Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: Ohio Medicaid Costs Lower Than Expected; Fla. Gets $1.2M For Mental Health
Cleveland Plain Dealer: Ohio's Medicaid Costs Expected To Be About $470M Lower Than Anticipated
The cost of Ohio's Medicaid program is expected to be about $470 million less than what was originally estimated in the current two-year budget, and the bulk of that savings goes directly to the state. The anticipated savings is a result of multiple factors, said Greg Moody, director of the governor's Office of Health Transformation. A big one is that fewer people than expected are signing up for traditional Medicaid coverage, which costs the state more than the expanded Medicaid coverage that began this year. (Higgs, 11/7)
The Associated Press: Florida Gets $1.2M For Mental Health Services
Federal health officials are giving Florida more than $1 million to expand access to mental health and substance abuse services. This week federal health officials announced $1,249,850 in Affordable Care Act funding to help five health centers in Florida establish or expand behavioral health services for 18,854 Floridians. The Sunshine State has dozens of health centers. In 2013, those health centers saw over 71,456 behavioral health patients. (11/10)
The New York Times: Montefiore’s New Bronx Medical Center Emphasizes Outpatient Care
The newest medical complex in the Bronx offers valet parking, views of Long Island Sound, and operating rooms equipped with overhead lamps that do not throw shadows and nonporous, plastic-lined walls to reduce the spread of infection. But there is one amenity it does not have: overnight beds. Though it has the resources of a hospital, the $152 million complex operated by Montefiore Medical Center will send patients home the same day as part of the hospital system’s shift toward outpatient operations. ... The complex, known as Montefiore’s Hutchinson campus, will serve one of the nation’s poorest urban communities at a time when many Bronx residents are struggling with obesity, diabetes, asthma and other chronic diseases. (Hu, 11/7)
Los Angeles Times: California Businesses Benefit From Election Day Outcomes
Health insurers spent tens of millions of dollars to stave off an initiative, Proposition 45, that would have regulated their rates. And doctors and hospitals ponied up equally large sums to defeat Proposition 46, which would have raised medical malpractice award caps for non-economic "pain and suffering." (Lifsher, 11/9)
Kaiser Health News: L.A. County Health Department Allegedly Falsified Nursing Home Probe Records
The Los Angeles County Public Health Department falsified the dates it received complaints about nursing homes as pressure rose to meet state deadlines for launching investigations, according to two employees. In a letter last month to county, state and federal officials, inspector Kimberly Nguyen cited 11 cases in which she said the dates typed into the computer system were later than the dates the complaints were actually received. The cases mentioned in the letter involve alleged abuse, falls and pressure sores, she said. (Gorman, 11/10)
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: Health Costs Increase 8-10% For Milwaukee Area Employers
The cost of health benefits for employers in the Milwaukee area increased by an average of 8% to 10% this year, with the steepest increases for small employers, according to an annual survey done by HCTrends. The HCTrends survey included about 150 employers and the increases varied significantly by employer. Premiums for large employers, for instance, rose by 5% to 7% on average, and many of them saw increases of less than 5%. (Boulton, 11/7)
The Boston Globe: Program For Needy Patients Struggles
An experiment to improve care for thousands of Massachusetts’ sickest residents is proving more complex and expensive than health insurers and regulators envisioned, forcing the state and federal governments to shoulder more costs for the first-in-the nation program. (Lazar, 11/10)
The New York Times: A Veteran Actor’s Backstage Fight For Affordable Health Care
Richard E. Waits was lying in bed hours before his audition, envisioning his metamorphosis. He closed his eyes and imagined his easy stride transformed into a jaunty strut, his smooth baritone sinking into a gravely rasp. But his anxieties kept intruding on his meditations. In about seven weeks, the health fund for Actors’ Equity, the union that represents theater performers, will drop Mr. Waits and scores of other struggling actors from its health insurance plan. (Swarns, 11/9)
Health News Florida: Virtual Kiosks Take Care Outside Clinics
There was a time when you got sick, you waited to see the family physician. But then came the "Doc In A Box" clinics, where you went without an appointment, at night and on weekends. And it only got easier when mini-clinics began popping up in neighborhood pharmacies. (Shedden, 11/7)
The Associated Press: Veteran Wait Times For Health Care Drop In Pacific
Wait times for veterans in Hawaii and other parts of the Pacific trying to see a primary-care doctor for the first time have dropped to 35 days from 110 days in May. Wayne Pfeffer, the director of the Veterans Affairs Pacific Islands Health Care System, had said in June that he hoped to reduce the wait time for new patients to 30 days within three months. (11/7)
