Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: Single-Payer Fight In California Turns Heated; Shooting Rocks Community Deeply Attached To Bronx Hospital
San Francisco Chronicle: Infighting Among Allies Over State’s Tabled Health Care Bill
An effort to create a government-paid health care system for all Californians has morphed into a massive fight between Democrats at the Capitol and a nurses union, with insults, death threats and violent imagery of backstabbing directed at the legislative leader who pulled the plug on the bill. In an unusual move, the Assembly Democratic caucus issued a statement Friday condemning what they called bullying tactics used against Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Paramount (Los Angeles County). (Gutierrez, 6/30)
The New York Times: Bronx-Lebanon, Site Of Shooting, Is More Than A Hospital To Neighbors
Practically everyone in the South Bronx knows about the place at Grand Concourse and East 173rd Street. You can pick up scratch-off lottery tickets there. You can grab a bacon, egg and cheese on a roll on your way to work. You can go to Sunday Mass. You can also go there for medical care .... These are just some of the ways that residents of one of the most poverty-stricken communities in the nation interact with the roughly 4,000 doctors, nurses, cafe countermen and others who work at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center, one of the biggest employers in the Bronx and the scene of a horrific rampage last week. (Stewart and Wang, 7/4)
Richmond Times-Dispatch: Richmond-Area Veteran With PTSD Struggles Against VA System To Receive Benefits
He is still trying to convince the VBA that his service caused his PTSD. He said the compensation and pension — or C&P — exam that the VBA relies on to help make medical decisions lasted only 45 minutes and the examiner never asked about the events that he believes triggered his PTSD. (O'Connor, 7/2)
The Associated Press: Michigan's GOP Governor Vetoes 'Choose Life' License Plate
Republican Gov. Rick Snyder vetoed legislation on Friday to require Michigan to create and sell an anti-abortion fundraising license plate, saying the bill is too politically contentious and would have divided residents. The measure approved by the GOP-controlled Legislature would have required the "Choose Life" plate to be issued by next June. (6/30)
Texas Tribune: Texas Is Putting Troubled Nursing Homes On Notice With More Fines
A January AARP Texas report found the quality of the state's nursing homes on average was “shamefully poor"... Meanwhile, the state’s Department of Aging and Disability Services, which regulates long-term care facilities, identified some 17,466 violations over the course of fiscal year 2015, but only took enforcement action — everything from fines to license revocations and denials — in 40 cases. (Evans, 7/3)
The Dallas Morning News: Why a North Texas Hospital System Pays Full Fare To Send Its Staff To Nursing School
Cassie Valera knew early on that she wanted to be a nurse. (Rice, 7/4)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Mosquitoes Test Positive For West Nile Virus, Milwaukee Health Department Says
West Nile virus has been detected in mosquitoes in Milwaukee, city health officials said Friday. Though there have been no confirmed cases of people being sickened by West Nile in Milwaukee this year, residents should take steps to protect themselves against mosquito bites, city Health Commissioner Bevan K. Baker said. (Garza, 6/30)
The Star Tribune: Push Grows For 'Right To Try' Laws That Loosen Access To Treatments
Dying patients want quicker access to experimental drugs that could extend their lives, and 37 states, including Minnesota, have enacted laws since 2014 granting that wish... The laws allow the use of drugs and devices that have passed preliminary FDA safety tests but haven’t been approved for use. (Keen, 7/4)
The Star Tribune: Compounding Pharmacist Sentenced To Nine Years, But Minnesotans Still Pained
Barry Cadden, owner of the defunct New England Compounding Center, was sentenced Monday for what one law enforcement official described as “one of the worst public health crises in this country’s history.” Evidence indicated that Cadden authorized the compounding of medications in unsanitary conditions with expired ingredients, and the bulk dispensing of those medications without valid prescriptions. (Olson, 6/30)
The News Tribune: New State Budget To Aid Western State Hospital Overhaul; Many Mental-Health Patients To Be Treated Elsewhere
