Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: Six Days After Landfall, Hurricane Michael's Death Toll Mounts; California Claims Judge Who Rules On Coffee Cancer Warning Is Biased
The New York Times: ‘No Word From My Son’: Dozens Still Missing As Hurricane Michael Death Toll Rises
Nicholas Sines was last heard from at his tiny apartment in Panama City more than a week ago. As Hurricane Michael was bearing down on the Florida Panhandle, his mother, Kristine Wright, urged her son to get out before it was too late. “I begged him,” she said. “Please go to a shelter.” “I’m staying here,” he told her. (Blinder, 10/16)
Bloomberg: California Calls Out Judge Who Said Coffee Needs Cancer Warning
California said a state judge who earlier this year ruled that coffee requires a cancer warning is too biased to oversee a new lawsuit that challenges the state’s proposal to exempt the beverage from the requirement. The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment on Monday filed a request to disqualify Superior Court Judge Elihu Berle. Separately, a California Court of Appeals last week stayed the third phase of a trial before Berle, scheduled to start Oct. 15, on what coffee retailers and brewers would have to pay for failing to warn consumers that coffee contains a chemical known to cause cancer. (Pettersson, 10/16)
New Orleans Times-Picayune: East Jefferson General Hospital's Bond Rating Is Downgraded Again, Fifth Time In Five Years
East Jefferson General Hospital's bond rating has fallen for the fifth time in less than five years, with Moody's Investors Service dropping it to Caa1 and forecasting more fiscal trouble ahead. Hospital officials said Tuesday (Oct. 16) they are considering selling some real estate to generate cash. Moody's downgrade on Friday was the latest warning to a publicly owned hospital that has been struggling for six years with stiff competition locally and the evolution of health care administration nationally. Throughout that period, board members of the 420-bed hospital and Jefferson Parish officials have tried but so far failed to arrange a lease or management agreement with a larger partner. (Broach, 10/16)
San Francisco Chronicle: Hornblower, Alcatraz Ferries Pay $2.75 Million Settlement For San Francisco Health Care Violations
A San Francisco-based ferry company and its affiliate paid the city $2.7 million to settle violations of health care laws for illegally denying health insurance and benefits to hundreds of employees over four years, officials said Tuesday. The San Francisco Office of Labor Standards Enforcement found that Hornblower Yachts and Alcatraz Cruises created “complex policies” as a way of denying health benefits to 421 employees who qualified for them under the Health Care Accountability Ordinance and the Health Care Security Ordinance, according to the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office. (Hernandez, 10/16)
Columbus Dispatch: Report: Two Columbus Neighborhoods Among Lowest In Ohio For Life Expectancy Rates
Franklinton and the Hilltop are among the four communities with the lowest life expectancy rates in Ohio, according to a new report. The poor, African Americans, people with disabilities and people without high school degrees are among those hardest hit by the health-related disparities. (Viviano, 10/16)
Des Moines Register: Dementia Patients With Aggression Turned Away From Iowa Nursing Homes
Nursing homes aren't required to report when they turn away potential residents, so there are no solid numbers on how often it happens. But families and Iowa and national experts say the problem is growing. They say its causes include a shortage of money, increasingly strict regulations and the burgeoning population of relatively young — and strong — adults struck with early onset Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. (Leys, 10/16)
Denver Post: Colorado Addressing Youth Suicide Crisis With Collaborative Effort
Pledging to tackle a statewide crisis in youth suicides, Colorado Attorney General Cynthia H. Coffman on Tuesday announced a first-of-its-kind collaboration with hospitals and nonprofit organizations to increase access to pediatric mental health treatment. The Attorney General’s Office will provide a $2.8 million grant to support Partners for Children’s Mental Health, a program led by Children’s Hospital Colorado that brings together nonprofits, pediatric experts, government agencies and partners across the state. (Tabachnkik, 10/16)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Feds: Atlanta Medical Execs Sent False Blood Work Results To Patients
Two executives of an Atlanta medical group have been arraigned on federal charges alleging they submitted more than 4,500 fraudulent claims for allergy treatments. CEO Shailesh Kothari, who also goes by Shue Kothari, ran Primera Medical Group with COO Timothy McMenamin, who was also charged in the scheme, federal officials said in a press release. (Godwin, 10/16)
Houston Chronicle: Breast Cancer Survivor Starts Mental Health Support Group In West Houston
Emilia Yonge, a 47-year-old breast cancer survivor, wants others like her to have a supportive, nurturing place to retreat to when they feel the need to recharge and mentally refocus. It’s why she created a support group in September called ‘Breast Friends Forever,’ which meets every first Friday at Texas Oncology at Memorial Hermann in Memorial City and every second Friday at the Spring Valley Medical Center in West Houston. (Iracheta, 10/16)
MPR: Growing Hemp And CBD Oil Industry Face Legal Uncertainty
Although it hasn't been approved for medical use, customers use CBD oil to treat everything from anxiety to restless leg syndrome.As demand grows for the oil, farmers and entrepreneurs in Minnesota want a piece of the market. But the murky legal status of the supplement, and hemp itself, is a challenge for an industry that already brings in an estimated $700 million a year nationally. (Collins, 10/17)
WBUR: Adult-Use Cannabis Will Soon Be Able To Be Lab-Tested, As The Law Requires
The Cannabis Control Commission is expected to vote Thursday to grant final licenses to two, independent marijuana-testing laboratories. Under law, retail cannabis sales cannot be made until products are tested by a licensed lab. (Brown, 10/16)
