Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: N.C.'s Plan To Hold Down Hospital Costs Hits Roadblock; NYC Patients' Privacy Breached
Modern Healthcare: N.C. Walks Back Reference-Based Pricing Plan For State Workers
After more than a year of tense negotiations, the North Carolina state treasurer has partially walked back a plan to reimburse healthcare providers for services delivered to teachers and other state employees at a percentage tied to Medicare rates. The decision comes after many of the state's hospitals refused to sign contracts to join the new North Carolina State Health Plan Network, which would have paid them an average 196% of the Medicare rate for the same service. That rate had been revised upward several times during negotiations. (Livingston, 8/9)
The Associated Press: NYC Medical Data Breach Linked To About 10,000 Patients
The personal information of about 10,000 New York ambulance patients was involved in a data breach linked to the city’s emergency medical services. The Fire Department of New York acknowledged Friday that the data was contained in an EMS employee’s personal hard drive, reported missing in March. (8/9)
New Orleans Times-Picayune: New Orleans Hospitality Workers: New Health Care Initiative A 'Timid' But 'Good' First Step
The hospitality industry in New Orleans brings in $8.7 billion per year, according to a report commissioned by the city in 2018. But while the industry thrives, many of the city's cooks, servers and bartenders must walk a financial tightrope trying to find affordable health care. ... [T]he New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corp., which is largely funded by the city’s hotel room occupancy tax, has rolled out a marketing initiative aimed at connecting hospitality workers with existing health care services. The program, called Healthy Hospitality, is being offered in partnership with 504 HealthNet, a network of clinics and hospitals in the city that provide free or low-cost health care. (Woodruff, 8/9)
Politico Pro: Judge Orders California Lawsuits Over Gilead HIV Drugs To Be Heard In San Francisco
A California judge has ordered all lawsuits filed against Gilead Sciences regarding safety problems with its HIV drugs to be overseen by a single judge in San Francisco County Superior Court. The ruling by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Kenneth R. Freeman brought together more than two dozen cases filed throughout California by patients alleging they were harmed by Gilead antiviral medications containing tenofovir disoproxil fumarate — including Viread, Truvada, Atripla, Complera or Stribild. (Colliver, 8/9)
Health News Florida: Florida Officials Eye Safety, Mental Health Ahead Of School Year
With the start of a new school year just around the corner, Florida officials are eyeing policy changes that would expand the number of mental health professionals in schools and ensure that charter schools are meeting safety requirements. Addressing mental health issues and hardening schools have been two high-profile education issues in the wake of last year’s mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. (Ceballos, 8/9)
Los Angeles Times: Sexual Misconduct Allegations Against California Doctors Rise Sharply Since #MeToo Era Began
Since fall of 2017, the number of complaints against physicians for sexual misconduct has risen 62%, a jump that coincides with the beginning of the #MeToo movement, according to a Times analysis of California medical board data. During that same time, medical boards across the country also noticed a surge in sexual misconduct complaints, according to Joe Knickrehm, spokesman for the nonprofit Federation of State Medical Boards, though figures were not available. (Karlamangla, 8/12)
Kaiser Health News: How #MeToo Is Changing Sex Ed Policies — Even In Red States
The 2019 state legislative season is producing a bumper crop of sex education bills across the U.S., with at least 79 bills introduced in the legislatures of 32 states and the District of Columbia, according to a recent report by the Guttmacher Institute, a sexual and reproductive health research and advocacy organization. Most of the bills have been aimed at expanding youth education around healthy sexuality and relationships — and reducing the reach of the abstinence-only ideology that had become part of many sex ed classes over the past four decades. (Landman, 8/12)
Pioneer Press: Washington State Couple Dead In Apparent Murder-Suicide Left Notes Saying They Couldn’t Afford Medical Care, Police Say
A Washington state couple whom authorities believe died by murder-suicide reportedly left several notes expressing worry that they could not afford treatment for the wife’s severe medical issues. The husband, 77, called 911 shortly before 8:30 a.m. Wednesday and told the dispatcher that he planned to shoot himself, the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. The man said he had written a note for the sheriff with information and instructions. (Iati, 8/11)