The two-year state budget approved by lawmakers Friday will boost spending for Washington’s mental-health system and kick-start an overhaul of Western State Hospital. (Orenstein, 7/3)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee Lead Proposal Draws Concern From Medical Experts
One alderman's proposal to overhaul the city's recommendations for avoiding lead exposure in drinking water is receiving a tepid response from the Milwaukee Health Department and some local medical experts.The resolution by Ald. Tony Zielinski would direct the Health Department to "immediately recommend that to avoid potential lead exposure, women of childbearing age and children under the age of 6 should not drink unfiltered water and that children under the age of 6 should be tested for lead." (Spicuzza, 7/2)
North Carolina Health News: 2017 Health & Human Services Budget Comparison
Just a day after the General Assembly overturned Gov. Roy Cooper’s budget veto, lawmakers wrapped up their work and headed home for an entire month. With a number of bills left incomplete and issues such as Supreme Court-ordered redistricting ahead of them, legislators left Raleigh on June 29, agreeing to return for a few days in early August and promising to return in September too. (Hoban, Asmalash and Knopf, 6/30)
Sacramento Bee: California Assisted Suicide Patients Mostly White, Well-Educated
California residents choosing legal assisted suicide are disproportionately white and well-educated, new figures show... Of the 111 individuals, 87 percent were at least 60 years old and 44 percent relied solely on Medicare for health insurance. (Xu, 6/30)
WBUR: Texas Supreme Court Rules Against Benefits For Same-Sex Couples
The Texas Supreme Court on Friday sided with same-sex marriage opponents who argued that the city of Houston should not have extended its benefits policy to married same-sex couples. The court threw out a lower court ruling that had favored the benefits and sent the case back to a lower court. (Kelly, 6/30)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Global Malware Attack Hits Wisconsin Health Care Providers
New malware that has swept through computers in more than 60 countries has disrupted medical transcription services at some Wisconsin hospitals. The malware called NotPetya recently hit Nuance Communications, a voice transcription service for health care providers, including Wisconsin-based Aurora Health Care, ThedaCare and Bellin Health. (Barrett, 7/1)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee County Corrections Face Possible Audit, Fines If Care For Inmates Does Not Improve
Milwaukee County corrections operations face the prospect of an outside audit, fines or an order forcing reduction of its inmate population if health care staffing inside the facility does not improve, a civil rights attorney said. The attorney from the Wisconsin American Civil Liberties Union spoke at a court hearing this week as part of a long-running civil case settlement with inmates who sued Milwaukee County over jail staffing and health care in the facility. (Hovorka, 6/30)
Cleveland Plain Dealer: First Year Cleveland Infant Mortality Initiative Announces 3-Year Plan
The city-county collaborative First Year Cleveland on Thursday released its three-year plan to improve the region's abysmal infant mortality rate, which is among the highest in the nation. In 2015, 155 Cuyahoga County babies died before reaching their first birthday, giving the county an infant mortality rate of 10.5 deaths per 1,000 live births, almost double the national rate. (Zeltner, 6/30)
Los Angeles Times: Glendale Adventist Partnership Aims For Better Healthcare Coordination Across L.A. County
Glendale Adventist Medical Center’s recent partnership with a nonprofit group is designed to make access and delivery of electronic medical records more efficient for those in its network. Glendale Adventist and White Memorial Medical Center — both part of the health system called Adventist Health — have signed two-year contracts with the Los Angeles Network for Enhanced Services, or LANES, an L.A. County-based nonprofit that provides a platform for the exchange of electronic patient data among public and private healthcare providers. (Landa, 7/3)
The Star Tribune: Minnesota's Medical Marijuana Use Kicks Up In Second Year
It’s been two years since the first Minnesotans picked up prescriptions for medical marijuana. The program that launched on July 1, 2015, with a handful of patients had 6,184 active participants as of Friday. That’s modest by comparison to other state programs, but it tops state lawmakers’ goal of 5,000 within the first few years. (Brooks, 7/1)
