State Highlights: N.H. Gov. Starts Study Of Health Care Worker Shortage; In Md., A Debate About A Long-Term Care Insurance Rate Hike

The Associated Press: Hassan Starts Study Of Health Care Worker Shortage
Gov. Maggie Hassan has created a commission to study New Hampshire's shortage of health care workers. The Democrat says the shortage "increasingly threatens" the state's ability to care for its citizens and limits health care choices. Her office says the state is facing a shortage of doctors, nurses, mental health workers, substance abuse counselors, psychiatrists and home-care providers. An executive order creating the commission doesn't offer details on the shortages in each profession. (4/30)

The Baltimore Sun: Long-Term Care Insurance Rate Increase Being Debated
Senior citizens already paying heavy premiums on their long-term care insurance plans strongly urged state regulators on Thursday to oppose any additional rate hikes wanted by insurance carriers. The seniors, who complained about the financial pressures placed on them by past rate increases, filled a Baltimore County auditorium where a public hearing called by Maryland Insurance Commissioner Al Redmer Jr. was held to consider if insurers should be allowed to impose even higher premiums. (McDaniels, 4/29)

The Associated Press: Lawmakers Approve 'Step Therapy' And Welfare Reform Bill
Kansas legislators approved a health and public welfare bill Monday that would reduce prescription drug costs within the state's Medicaid program and make changes to eligibility for public assistance. Senators voted 27-13 in favor of the measure early Monday after the House approved it in a 79-43 vote. The measure will now go to Gov. Sam Brownback, who has touted welfare reform in the past. (Hellmann, 5/2)

The Columbus Dispatch: State Medical Board's Disciplinary Record Rankles Some
When doctors get in trouble in Ohio, it's usually for one of two reasons: impairment or prescribing issues. Figures from the State Medical Board of Ohio show that last year, those troubles were the primary basis for nearly 60 percent of the 134 disciplinary actions taken against some of the state's more than 50,000 physicians and doctors-in-training. (Kurtzman, 4/30)

The Texas Tribune: State Spending More On Mental Health Care, But Waitlist For Beds Grows
Despite an infusion of funding from lawmakers for the state’s mental health care system, Texas struggles to provide psychiatric care for all patients who need it. Crumbling, century-old state hospitals today have around 400 people on waiting lists, and the number of beds the state pays for in private facilities has not kept up with the state’s rapid population growth. At the same time, publicly funded options for people who need mental health care but are not yet in crisis are even harder to come by, experts say. (Walters, 5/1)

Modern Healthcare: Massachusetts Proposal Would Require Insurance Coverage For Lyme Disease
Massachusetts lawmakers have advanced a proposal that would require insurance companies to provide coverage for doctor-prescribed Lyme disease treatments. The measure was tacked on to the nearly $40 billion state budget that was approved last Wednesday by the House of Representatives. It now goes to the Senate. (5/1)

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: Infant At Children's Hospital Infected With Elizabethkingia Bacteria
A strain of Elizabethkingia bacteria has been found in an infant being treated in the neonatal intensive care unit at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, the hospital confirmed, but there is no indication it is the same strain that has infected 65 people in Wisconsin in recent months. (4/29)

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: Email From Insider Led To Epic Systems' $940 Million Legal Win
In June 2014, Epic Systems Corp. in Verona received an email that no software company can ignore: Employees of a company working for one of its customers had gained unauthorized access to a restricted website and may have stolen documents that contained trade secrets. (Boulton, 5/1)

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Premature Infants Fed Breast Milk Have Better Brain Growth, Study Shows
The brains of premature infants fed a primary diet of breast milk grow faster than those who are fed formula, according to a small study at St. Louis Children's Hospital. Babies whose diets included at least 50 percent breast milk from their own mothers or donors had more brain tissue by their expected due dates, brain scans showed. The 77 premature infants in the study had stayed in the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit. They had all been born at least 10 weeks early. (Bernhard, 4/30)

The Denver Post: Colorado To Pay High Price For Doctor To Study Marijuana Legalization
State health officials want to hire someone to keep an eye on marijuana legalization — at potentially one of the highest salaries in state government. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is advertising a position for a "marijuana health effects and research manager." The job will involve monitoring the health consequences of legalization; gathering data from hospitals, emergency rooms and poison control centers; and helping to lead an advisory committee that produces a report on legalization's outcomes. (Ingold and Baca, 4/29)

The Kansas Health Institute News Service: Legislature Passes Indoor Tanning Ban For Minors
The Kansas Legislature passed a bill Saturday banning tanning salons from serving minors, a measure advocates say will reduce cancer. Free-market advocates had pushed for an amendment allowing tanning for customers under 18 with parental permission. But the House and Senate ultimately voted to join a dozen other states and Washington, D.C., in banning it completely. (Marso, 4/30)

The Denver Post: Guild Warns Pair Of Insurance Company Mergers Could Harm Patient Care
The Colorado Medical Society is sounding alarms that a pair of proposed insurance company mergers could threaten doctors' independence and harm patient care. The mergers would turn four giant health insurers into two. Anthem Inc., which is affiliated with Blue Cross Blue Shield, wants to acquire all outstanding shares of Cigna for $54 billion. Aetna is offering to buy out Humana for $37 billion. (Olinger, 4/29)

The Associated Press: Nebraska Court Lets Transportation Company Expand In Lincoln
A transportation company that serves people with disabilities can expand its operations in Lincoln despite objections raised by taxi services, the Nebraska Supreme Court said Thursday. Complaints against Golden Plains Services include instances where a van arrived late and the customer missed a medical appointment, and a person who said a wheelchair wasn't properly secured and tipped, injuring the client's arm. (Schulte, 4/29)

The Seattle Times: Seattle Hookah Lounge Reaches Settlement With Health Officials
Public-health officials settled their case against a Seattle hookah lounge Friday, clearing the way for Mayor Ed Murray to end his clash with owners of other similar businesses. Last August, Murray said he would move to shutter all 11 of the city’s hookah lounges for violating a state ban on indoor smoking in public places and places of employment. He linked the businesses to violent crime, including the fatal shooting of Chinatown International District community leader Donnie Chin near one such lounge. (Beekman, 4/30)