Tampa Bay Times: Health Risk Was High From Bloody Gloves, IV Lines And Chemo Waste Found Crammed In 11 Trailers
State investigators last week announced they had seized more than 50,000 pounds of untreated biomedical waste at a Plant City storage center. An arrest report obtained this week reveals what made up the haul and just how dangerous it is. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection found bloody latex gloves, stained hospital sheets, intravenous lines, expired medicine and chemotherapy waste, among other things, all carrying an “extremely high risk” of exposure to bloodborne pathogens. (Ogozalek, 8/9)
The Wall Street Journal: For Higher Education, Try Taking Courses In Marijuana
At least two U.S. universities have just introduced high-level courses for students interested in a career in the marijuana business. Maryland University’s School of Pharmacy will offer a master’s degree in medical cannabis. Cornell University—an Ivy League school apparently branching out into other leafy plants—has introduced a course called “Cannabis: Biology, Society and Industry.” The Cornell offering will cover everything from cultivating marijuana to marketing it more effectively. The Maryland master’s program will prepare students for careers as pot-savvy health care professionals. (Queenan, 8/9)
Arizona Republic: Arizona Marijuana Ballot Measure Details Released
A ballot measure to legalize marijuana in Arizona would allow people 21 and older to have as much as an ounce of the drug, while letting the state decide some important decisions such as potency, according to details released Friday. The backers have spent months consulting on the initiative and made a concerted effort to address concerns from public safety officials, municipalities and other groups likely to oppose the measure, said spokeswoman Stacy Pearson, senior vice president with Strategies 360 in Phoenix. (Randazzo, 8/9)
North Carolina Health News: Family Members Of People With Mental Illness Find Support, Skills
The free course, which has been taken by over 300,000 people nationwide in almost three decades, improves family members’ ability to cope with and accept mental illness, according to a 2011 study. Role-playing exercises teach strategies such as reflective listening, in which family members emphasize their empathy and understanding by reflecting what their loved ones say back to them. (Duong, 8/12)
The New York Times: The Impact Of Racism On Children’s Health
This month the American Academy of Pediatrics put out its first policy statement on how racism affects the health and development of children and adolescents. “Racism is a significant social determinant of health clearly prevalent in our society now,” said Dr. Maria Trent, a professor of pediatrics at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, who was one of the co-authors of the statement. (Klass, 8/12)
Boston Globe: ‘I Validate Your Pain’: A New Suicide Prevention Program On Cape Cod Is Rethinking Mental Health Care
In 2017, the Cape Samaritans, the Falmouth-based branch of a global suicide-prevention network, was awarded a three-year grant to launch “A Caring Connection.” It is one of several ongoing efforts in Massachusetts — supported by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration — to curb the suicide epidemic with integrated health models. (Kuznitz, 8/10)
MPR: At Camp Needlepoint, Diabetics Avoid Being ‘Odd Kid Out’
Toting pillows, sleeping bags and stuffed animals, hundreds of children anxiously lined up Sunday to check in for overnight camp along the St. Croix River. Packing lists for Camp Needlepoint were filled out with insulin pumps, glucose monitors and other vital tools to manage their shared disease: diabetes. The unique sleepaway camp put on by the American Diabetes Association is one of the largest and oldest of its kind. Its goals are simple: Provide an escape for children while introducing them to peers also coping with the chronic condition. (Bakst, 8/12)
Boston Globe: ‘I’ve Never Seen Anybody Like Me’: Childhood Burn Survivors Embrace Their Scars At Summer Camp
Now 24 and a counselor each summer at this camp for childhood burn survivors near Sturbridge, Kelsey [Pandiani] sees herself in the young girls she cares for, each a tumbler brimming with hope and doubt and nerve. She learns from them, again, how much it took to make her own passage; she longs to teach them what it took her years to learn, and she longs now to help the girl beside her. (Russell, 8/10)
New Hampshire Union Leader: Massachusetts Confirms Human Case Of EEE
Less than a week after state health officials reported a Kingston man had been diagnosed with two mosquito-borne viruses, a case of Eastern Equine Encephalitis has been confirmed in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health announced Friday that a Plymouth County man had tested positive for EEE, the Bay State’s first confirmed case in a human since 2013. (Alden, 8/11)
