State Highlights: NYC Lags Behind In Anti-Smoking Efforts; Mass. Long-Term Care Insurance Rates On Rise

The New York Times: Once A Leading Foe Of Tobacco, New York Lags Under De Blasio
In the 12 years that Michael R. Bloomberg spent as mayor of New York, he became known for pushing far-reaching health initiatives to curb smoking and change eating habits — challenging Big Tobacco, big sodas and, at times, the will of New Yorkers. The first three years of Bill de Blasio’s tenure as mayor have brought a different approach. (Neuman, 1/22)

Boston Globe: Rates Jumping For Long Term Care Insurance 
The state Division of Insurance has negotiated rate increases of up to 40 percent spread over four years with more than a dozen long-term care insurance companies in an effort to stabilize the troubled and shrinking market for this coverage. The state’s top insurance regulator took the unusual step Friday of approving rate increases at once for 16 companies providing coverage to nearly 55,000 state residents. Most existing policyholders will see rates increase 10 percent a year for the next four years. (Fernandes, 1/20)

The CT Mirror: CT Exchange Wants To Require Broker Commissions For Health Plans 
Officials at Connecticut’s health insurance exchange want to require insurance companies that sell health plans through the marketplace to pay commissions to agents and brokers next year, a move aimed at restoring the assistance for exchange customers. Last year, 40 percent of Access Health CT’s private insurance customers signed up through agents or brokers, who were paid a monthly fee by insurance companies. But insurance companies stopped the commissions for plans sold through Access Health in 2017. (Levin Becker, 1/20)

The Washington Post: For District Workers Caring For Adult Relatives, New Legislation Is A Godsend
Tanisha Vinson, a home-health-care aide in the District, was let go from her job last month after she took off too many days to care for her mother, who had recently undergone spine surgery. “My mother was in a bed and couldn’t get out, and she called me to come,” said Vinson, a single mother of three whose son has disabilities. She missed five days of work in two weeks, and since losing her position she hasn’t found work again. (Bahrampour, 1/21)

Richmond Times Dispatch: Va. Families Of People With Disabilities Criticize New Funding Structure
The SIS, as it’s called, is a tool the state has used for years to determine how much support disabled Virginians need, but this is the first year it has been tied to how much money is paid to caretakers for certain services. The change in funding models was part of a sweeping redesign of the Medicaid waiver system in Virginia, which was implemented in large part last year. Goodloe and several other parents and advocates have voiced concerns that the SIS assessment is not accurately capturing the needs of disabled Virginians and resulting in detrimental cuts that could lead to people with disabilities being placed in more institutional settings. (Kleiner, 1/22)

Richmond Times Dispatch: Advocates Want Every Virginia Child To Have Access To A Nurse While In School
Nurses, students and a legislator from Stafford County have joined forces to try to make sure every child in the state has access to a nurse while in school. The effort is being led by Del. L. Mark Dudenhefer, R-Stafford, who has sponsored legislation calling for every school board to employ at least one nurse at every elementary, middle and high school, or one for every 550 students. The bill, HB1757, was advanced out of the Elementary & Secondary Education Subcommittee on Wednesday and will be heard by the House Education Committee today. (Llovio, 1/20)

Cincinnati Enquirer: TriHealth Software Glitch Sent Mail To Previous Addresses Of Patients
TriHealth, the Cincinnati-based health care company, issued a statement Friday regarding a software glitch that inadvertently sent mail to the address of over 1,000 patients. "The majority of the correspondences were billing statements sent to the previous address of current patients," the statement said. No Social Security numbers, credit card numbers or any other financial institution information were disclosed in any of the mailings as a result of the glitch, which was discovered several weeks ago, officials said. (Kinight, 1/20)

The Star Tribune: Hennepin County Leads State In 24/7 Child Protection Response 
For years, some of the most seriously abused or neglected children in Minnesota couldn’t get help from a social worker for days. Across the state, child protection agencies would shut down on holidays, weekends and late at night. Calls for help would be forwarded to the police or a nonprofit under contract with the county, and information taken down to relay later to a social worker. Not anymore in Hennepin County, which according to the state has launched the only completely county-run child protection response system in Minnesota that’s operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week. (Smith, 1/22)

California Healthline: From Its Counterculture Roots, Haight Ashbury Free Clinic Morphs Into Health Care Conglomerate
Since it opened 50 years ago, the Haight Ashbury Free Medical Clinic has been a refuge for everyone from flower children to famous rock stars to Vietnam War veterans returning home addicted to heroin. Strolling through the clinic, one of the first of its kind in the nation, founder Dr. David Smith points to a large collage that decorates a wall of an exam room affectionately referred to as the Psychedelic Wall of Fame. The 1967 relic shows a kaleidoscope of images of Jefferson Airplane and other legendary counterculture bands, floating in a dreamscape of creatures, nude goddesses, peace symbols and large loopy letters. (Udesky, 1/23)

New Hampshire Union Leader: Hampton Man Files Malpractice Suit Against Doctors After Wife Dies From Infection 
A Hampton man whose wife died from a severe infection after she sought treatment in Exeter Hospital’s emergency room has filed a medical malpractice suit against two of the doctors who treated her. Francis Chamberlin is suing Dr. Craig Maclean, Ohio-based U.S. Acute Care Solutions, Dr. Steven Kahan, and Core Physicians LLC following the death of his 67-year-old wife, Jacklyn Chamberlin, on Oct. 27, 2016. (Schreiber, 1/20)

Los Angeles Times: Measles Outbreak Grows In L.A.'s Orthodox Jewish Community Despite California'S Strict New Vaccination Law
Six months after California’s strict vaccine law took effect, a measles outbreak has infected 20 people, most of them in Los Angeles County, prompting a search for others who may have been exposed to the highly contagious virus.Most of the patients live in western areas of the county, including L.A.’s Westside, the Santa Monica Mountains and the San Fernando Valley. Santa Barbara and Ventura counties each reported one case. (Karlamangla, 1/21)

The Washington Post: His Mental Illness Left Him Homeless. Then A Unique Program Gave Him His Life Back. 
It’s a little after noon. Usually by this hour, David Weiss would be waking for the second time, still groggy from his antipsychotics. He’d have gotten up once at dawn, maybe made himself an egg with toast. He might have gone into the back bedroom to scan his ham radio or played a few chords on his guitar. Then he’d go back to sleep. But on this day, he had somewhere to be. It’s easier to get up on days like this, days with a purpose. (Itkowitz, 1/21)

Seattle Times: Tet In Seattle Offers Help For A Healthy New Year 
For the third year in a row, the Tet in Seattle Vietnamese celebration for the Lunar New Year has included a health fair to provide screenings, information and insurance enrollment for the community...Volunteers from Swedish Medical Center, the University of Washington, Seattle University, International Community Health Services and others offered free blood-pressure, cholesterol and blood-sugar-level checks, while providing nutritional information and insurance help. (Hansen, 1/22)

WBUR: Mass. Legislators Propose Limits On Legal Marijuana — Here Are The Key Points 
Just hours after polls closed on Nov. 8, 2016, leaders on Beacon Hill began talking about ways they might change the ballot question that made marijuana legal for adult use in Massachusetts. In December, without notifying all members, a handful of lawmakers voted to delay the start of retail sales. Now, as a new session begins, House and Senate leaders have filed dozens of bills that would make major changes in the recreational marijuana law. (Bebinger, 1/21)