Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: Response To Legionnaires' Outbreak Faulty At Illinois VA Hospital, Report Finds; N.J. Governor Plans To Sign Aid-In-Dying Bill
The Associated Press: Audit: Slow Legionnaires' Response At Illinois Veterans Home
A state audit released Monday contradicted former Gov. Bruce Rauner's claim that his administration had done everything federal experts recommended to remedy a deadly 2015 Legionnaires' disease crisis at an Illinois veterans' home. Auditor General Frank Mautino reported that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had recommended in December 2015 that filters be put on every water spigot. Despite Rauner's claim, the audit found that only shower and bathtub heads were outfitted with filters before 2018. (3/25)
The Associated Press: Murphy To Sign Bill Allowing Medically Assisted Suicide
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday he will sign legislation allowing terminally ill patients to seek life-ending medication. New Jersey will join six other states and the District of Columbia that have similar laws once the bill is signed. “Allowing terminally ill and dying residents the dignity to make end-of-life decisions according to their own consciences is the right thing to do. I look forward to signing this legislation into law,” Murphy, a Democrat, said in a statement after the Democrat-led Assembly and Senate passed the measure in close votes. (3/25)
Modern Healthcare: New York City Revives Funding For Program To Train Medical Billers
With a renewed commitment from New York City, LaGuardia Community College recently graduated the fifth class of its medical billing training program and added Mount Sinai Health System as an employer partner. The program, which started in 2016 with the help of the Harvard Business School Club of New York and Weill Cornell Medicine, has now graduated 113 people. The five-month program trains participants to work as medical billers for health systems and physicians' offices. (LaMantia, 3/25)
Arizona Republic: Federal Government Releases 'Star' Ratings For 56 Arizona Hospitals
Eighteen Arizona hospitals had low scores of one or two stars out of five, according to new federal ratings intended to gauge patient safety and quality. One- and two-star rated Arizona hospitals represented nearly one-third of all hospitals in the state that were included in the star ratings, a recently updated federal ratings system that relied on data submitted by hospitals to the federal government. (Innes and Philip, 3/25)
Nashville Tennessean: Nashville Based Change Healthcare Pursues Initial Public Offering
Change Healthcare, a Nashville-based health tech company, has filed for an initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission in an effort to raise $100 million. Change Healthcare, which was formerly called Emdeon before it purchased Brentwood-based Change Healthcare, provides data and analytics to hospital and health care clients to cut costs and improve clinical outcomes. (McGee, 3/25)
New Orleans Times-Picayune: Louisiana Gets 'F' Grade For Efforts To Remove Lead From School Drinking Water, Study Says
A new study puts Louisiana among a total of 22 states nationwide that have been graded poorly for efforts to reduce lead in school drinking water. A study released March 21 by the Environment America Research & Policy Center and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG) Education Fund analyzed lead testing policies for 31 states and Washington, D.C. The states received letter grades based on their laws and policies related to lead in school drinking water. (Nobles, 3/25)
Sacramento Bee: CA Bill Would Aid Special Needs Students At Nonpublic Schools
A state bill aimed at protecting special needs students at nonpublic schools was introduced Monday in response to the November 2018 death of a student who was restrained at his El Dorado Hills school. Assemblyman Jim Frazier, D-Discovery Bay, authored AB 1172 to expand local and state oversight of all nonpublic schools and how they operate. (Morrar, 3/25)
The Philadelphia Inquirer: State Orders ‘Emergency Removal’ Of Remaining Boys At Glen Mills Schools After Abuse Revelations
The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services has issued an emergency removal order of all boys remaining at the Glen Mills Schools, the oldest existing U.S. reform school. In a Monday letter to the school’s board of managers, the state agency – which licenses and oversees the Delaware County campus – said conditions “constitute gross incompetence, negligence, misconduct in operating a facility, including mistreatment and abuse of clients, likely to constitute immediate and serious danger to the life or health of the children in care." (Gartner, 3/25)
Texas Tribune: Texas Officials Investigating Whooping Cough At State Capitol
Texas health officials are investigating a case of whooping cough at the state Capitol — an incident that is triggering discussions about vaccine policies in the state. The Texas Department of State Health Services alerted members of the Legislature on Friday that lawmakers might have been exposed to the infection regardless of their immunization status if they were working at the Capitol the previous day. (Samuels, 3/25)
