State Highlights: Texas Health Commissioner To Retire; Dispute Between Del. Insurer, Medical Center Could Impact Thousands
News outlets report on health issues in Texas, Delaware, Tennessee, Florida, Oregon, Illinois and Missouri.
The Texas Tribune:
Texas Health Commissioner Reportedly Retiring
Texas Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner Chris Traylor plans to retire at the end of May after 11 months on the job, according to sources briefed on the decision. Traylor was named the agency's chief last June just as he was poised to retire from the health and human services agency. He is a former commissioner of the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services. (Walters, 4/21)
The Houston Chronicle:
Top Texas Health Official To Retire Next Month
For the second time in a year, Texas is losing its top health and human services official. Chris Traylor, who has led the Texas Health and Human Services Commission since last summer, is planning to retire next month, according to three sources briefed on the decision. (Rosenthal, 4/21)
The Associated Press:
Medical Center, Insurer Negotiating Contract Dispute
A rift between a medical center and a health care company threatens to suspend coverage for thousands of patients. The News Journal of Wilmington reports that the current contract between Bayhealth Medical Center and Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware to reimburse the hospital for its care of the insurer’s customers expires May 15. The medical center and the insurer say they want a resolution but are preparing for a contract lapse. A portion of the 18,000 Highmark customers that use Bayhealth would be affected. (4/21)
NPR/Nashville Public Radio:
Overcrowding Forces Tennessee VA Clinic To Stop Accepting New Patients
It's been nearly two years since the Department of Veterans Affairs came under fire for the amount of time veterans had to wait to see a doctor. The agency scrambled to find a fix, including allowing vets the option of seeing a private doctor via a program they call Veterans Choice. But the fix isn't working, so some VA clinics are coming up with other ideas to reduce wait times. In the city of Clarksville, Tenn., the VA clinic decided it simply couldn't take any new patients. (Siner, 4/22)
Health News Florida:
New Tool To Help Floridians Learn More About Healthcare Prices
Consumers skeptical about the real cost of healthcare will soon have a resource where they can ask and share with their neighbors the price of common medical procedures. Starting Thursday, WLRN, WUSF and Health News Florida are teaming up with ClearHealthCosts.com, a health cost transparency company, to launch PriceCheck, a database that blends together prices of common healthcare procedures collected with information from consumers living in South Florida and the Tampa Bay area. (4/21)
The Tampa Bay Times:
USF Doctor Named To Run State Health Plan Under Fire For Removing Sick Kids
The Florida Department of Health on Wednesday announced the new senior official over a health coverage program for the state's sickest kids. Dr. John Curran, a regional medical director for the Children's Medical Services program and associate vice president of the University of South Florida College of Medicine, will take over the job as deputy secretary for CMS. (Auslen, 4/21)
The Oregonian:
LifeWise Health Plan Of Oregon Is Pulling Out Of The State
LifeWise Health Plan of Oregon is pulling out of the state's competitive insurance market. The company, headquartered in a Seattle suburb, will continue covering its individual customers through the end of the year and will eliminate group plans at the end of their term this year or in 2017. (Terry, 4/21)
Modern Healthcare:
Chicago-Area HIE Sues IT Vendor Over Shutdown Plans
The hospital association that operates a major Chicago-area health information exchange is suing its health information technology vendor that abruptly announced it will go out of business. (Conn, 4/21)
The Houston Chronicle:
Houston-Area Woman First Expectant Mother Here Testing Positive For Zika Virus
A pregnant Fort Bend County woman who traveled from El Salvador earlier this year has tested positive for the Zika virus, Legacy Community Health announced. (Hawryluk, 4/21)
The Washington Post:
‘Both Of Them Made This Decision': The Apparent Murder-Suicide Of A Death-With-Dignity Advocate And His Ailing Wife
One gunshot. Then another. Within minutes, a prominent death-with-dignity advocate was shot dead along with his ailing wife in an assisted living center in Florida. Eighty-one-year-old Frank Kavanaugh — who served on the national advisory board for the Final Exit Network, an advocacy organization in the right-to-die debate — was discovered dead in the early morning hours Tuesday alongside his wife, 88-year-old Barbara Kavanaugh. (Bever, 4/22)
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
St. Louis Nonprofit Helps Keep AIDS Patients, Pets Together
It was the late 1980s and the mysterious deadly disease striking gay men had become a four letter word. Beyond a name however, little was known about AIDS. Doctors could only offer comfort and tell those with the new diagnosis to get their affairs in order. The disease also brought isolation, with friends and family falling away. (Moore, 4/21)
