State Highlights: Texas Court Rejects Mentally Ill Man’s Appeal; VA Hospital Death Probed

The Texas Tribune: Court Declines Delay In Execution Of Severely Mentally Ill Man
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has rejected a request to delay the looming execution of a schizophrenic death row inmate. In a 5-4 decision handed down Tuesday, the court cited jurisdictional grounds in declining to stay Scott Louis Panetti’s execution, scheduled for December 3. Panetti’s attorneys argue he is too incompetent to be legally put to death. ... The 56-year-old’s mental health is deteriorating, his attorneys say. ... “Texas continues to pursue the execution of a man with an incurable, devastating mental illness that profoundly affected the crime, his trial and his death sentence,” [Kathryn Kase, Panetti’s attorney and executive director of Texas Defender Service] said in a statement. (Malewitz, 11/25)

The Baltimore Sun: Death Of Vet At VA Hospital Under Investigation
Investigators with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs are examining the death of a veteran in the emergency room of the Baltimore VA Medical Center early Saturday morning, officials said. The veteran was not identified. A spokeswoman for the Maryland VA Healthcare System said the man was acting suspiciously at the medical center and became agitated when questioned. The veteran's "physical state changed," spokeswoman Rosalia Scalia said in a statement. VA security officers took him to the emergency room, where he died. (Duncan, 11/25)

The Associated Press: Numerous Citations Issued Against Care Home
Federal regulators have cited a [Washington] state-run home for people with disabilities for a long list of violations, including strapping residents to chairs in front of TVs and forcing them to face a wall for hours at a time. It was the second time in less than a year that a surprise inspection led to citations at Lakeland Village Nursing Facility in Spokane County. (Mellisle, 11/25)

The Associated Press: Thompson Not Staying As State Surgeon General
Joe Thompson, who has served as Arkansas' most high-profile health official for nearly a decade and was a key advocate for the state's compromise Medicaid expansion, won't be reappointed to the post next year, Gov.-elect Asa Hutchinson announced Tuesday. Hutchinson confirmed the decision shortly after Thompson said the incoming Republican governor had told him he wouldn't stay on in the job next year. Thompson had been appointed the state's chief health officer in 2005 by Republican Gov. Mike Huckabee. Two years later, he was named the state's first surgeon general by Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe. (DeMillo, 11/25)

The Associated Press: Deficit Threatens Cuts To Big Island Hospitals
Hospitals on Hawaii's Big Island face the need to make massive cuts to services if lawmakers don't approve more funding, an official with the public health care system said. The East Hawaii operations of Hawaii Health Systems Corp. are expecting a $29 million revenue shortfall next year out of an annual budget of $160 million, said Dan Brinkman, East Hawaii interim CEO. (11/25)

The Associated Press: Oregon Economist Predicts A 'Silver Tsunami'
A prominent Oregon economist says one of the counties hardest hit by the decline of the state’s forest industries should expect a “silver tsunami” of retirees as aging baby boomers flee California and, if predictions pan out, the Pacific Northwest becomes a refuge from potential impacts elsewhere of climate change. His advice to Douglas County leaders is to make it a priority to make sure those retirees get their health care locally rather than in Eugene or Portland, the Roseburg News-Review reported. (11/25)

The Miami Herald: Feds Say Florida Health Care Company Used Expats To Bilk Medicare
Santiago B. Montoya, a 72-year-old Miami doctor, was the medical front man for a one-of-a-kind scam that raked in $25 million from Medicare for services provided to retired U.S. citizens living in Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic, authorities say. In total, a federal prosecutor said Tuesday, about 1,200 expatriates established fake Florida addresses to make the illegal claims from the taxpayer-funded program. The defendants are also accused of defrauding the parallel state Medicaid program for low-income people. Florida Healthcare Plus and its contractors deliberately misled the expatriates to exploit them in order to swindle Medicare, the indictment said. (Weaver, 11/25)

The Portland Press-Herald: Mainers With Disabilities To Gain Medicaid Services In Lawsuit Settlement
The settlement of a class-action lawsuit against the state means hundreds of Maine adults with autism and intellectual disabilities will receive housing and other support services through MaineCare. The settlement, completed Monday in Kennebec County Superior Court, was welcomed by Gerald Petruccelli, the Portland attorney for the plaintiffs. (Russell, 11/25)