State Highlights: States, Localities Face High Costs For Retiree Health Benefits; Hepatitis A Outbreak Declared In Los Angeles

The Wall Street Journal: States Need $645 Billion To Pay For These Promises, And That’s Not Counting What They Owe In Pensions
When Aurora, Ill., closed its books in December, about $150 million disappeared from the city’s bottom line. The Chicago suburb of 200,000 people hadn’t become poorer. Instead, for the first time it recorded on its balance sheet the full cost of health care promised to public employees once they retire. States and cities around the country will soon book similar losses because of new, widely followed accounting guidelines that apply to most governments starting in fiscal 2018. (Gillers, 9/20)

Los Angeles Times: Health Officials Declare Hepatitis A Outbreak In L.A. County
Los Angeles County health officials declared a hepatitis A outbreak Tuesday, days after a public health emergency was announced in San Diego County, where at least 16 people have died of the highly contagious virus. Case numbers are still small in L.A. County, with only 10 people infected as part of the outbreak, said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, director of the L.A. County Department of Public Health. By comparison, almost 450 people have contracted the virus in San Diego. (Karlamangla, 9/19)

The Washington Post: Poor, Sick And Still Traveling Long Distances For Health Care In D.C.
The District’s poorest residents are still forced to travel far outside their neighborhoods for their health care, according to a report released Tuesday by Mayor Muriel E. Bowser. Less than 25 percent of Medicaid patients living east of the Anacostia River see a primary-care doctor in their Zip code. Despite efforts to expand services in Wards 7 and 8, many still call 911 emergency services for their basic health needs. And residents needing specialty care must commute downtown where most of the medical specialists are clustered. (Itkowitz, 9/19)

The Associated Press: New Delaware Law Will Expand Cancer Treatment Options
Cancer patients in Delaware will soon have more treatment option under legislation being signed by Gov. John Carney. A bill to be signed Wednesday requires health insurers to cover any medically appropriate drug that has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of stage 4 metastatic cancer and other cancers without requiring proof that the patient failed to respond to a different drug or drugs. (9/20)

The Baltimore Sun: Baltimore Health Department Seeks To Double Buprenorphine Treatment 
Baltimore health officials want to double the number of people in the city who can get access to the addiction treatment drug buprenorphine, help they say heroin addicts desperately need. Officials estimate that 25,000 people in the city are addicted to heroin or other opioids. Numbers on how many people are currently getting buprenorphine in Baltimore were not available, but officials said that even doubling the number of patients with access would not close the gap entirely. (Duncan, 9/19)

The CT Mirror: CT, 38 Other States Widen Probe Of Opioid Manufacturers, Distributors
Attorneys general from 39 states, including Connecticut, have broadened an investigation into whether pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors have played a role in the opioid epidemic, Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen said Tuesday. (Rigg, 9/19)

Arizona Republic: NAU Sophomore Dies Of Meningitis Infection That Began With Sore Throat
A Northern Arizona University student died Monday night after a battle with a rare type of meningitis that started with just a sore throat, according to a family member. (Baletto and Sandoval, 9/19)

The Wall Street Journal: Doctor’s Defamation Suit Highlights Online Patient Reviews
A defamation lawsuit filed by an Ohio plastic surgeon that is slated to go to trial early next year could have far-reaching consequences for disputes between doctors and their patients over online reviews about the quality of medical care, according to legal experts. Dr. Bahman Guyuron, former chairman of the department of plastic surgery at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, sued Marisa User in 2015 over anonymous reviews she had posted on the cosmetic-surgery website RealSelf and other sites where patients swap information about doctors. (Palazzolo, 9/19)

KCUR: Southeast Kansas County Among Eight U.S. Communities Awarded Culture Of Health Prize 
Residents of Allen County in Kansas are getting some national recognition for their health-improvement efforts. The county is one of eight 2017 winners of the Culture of Health Prize awarded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the nation’s largest public health philanthropy.  Richard Besser, the foundation’s president and CEO, traveled to Iola, the county seat, to make the announcement in person Tuesday. (Mclean, 9/19)

Health News Florida: Preventing Mosquito Infestations After Irma
With restoration continuing this week after Hurricane Irma, Florida Department of Health officials are warning residents about standing water left by the storm as a thriving environment for mosquitoes. Containers like garden pots, birdbaths, tires and cans, when filled with standing water, can host mosquitoes laying up to 200 eggs. (Riggins, 9/19)

The Star Tribune: St. Paul Considers Restricting Sale Of Menthol Tobacco
The City Council is considering adding menthol, mint and wintergreen-flavored tobacco to the list of products that can only be sold at tobacco shops. The council will hold a public hearing Wednesday night on the proposed change, which is similar to one the Minneapolis City Council approved last month. (Van Berkel, 9/19)

Columbus Dispatch: Legionnaires' Cases Involving Ohio State Under Investigation
Columbus Public Health is investigating two separate Legionnaires’ disease cases with ties to Ohio State: one a student at the Drackett Tower dormitory and a Columbus resident who is employed at the university’s Newark campus. A statement released by Ohio State University said Columbus Public Health informed them late Tuesday afternoon that they believe there is no connection between the two cases. (Woods, 9/20)

Denver Post: These Services For Developmentally Disabled Residents Have Grown Because Douglas And Araphoe Voters Approved A Tax In 2001 
In the last 15 years, nonprofits and programs serving people with developmental disabilities have multiplied across Douglas and Arapahoe counties. Much of that growth can be traced to 2001, when voters in both counties approved a tax to fund those operations. ...Wellspring Community opened in 2009 with a mission to provide work, education and enrichment opportunities to adults with special needs. Today, the growing organization has an art studio in downtown Castle Rock, a fully operational bakery in the Emporium and cooperative work/education programs at four locations around town. (Mitchell, 9/19)

Texas Tribune: For Some Transgender Texans, Bathroom Bill Fight Spurs Bids For Office
Four people in two years are hardly a speck in a state of nearly 28 million, but that number means Texas currently has more transgender candidates than any other state, according to Logan Casey, a Harvard researcher who studies LGBTQ representation in politics. And it’s a disproportionately large group — Texas carries just under 9 percent of the country’s population, but about 14 percent of its current transgender candidates. (Platoff, 9/20)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Caring For Severely Ill Animals Causes Same Stress As Caring For Humans, Study Shows
Caregivers of pets with chronic and terminal diseases can suffer the same mental and physical stress as individuals caring for their ill loved ones, according to a study. (Farkas, 9/19)

Chicago Tribune: Centegra Health To Eliminate, Outsource Hundreds Of Jobs
Financially troubled Centegra Health System plans to eliminate 131 jobs and outsource another 230 positions, the northwest suburban hospital system announced Tuesday. The layoffs and outsourcing come amid a time of financial stress for many hospitals nationwide and follow a year of steep losses for Centegra, which has hospitals in McHenry, Woodstock and Huntley. (Schencker, 9/19)