State Highlights: Ohio Autism Mandate; Few Convictions In Colo. Probe Of Center For Disabled

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Ohio Autism Insurance Coverage Mandate Approved By State Lawmakers 
Private insurers must cover Ohioans with autism spectrum disorders under a bill passed late Thursday by the Ohio General Assembly. The bill mandates any health insurance plan must provide coverage for the screening, diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorder. It sets minimum coverage standards such as covering at least 20 speech or occupational therapy sessions a year. (Borchardt, 12/9)

Denver Post: Only One Staff Member Convicted After Thousands Of Incident Complaints At Pueblo Center For Disabled
Residents at a state-run center in Pueblo for the severely intellectually disabled were subjected to sexual assaults and ongoing physical abuse and neglect from 2012 to early 2016. Incidents ranging from patient discomfort to more severe allegations of abuse were reported at a rate of about 150 each month to the center’s staff during that time, according to federal records. In the end, just two staff members were charged criminally and only one was convicted. That was for the petty offense of making too much noise. At least 12 cases were investigated by the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office. Eight employees were fired. (Osher, 12/9)

Boston Globe: Partners HealthCare Posts Record Operating Loss 
Partners HealthCare posted the biggest annual operating loss in its 22-year history, driven by red ink at Neighborhood Health Plan, a Medicaid insurer whose finances have deteriorated since Partners acquired it in 2012. The state’s largest health network said Friday that it lost $108 million on operations in the year that ended Sept. 30, reversing a profit of $106 million a year earlier. Revenue at the parent company of Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women’s hospitals rose 7 percent to $12.5 billion, but expenses grew at a faster clip. (Dayal McCluskey, 12/9)

New Hampshire Union Leader: Verdict Awards Couple $5M After Procedures Leave Woman Legally Blind 
A Derry couple won a $5 million verdict Friday after a jury found a Londonderry opthalmologist was found liable of committing medical malpractice for failed procedures that left a 67-year-old woman legally blind. Nancy Knox had been treated for the so-called wet form of age-related, macular degeneration, which can worsen someone’s vision, but often does not lead to blindness and can be treated. Dr. Adam Beck at New England Eye & Facial Specialists in Londonderry had Knox as a patient for eight years. First, Knox lost much of her vision in her left eye. She then not only lost the vision in her right eye, it had to be removed surgically because it had shrunk so badly following treatments that did not work. (Landrigan, 12/9)

Boston Globe: A Nursing Home Giant Stumbles Amid Expansion 
At the Maplewood Center in Amesbury, administrators in May acknowledged to inspectors that they were so short of certified nursing assistants, they had to use an activities director and an admissions executive to help feed patients. (Lazar, 12/11)

Arizona Republic: Smiles Everywhere: Free Dental Care In Phoenix Draws Thousands
In his second year at the event, [Dr. Kevin] Ortale focused on providing dentures for some of the thousands of patients who waited in line for hours Friday and Saturday in the hopes of relieving pain and infection they've suffered. (Mitchell, 12/10)

New Hampshire Union Leader: 2nd Class-Action Lawsuit Filed In NH Against Saint-Gobain 
A second class-action lawsuit has been filed against Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics here in New Hampshire — this time on behalf of several Merrimack residents who say they have been exposed to high levels of perfluorinated chemicals (PFC). The complaint filed on Monday includes about 15 adults and seven children, including a couple whose child has developed leukemia, and on behalf of other local residents dealing with contaminants in their water. All of the plaintiffs argue that they have a legitimate fear of developing cancer or other diseases as a result of the PFC contamination allegedly caused when Saint-Gobain released perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) into the environment. The chemical was ultimately detected in local water sources earlier this year. (Houghton, 12/9)

San Jose Mercury News: Experts: California's Marijuana Legalization Could Be Delayed
Right when it seems like “The Great Pot Moment” is upon us, it turns out there are a lot of really tough regulatory issues to resolve first, according to government and industry experts who sketched out all the thorny challenges at the two-day conference, competition and harvest celebration at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds. (Krieger, 12/11)

Sacramento Bee: Father Of Sick Nevada County Boy Works To Build California Network For Medical Marijuana Using Families 
Silas’ story, chronicled last spring in a Sacramento Bee series, The Silas Project, involved a controversial alternative medical experiment that began in mid-2014. Nevada County cannabis growers grew special strains for the child and crafted tinctures rich in a marijuana ingredient, CBD, or cannabidiol, a nonpsychoactive ingredient that, according to limited studies, may have medicinal benefits. (Hecht, 12/10)