Sacramento Bee: UC Davis Resident, Fellowship Physicians Authorize Labor Union
Less than a week after some unionized employees of the hospital took to the picket lines over stalled contract negotiations, a majority of roughly 800 medical residents, interns and fellows at UC Davis Medical Center have signed up to join a labor union, the Committee of Interns and Residents, the union announced Monday. Those employees will soon ask the state’s Public Employment Relations Board to certify the union to bargain on their behalf. (Anderson, 3/26)
The Baltimore Sun: Come For The Fillings, Stay For The Fillers: Why Baltimore-Area Dentists Are Offering Botox, Cosmetic Treatments
For more than a decade, regulatory boards have authorized the use of botulinum toxin — known under the popular brand name Botox — and other non-surgical cosmetic procedures by dentists. In addition to its cosmetic applications, Botox can be used to treat temporomandibular joint disorders — which cause pain where the jaw and cheek bones meet — as well as conditions like migraines and teeth grinding. (Meehan, 3/26)
Cleveland Plain Dealer: Small Businesses Could See Employees’ Health Claims Data Under Ohio Bill
The Ohio Senate passed a bill last week that would allow small employers to see parts of their workers’ health care claims. Senate Bill 9 is meant to help employers with fewer than 100 workers when they shop for health insurance. Small groups that buy insurance together would also be allowed to see claims data. (Hancock, 3/25)
Modern Healthcare: NYU-CUNY Center Gets $3M To Address Health Disparities
The NYU-CUNY Prevention Center has been awarded $3 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for work in reducing health disparities among underserved populations. The center is a partnership between the NYU School of Medicine and the City University of New York Graduate School of Public Health & Public Policy. It implements and evaluates projects that link clinical practice with community organizations to reduce chronic disease disparities in ethnically diverse communities. (Henderson, 3/25)
Arizona Republic: Questions Raised After Chandler Police Break Door To Check On Feverish Toddler
After police officers busted down the door of a Chandler home to take a toddler with a spiking fever from his parents, advocates and a state legislator are questioning if a new law intended to protect families' rights is failing. Officers pointing guns forced their way into the family’s home in the middle of the night last month after the Arizona Department of Child Safety called police for a welfare check on a child with a 100 degree-plus fever and no vaccinations. (Náñez, 3/25)
Los Angeles Times: California Lawmakers Will Consider Banning Cosmetic Genital Surgery On Intersex Children
River Gallo has prosthetic testes he says he never asked for and never wanted. Alice Alvarez says she should have been able to decide for herself before a doctor removed her testicles, which one did when she was an infant. Both are part of a group supporting a bill in the California Legislature that would ban cosmetic surgeries on children born with atypical genitals until they’re old enough to consent. California would be the first state to enact such a ban. (Gutierrez, 3/25)
The Associated Press: Northam Plans Spending To Rebuild Psychiatric Hospital
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam is proposing a new budget amendment to replace an aging psychiatric hospital in the central part of the state. Northam took a tour of Central State Hospital outside of Petersburg on Monday before announcing plans to ask lawmakers to approve adjustments to the state’s capital budget to spend more than $300 million to rebuild the hospital. The Democratic governor says there is bipartisan support to address the urgent need to upgrade the hospital, which is a collection of several buildings spread out on a sprawling campus in Dinwiddie County. (3/25)
Arizona Republic: Charlene And J. Orin Edson Have Donated $50 Million To Arizona State
A $50 million donation to Arizona State University will rename the nursing college and support research into dementia. Charlene and J. Orin Edson will donate $25 million to ASU’s College of Nursing and Health Innovation and $25 million to the Biodesign Institute, the university announced Monday. (Leingang, 3/25)
Seattle Times: How A New UW Teaching Hospital Might Help Washington State’s Mental-Health Crisis
The chairman of the Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Department at the University of Washington envisions a state-of-the-art hospital, up to eight stories high, with rooms for up to 150 patients and a key role in helping the state care for its mentally ill residents. On the campus of Harborview Medical Center or Northwest Hospital, Dr. Jürgen Unützer says, the state could fund what would be a national model in treating psychiatric patients and training medical residents. (Goldstein-Street, 3/25)
