Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: Single-Payer Debate Again Heating Up In Calif.; Baltimore Woman Was Having Psychotic Episode, Lawyer Claims
Los Angeles Times: Single-Payer Debate Resurges In California Capitol, As Opposition From Health Providers Ramps Up
The political battle lines over single-payer healthcare in California are growing starker, with an alliance of doctors, dentists, nurse practitioners and other health providers ramping up their opposition to the proposal. In a letter to legislators, the coalition, unveiled Wednesday, blasted Senate Bill 562 as a proposal that “would dismantle the healthcare marketplace and destabilize California’s economy.” (Mason, 1/17)
The Baltimore Sun: Woman Found Outside Baltimore Hospital In Gown And Socks Was Experiencing Psychotic Episode, Her Lawyer Says
The attorney for a woman left outside a Baltimore hospital wearing only a patient gown and socks on a cold night last week said the medical institution turned its back on her when she was having a psychotic episode. J. Wyndal Gordon, who said Wednesday that he was hired to represent the patient on behalf of the family, said the woman named Rebecca was now at an undisclosed inpatient facility undergoing mental health treatment. (McDaniels and Cohn, 1/17)
Health News Florida: Their Only Option: Universal Health Care Gains Traction In Free Clinic Community
Some call it Medicare-for-all or single-payer health insurance, but the concept is the same: A system that provides everyone with health care regardless of their ability to pay. Patients at the free clinics would benefit from such a system because they can’t afford health insurance. (Ochoa, 1/18)
The Associated Press: 2nd Case Of Measles Confirmed In Person Who Was At O'Hare
Public health officials are reporting a second case of measles in a person who was at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, the nation's third-largest airport by passenger volume. The Illinois Department of Public Health said Wednesday that the case is unrelated to one reported last week. The department says there's no measles outbreak at O'Hare, which served 78 million passengers in 2016. (1/17)
St. Louis Public Radio: Future Of SLU’s Zika Vaccine Trials Remain Uncertain As Public Interest And Funding Decline
In what looks like a typical doctor’s office, Gary Newcomer, 26, waited to have his blood drawn for the last time as a participant in a trial for a Zika virus vaccine.Newcomer has visited Saint Louis University’s Center for Vaccine Development 16 times since November 2016. But a cut in federal funding is bringing a halt to the trial before a vaccine can be developed. (Chen, 1/17)
San Francisco Chronicle: Mathilde Krim, Mobilizing Force In AIDS Crusade, Dies At 91
Mathilde Krim, who crusaded against the scourge of AIDS with appeals to conscience that raised funds and international awareness of a disease that has killed more than 39 million people worldwide, died Monday at her home in Kings Point, N.Y. She was 91. (McFadden, 1/17)
Pioneer Press: Roseville, Stillwater Nursing Homes Cited In Separate Resident Deaths
One nursing home resident died after becoming trapped between a mattress and the bed’s grab bar. A resident of a different nursing home died after a staff member failed to follow the physician’s orders for care. In both cases last year, allegations of neglect by the east metro nursing homes were substantiated, according to reports released by the Minnesota Department of Health last week. Both nursing homes, in Roseville and Stillwater, respectively, are appealing the decisions. The identities of the residents were not released in either case. (Chavey, 1/17)
The Baltimore Sun: University Of Maryland Children's Hospital Gives Parents Tools To Interact, Bond With Babies In Intensive Care
With babies placed in incubators with tubes and monitors, it can be hard for new mothers to bond with them when they have serious medical conditions, as Tristan and the other infants in the NICU do. To help overcome that difficulty, Children’s Hospital has offered a program since 2016 that teaches families ways to bond with their medically fragile children. (Richman, 1/17)
Chicago Sun Times: City Council Approves $5.5M Presence Health Subsidy After Emotional Debate
The vote to honor a tax-increment-financing (TIF) subsidy promise to Illinois largest Catholic health system was 31 to 18. (Spielman, 1/17)
Boston Globe: Cannabis Commission Picks Firms To Track Marijuana Plants And License Applications
The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission is plowing ahead with its preparations for the debut of recreational pot sales in July, despite a recent change in federal law enforcement policy that has put a cloud of uncertainty over the marijuana industry. The commission has voted to negotiate a contract with Franwell Inc., a Florida-based software firm whose “Metrc” product tracks all the marijuana sold legally in Colorado and most other states with recreational markets. (Adams, 1/17)
