/12)
The Associated Press: Long Island Doctors Settle, Pay Over $1M To US Government
Federal prosecutors say two doctors affiliated with a Long Island general practitioner's office will pay more than $1 million combined to resolve charges they submitted claims to Medicare for unnecessary procedures. Newsday reports Dr. Vikas Desai and Dr. Robert Maccone entered separate civil agreements Wednesday to pay the United States government a total of $1,120,299. (8/13)
Los Angeles Times: Top Surgeons Says U.S. Took Funds It Would Need To Pay GET-THIN Settlement
The owners of a company behind the 1-800-GET-THIN ads for weight loss surgery cannot afford to pay a $1.3-million settlement of a false-advertising lawsuit because federal agents seized $109 million from them as part of an ongoing criminal investigation, their lawyer said during a court hearing on Wednesday. (Pfeifer, 8/12)
