Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: Ore. Court Medicaid Decision Leads Some Families To Try To Recoup Estate Payments; Ga. Struggles To Address Backlog Of Nursing Home Complaints
Oregon Public Broadcasting: Oregon Supreme Court Ruling Prompts Families To Try To Recoup Medicaid Payments
When a couple grows old, one spouse often gets sick and needs long-term care — like a nursing home. That can cost $6,000 a month. To qualify for Medicaid, couples often transfer the title for an asset, like a home, to the other spouse. In 2008, the state tightened the rule governing asset ownership in an effort to recover more money. Now the Oregon Supreme Court has found that exceeded the state’s authority. (Foden-Vencil, 1/3)
Georgia Health News: State Admits To Slow Pace In Addressing Nursing Home Complaints
Georgia is dealing with a large backlog of complaints about nursing homes, and also has a substantial vacancy rate in surveyors who check conditions in these facilities, a state health agency said Tuesday. The complaint situation has helped lead to “a mess’’ with federal health officials, Frank Berry, commissioner of the Department of Community Health, told Georgia House lawmakers at a hearing. (Miller, 1/3)
KCUR: Kansans Struggle Through Maze Of Autism Therapy Coverage
ABA [applied behavior analysis] consists of one-on-one sessions with trained experts who try to keep kids with autism in step developmentally with their age-group peers. It’s the most common autism therapy in the United States. [Jill] Wagner and other parents of kids with autism are told ABA is essential for their children’s development. But finding a qualified provider and getting insurance to cover it can feel impossible, she said. (Marso, 1/3)
The Associated Press: West Virginia Reaches $3.5M Settlement With Drug Wholesaler
West Virginia officials have reached a $3.5 million settlement with a wholesaler accused of flooding the state with millions of prescription pain pills. Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announced the settlement Tuesday with H.D. Smith Wholesale Drug Co. (1/3)
Stateline: Telemedicine In Schools Helps Keep Kids In The Classroom
Telemedicine, increasingly used in prisons, nursing homes and remote areas, is becoming more common in schools. According to the American Telemedicine Association, at least 18 states authorize Medicaid reimbursement for telemedicine services provided in schools and 28 states plus Washington, D.C., require private insurers to cover telemedicine appointments as they would face-to-face doctor visits. Telemedicine can’t always replace an in-person examination — a doctor often has to touch a patient, for example, to diagnose the cause of abdominal pain — but it does make it less likely that a child will have to miss class for a visit to the doctor’s office. (Ollove, 1/4)
The Associated Press: Texas Sues FDA To Make Decision On Execution Drug Shipment
Texas filed a lawsuit Tuesday against a federal agency to force it to decide whether an impounded shipment of a drug used for executions should be delivered to the Texas prison system, which has carried out more lethal injections than any other state. (Graczyk, 1/3)
Chicago Tribune: Chicago, Public Housing Agencies To Implement Federal Smoking Ban
The federal rule, announced Nov. 30 by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, will require all public housing agencies to go smoke-free by June 2018. The rule prohibits tobacco products — cigarettes, cigars, pipes and hookahs — in living units, indoor common areas, administrative offices and outdoors within 25 feet of housing and administrative office buildings. Although electronic-cigarettes are not explicitly banned, HUD encourages individual public housing agencies to "exercise their discretion" in their smoke-free policies. (Moreno, 1/4)
The Tampa Bay Times: Confusion Clouds Medical Pot As Voter-Approved Amendment Goes Into Effect
Florida is now officially a medical marijuana state after a voter-approved measure legalizing the drug went into effect Tuesday, but state health officials remain unclear about how — or even if — patients can access the drug. (Ausien, 1/3)
