Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: Sexual Abuse Allegations At Arizona Immigration Shelter Raise Concerns Over Safety; Conn. Gubernatorial Candidates Focus On Abortion Rights
Arizona Republic: Abuse Allegation Prompt Question: Who Keeps Migrant Kids Safe?
A staffer at a Mesa migrant shelter is accused of performing oral sex on two teenage boys there, and attempting to force one of them to have anal sex. Six other teens accuse the same employee of sexual abuse. The staffer tells authorities he is HIV-positive. Those revelations — all involving employees of the Texas-based non-profit Southwest Key and brought to light over a seven-day period — have raised troubling questions about conditions inside shelters housing vulnerable children, as well as the measures taken by the non-profit and federal and state government to prevent abuse. (Philip and Pitzi, 8/6)
The CT Mirror: CT's Democratic Gubernatorial Contenders Take Aim At Trump
Connecticut’s Democratic gubernatorial contenders took aim at President Donald Trump’s administration Monday, vowing to push back against attacks on abortion access rights and environmental standards. Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim called for an amendment to the Connecticut Constitution to reinforce a longstanding statue legalizing women’s right to an abortion. (Phaneuf and Silber, 8/6)
The Star Tribune: Moody's Revises Blue Cross Outlook To Negative
Moody's Investors Service has revised to negative its outlook on Eagan-based Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota because of declines in commercial health insurance customers plus the expected arrival of for-profit HMO competitors in the state's health plan market. In lowering the outlook, Moody's affirmed its rating of the financial strength at Blue Cross as well as the rating for the company's debt. (Snowbeck, 8/6)
Boston Globe: Lahey CEO Grant Says He’ll Retire Next Month
As Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Lahey Health pursue their big hospital merger, Lahey’s chief executive is stepping down. Dr. Howard Grant will retire on Sept. 30, Lahey officials said Monday. (Dayal McCluskey, 8/6)
Austin American-Statesman: Senate School Safety Plan: More Counselors, Marshals; No Red-Flag
A special Texas Senate committee, formed to recommend changes in the wake of the Santa Fe High School shooting that left 10 dead in May, released a report Monday that focused on strategies for beefing up school security while rejecting actions that could limit gun rights. The panel of six Republicans and three Democrats proposed legislation that would help school districts hire more counselors, social workers and psychology specialists — and ensure that they are not distracted by unrelated duties — in addition to offering mental health “first aid” training to employees who interact with students. (Lindell, 8/6)
The CT Mirror: Change Is Coming For Nonprofit Human Service Providers, But Will It Make Or Break Them?
After two decades of flat or reduced funding from its chief client — state government — community-based agencies are struggling to retain both their programs and the low-paid staff who deliver care for thousands of poor, disabled and mentally-ill adults and children. ... Depending on the vantage point, Connecticut’s nonprofit social services sector is viewed as either the best means to preserve the state’s safety net or as the cheapest route to drive down government spending. (Phaneuf, 8/6)
Texas Tribune: Mold-Infested Texas Department Of State Health Services Building "Not Unsafe," Commissioner Says
The Aug. 2 meeting was held nearly two weeks after State Health Services employees whose job it is to analyze data on tuberculosis, HIV and sexually transmitted diseases were relocated from the Austin State Hospital 636 building where a mold infestation had invaded some of their desks, chairs, carpeting and keyboard hand rests. The move was announced one day after The Texas Tribune revealed the mold incursion and reported that legal counsel was advising against putting any new staffers in the building. (Evans, 8/7)
East Oregonian: Yellowhawk Opens New Tribal Health Facility
Yellowhawk will host a grand opening Tuesday to give people a peek at the new facility. The building officially opened May 1 with a soft opening for patients and tribal members and the first appointments took place May 2. It is a circular building that offers a host of patient-centered services. The building has space for most health care needs, including behavioral health, medical, dental and a pharmacy. The new health center has been a long-time goal of the CTUIR health commission. McGuire said it officially started saving for the new facility in August of 2006 after the Board of Trustees appropriated $3 million from “available resources” to a permanent health care fund. (Norton, 8/6)
San Francisco Chronicle: Data Breach At SF’s Institute On Aging May Affect 3,900 Patients, Workers
A May data breach at San Francisco’s Institute on Aging, a nonprofit that provides home care and other support services for seniors in the Bay Area, may have compromised the personal information of nearly 4,000 clients and employees. On May 28, an “unauthorized individual” may have accessed email accounts of the institute’s employees, gaining unauthorized access to the names, addresses, Social Security numbers, emails, phone numbers, dates of birth, financial records and health information — including diagnoses, treatment and medical payment information — of employees and clients, according to a letter sent by the institute’s attorney to the California Department of Justice. (Ho, 8/6)
San Francisco Chronicle: San Francisco’s Zen Hospice Guest House Closes As Donations Drop
After nearly three decades of helping seriously ill people live out their final days with dignity, the Zen Hospice Project’s guesthouse may be nearing its own demise. The project closed the internationally known guesthouse, at least temporarily, at the end of June while it holds out hope for a deep-pocketed donor — as well as reform in the health insurance industry — to help pay the bills of the beautiful Page Street Victorian, where as many as 100 people a year receive care. (Cabanatuan, 8/6)
KCUR: Company With Hospitals In Kansas City Area Settles Medicare Fraud Claims For $65 Million
The owner of four hospitals in the Kansas City area and its chief executive have agreed to pay the federal government $65 million to settle a whistleblower suit alleging the company defrauded Medicare. Federal prosecutors alleged that Prime Healthcare Services falsely billed Medicare by unnecessarily admitting patients at 14 of its California hospitals when they should have been treated in an outpatient setting. Reimbursements are higher for admitted patients than for outpatients. (Margolies, 8/6)
The Associated Press: Oklahoma Governor Signs Revised Medical Marijuana Guidelines
Gov. Mary Fallin has signed a revised set of emergency rules governing the use of medical marijuana in Oklahoma less than a week after they were approved by the state Board of Health. Fallin signed the regulations into law on Monday, describing them as "very basic" and "the best option in developing a proper regulatory framework." (8/6)
San Francisco Chronicle: Stanford Researchers Start Concussion Study With High School Athletes
A Palo Alto company is teaming up with a Stanford health care network and several regional high schools for a study that will use virtual reality headsets to track eye movements to better spot concussions. The Golden State Warriors, Pac-12 universities and several hospitals around the country already use the technology from the company, SyncThink. (Aydin, 8/6)
Tampa Bay Times: More People Are Being Diagnosed With Concussions. Here Are Some Things You Should Know.
Concussion diagnoses are on the rise, especially in youth sports in Florida, said Dr. Patrick Mularoni with AllSports Medicine, a program at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital that serves youth athletes from Sarasota to Pasco counties. Over the last five years, the program has diagnosed and treated at least 3,000 concussions in children, he said. (Griffin, 8/6)
