State Highlights: State Employees In Florida At Risk For Surprise Medical Bills; In Nevada, Women’s Health Research Gets Funding Boost From Settlement

Health News Florida: 175,000 In State Plan At Risk Of Surprise Bills
Millions of Floridians -- including 175,000 state workers and their families -- are in health plans that place them at risk for whopping surprise bills after hospital treatment. These are plans that have networks of contracted doctors and hospitals but are not HMOs. Most of the plans with this risk are preferred provider organizations, or PPOs. (Gentry, 11/4)

The Associated Press: Women's Health Research Gets Boost From Drugmaker Settlement
A settlement Nevada negotiated with pharmaceutical companies is bringing nearly $8 million to women's health research in the state, including for studies on premature birth, Alzheimer's and breast cancer. The Nevada Attorney General's Office announced Wednesday that the University of Nevada School of Medicine is getting $3.8 million over 5 years, and Las Vegas' University Medical Center is getting another $3.8 million. (Rindels, 11/4)

The Washington Post: Stuck With GOP Legislature, McAuliffe Faces A ‘Fork In The Road’
Some Democrats frustrated by Republicans’ opposition to Medicaid expansion and gun control argue that Tuesday’s loss leaves McAuliffe free to blast the policies and politics of his conservative foes. Others say he should work with Republicans and use his coming two-year budget to build a legacy on education, workforce development and economic development. (Portnoy and Vozzella, 11/4)

St. Louis Public Radio: Breaking The Link Between Poverty And Infant Death In St. Louis
In the zip codes surrounding St. Louis’ nationally-ranked children’s hospitals, a disproportionate number of babies never make it to their first birthday. North of the Delmar Loop, in 63113, the infant mortality rate is 20 deaths per 1,000 live births, according to the most recent five-year averages kept by the state. That’s more than three times the U.S. rate, and on par with countries like Nicaragua and the Marshall Islands. But just a few miles away from 63113’s empty cribs, less than four out of 1,000 babies born in the Clayton's 63105 zip code die in their first year. (Bouscaren, 11/4)

The Houston Chronicle: Houston Doctor Convicted Of Health Care Fraud
A Houston doctor has been convicted in a scam that falsely billed Medicare and Medicaid for more than $600,000 in fraudulent claims, federal authorities said. Following a six-day trial, jurors found Enyibuaku Rita Uzoaga, 43, guilty on six counts of health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Federal prosecutors told jurors that between 2006 and 2010, Uzoaga, Harris and others falsely billed Medicare and Medicaid for unnecessary vestibular diagnostic tests, authorities said. Those tests are used to diagnose a person for vertigo or dizziness. (Hassan, 11/4)

Los Angeles Times: California Congresswoman Who Had Abortion To Serve On Planned Parenthood Committee
Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Hillsborough), who once spoke about her own abortion on the House floor, will serve on a newly formed House select committee investigating claims that Planned Parenthood profited from providing fetal tissue to researchers. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) named Speier and five other Democrats to serve on the panel. Speier told the Los Angeles Times that she asked for the assignment. (Wire, 11/5)

NPR: California Law Adds New Twist To Abortion, Religious Freedom Debate
The latest front in the debate over religious freedom is all about an 8 1/2-by-11-inch piece of paper. This particular piece of paper is a notice — one the state of California will soon require to be posted in places known as crisis pregnancy centers. These resource centers, often linked to religious organizations, provide low-cost or free services to pregnant women, while encouraging these women to not have abortions. (McEvers, 11/4)

NPR: Tribal Clinic Deploys A Gym To Fend Off Diabetes
The clinic's local efforts target an illness that's expanding rapidly among Native Americans, who are twice as likely as non-Hispanic whites to be diagnosed with diabetes, according to the Indian Health Service. Particularly alarming is the impact of the disease on Native American young people ages 10 to 19. Statistics show those children and teens are nine times more likely to be diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes than non-Hispanic white kids (Romero, 11/4)

The Washington Post's Wonkblog: As Puerto Rico’s Fiscal Crisis Grows Into A Humanitarian One, Health Care Looks Like The First Big Casualty
The island's health care system is sagging, burdened by funding shortages, an inability to borrow money, and an increasing flow of doctors, nurses, and medical technicians to the mainland--where they can make more money and work under better conditions. (Fletcher, 11/5)

The Tennessean: Tennessee Ranks As Fourth-Fattest State
Tennessee is the fourth-fattest state in the country. A recent WalletHub study determined the states' rankings, with Mississippi topping the chart as most obese and Hawaii as the least. The data included percentage of adults and children who are overweight, obese, consume drinks with a high sugar content and lead a sedentary lifestyle. (Todd, 11/4)

Reveal: Corruption Runs In The Family At American Neurorehab Centers
New Hampshire Public Radio and Reveal found a history of not just mistreatment, but also violence, abuse and sexual assaults at Lakeview based on an extensive review that included six years of 911 call logs, hundreds of pages of reports from states and watchdogs, and interviews with dozens of former staff members, inspectors and families. That review also uncovered Lakeview’s connections to a network of similar facilities across the country – and to owners who have evaded accountability for 40 years. (Rodolico and Starcheski, 11/4)