State Highlights: N.Y. Home Health Care Standards; Nursing Shortage In Ill.; W.Va. 20-Week Abortion Ban In Effect

Reuters Health: N.Y. Home Health Workers Do Not Always Meet Standard--Report
Home health workers in New York do not always meet federal and state requirements for health screenings and training, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Human Services' Office of Inspector General. The report, released on Tuesday, looked at a sample of 150 Medicaid claims for home health services in New York from 2007 to 2009, and found that home care workers involved in 15 of the claims did not meet federal and state requirements. (Pierson, 5/26)

The Associated Press: New Survey Suggests Nursing Shortage Looming In Illinois
A new survey conducted by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation suggests the state may soon face a shortage of registered nurses as more and more baby boomers retire. The voluntary survey, known as the 2014 Illinois Registered Nurse Workforce Study, was completed by nearly 53,000 registered nurses, or around 30 percent of the total in Illinois. (5/26)

The Associated Press: West Virginia 20-Week Abortion Ban Takes Effect
A law prohibiting abortions 20 weeks after conception took effect Tuesday in West Virginia, despite Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin twice vetoing the ban over concerns that a court could strike it down. Amid the Democratic governor’s worries over constitutionality, state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, a Repubilcan, has vowed to defend the ban against potential legal action. (5/26)

California Healthline: Senate Approves Vaccination Requirement for Day Care Workers
Preschool and day care workers in California will need to be immunized against common contagious diseases such as measles and whooping cough, according to a new proposed law that passed a Senate floor vote last week. (Gorn, 5/26)

The Associated Press: California Bill Compels Abortion Notice At Pregnancy Centers
Californians who visit crisis pregnancy centers must know whether the facility is licensed and that abortion is an option under legislation advanced Tuesday by the state Assembly. AB775 advanced on a party-line vote with Republicans saying it would violate free speech protections. The bill responded to reports of misinformation at pregnancy centers that are opposed to abortion, including an unsubstantiated link between abortion and breast cancer. (Nirappil, 5/26)

The Associated Press: Overdose Reversal Kits Being Supplied To More Ky. Hospitals
Hospital system on the front lines of treating heroin overdoses in hard-hit northern Kentucky will be supplied with hundreds of naloxone kits to send home with overdose patients in an effort to combat the deadly toll from the drug scourge. An emergency nurse manager said Tuesday the overdose reversal kits will save lives and provide a starting point for conversations about treatment. (Schreiner, 5/26)

The Washington Post's Wonkblog: Already Deep In Debt, Puerto Rico Now Faces A New Crisis
Puerto Rico has been laid low for nearly a decade by crippling debt and a near-perpetual recession that has triggered a migration to the U.S. mainland unmatched since the 1950s. Now, a growing number of people on the island worry that another crisis is looming: the collapse of the island’s health-care system. More than 2 million patients—roughly 60 percent of Puerto Rico’s population—rely on Medicare, Medicare Advantage or Medicaid to pay for their health care. Doctors practicing in Puerto Rico are forced to get by with much smaller Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rates than those received by their counterparts on the mainland. The difference stems from a formula that Puerto Rico advocates say underestimates commercial rents, while not fully accounting for high costs of malpractice insurance, medical equipment and utilities. (Fletcher, 5/26)

North Carolina Health News: NC Group Home Money Allegedly Hidden In House Budget
Group home providers are being told there’s money to support their residents with mental health disabilities, but the fix hasn’t been spelled out. Since changes driven by a 2012 settlement North Carolina made with the U.S. Department of Justice over mental health funding, getting the money needed by group homes has been a challenge. (Hoban, 5/27)

NJ Spotlight: Nurse-led, Team-focused Health Care Inspires Providers In NJ
Healthcare providers and insurers across New Jersey are looking for ways to become more efficient and effective in the way they deliver care to patients – particularly those with chronic diseases who make the most visits to hospitals. Some are finding inspiration in a small nonprofit across the Delaware River in Pennsylvania. Doylestown, Pa.,-based Health Quality Partners has gained national attention using a nurse-led, team-based model of providing intense, closely coordinated healthcare. (Kitchenman, 5/26)

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Missouri Hemp Oil Program Slow To Take Off
When Missouri agreed to allow the use of hemp extract to treat severe forms of epilepsy, Marc DeSantis was hopeful his 8-year-old son, Lucas, would benefit. Lucas has various brain malformations and, at times, has had more than 200 seizures in a day. Having tried more than a dozen other medications to little avail, Marc DeSantis began to look to hemp oil. But that excitement would soon turn to frustration. Under Missouri’s law, hemp oil can be obtained only with the approval of a neurologist who must certify that more standard forms of treatment were ineffective at treating seizures. (Shapiro, 5/27)