State Highlights: Texas Court To Decide If Autopsies Are Health Care; Heart Surgery Patients Warned About Possible Infection Link At Penn. Hospital
News outlets report on health issues in Texas, Pennsylvania, Florida, Iowa, Maryland and New York.
The Texas Tribune:
Court To Decide If Autopsy Counts As Health Care
Eleven years after a man's unexplained death in a Katy hospital sparked a lawsuit involving allegations of malpractice, deception and theft of a human heart, the bizarre case has made its way to the Texas Supreme Court, which will answer a simple yet macabre legal question: Does an autopsy fall under the definition of health care? (Walters, 10/27)
The Associated Press:
1,300 Open-Heart Surgery Patients Warned About Infection
Patients who since 2011 have had open-heart surgeries at a central Pennsylvania hospital may have been exposed to a bacterial infection that's been linked to fourth deaths, officials said. York Hospital said the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention linked heater-cooler devices used during surgery to infections in eight patients, four of whom have died. The hospital is notifying about 1,300 patients who had surgery at the hospital between October 2011 and July 24, 2015. (10/26)
The Miami Herald:
Jackson Doubles Down On Effort To Win State Approval For Trauma Center
Miami-Dade’s public hospital system refuses to take ‘No’ for an answer to its application to open a trauma center at Jackson South Community Hospital in Palmetto Bay. Instead, trustees for Jackson Health System have doubled down on their efforts: voting on Monday to spend $1.8 million in public funds to recommission two operating rooms at Jackson South in anticipation of a trauma center, and authorizing the hospital to hire an independent attorney to fight the Florida Department of Health’s application denial earlier this year. (Chang, 10/26)
Des Moines Register:
Iowa DHS: Medicaid Director's Private Email 'Improper'
Iowa’s Medicaid director had improper communications with an insurance company worker and former lawmaker during a critical review period that ended with the for-profit company being selected to help privatize the state’s $4.2 billion annual Medicaid program, the state acknowledged in court Monday. Iowa Department of Human Services Director Chuck Palmer insisted in court that those communications with former Rep. Renee Schulte — some via private, non-state emails with Medicaid Director Mikki Stier — had no bearing on Iowa’s selection of four companies that are in line to manage the state’s Medicaid program. (Clayworth, 10/26)
The Baltimore Sun:
Maryland To Require Lead Tests For All Children At Age 1 And 2
The Hogan administration plans to require that all Maryland 1- and 2-year-olds be tested for lead poisoning, declaring the new rule is needed because thousands of youngsters are still at risk for health problems. Under the plan announced Monday, an estimated 175,000 children statewide will be tested in their first two years, expanding on an approach that has focused on screening poor youngsters and those living in communities with older housing. (Wheeler, 10/26)
The Washington Post:
Maryland To Test All 1- And 2-Year-Olds For Lead
The state of Maryland will expand its testing for lead poisoning to all one- and two-year-old children in the state, regardless of where they live, the administration of Gov. Larry Hogan (R) announced Monday. (Hicks, 10/26)
The Baltimore Sun:
Businesses That Sell Synthetic Drugs Face Shutdown Under Proposed Bill
Legislation backed by the administration of Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake would empower city health inspectors to fine — and eventually shut down — retailers that sell synthetic drugs long criticized for appealing to youths with cartoon character marketing and claims of being natural and safe. State and federal law prohibits the drugs, known by such names as K2 and Spice, but enforcement has proved difficult, mainly because manufacturers change the packaging and chemical makeup of the drugs to avoid prosecution. (McDaniels, 10/26)
Reuters:
Brooklyn Clinic Owner Pleads Guilty To Medicare Fraud
The owner of two Brooklyn medical clinics pleaded guilty on Monday to federal charges in connection with a $55 million healthcare fraud scheme, the U.S. Department of Justice said. Valentina Kovalienko, 46, admitted to participating in a scheme between 2008 and 2011 in which patients were paid to undergo unnecessary physical and occupational therapy, diagnostic tests and office visits billed to Medicare and Medicaid, the Justice Department said in a statement. (Freifeld, 10/26)
