Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: Theranos Settles With Arizona AG For $4.6M; Oregon Working Toward Rule Changes To Better Protect Mental Health Patients
Arizona Republic: Attorney General Brnovich Reaches A $4.6M Settlement With Theranos
More than 76,000 Arizonans who purchased a Theranos blood test will get a refund check in the mail starting Friday under a $4.6 million settlement Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich negotiated with the embattled blood-testing company. The average refund per customer will be $60.92, but customers who ordered several tests or more expensive tests will get a larger check. (Alltucker, 12/14)
The Oregonian: Oregon Officials Grapple To Balance Mentally Ill People's Rights And Safety
In Oregon, with a population of 4 million, about 600 people are required to receive treatment for mental illness against their will each year. That is a low rate compared with that of other states. A workgroup of judges, mental health advocates, police and state lawmakers is trying to revise those rules to allow officials the latitude to ensure that fewer people like Karen Batts die on the streets. (Harbarger, 12/14)
Boston Globe: Fenway Health Center Says It Is ‘Eager For Change’
Fenway Community Health Center’s board of directors said it is “eager for change,” in its first public communication addressing the nonprofit’s future since its chief executive and chairman resigned this week over the handling of harassment and bullying complaints against a former doctor. (Healy, 12/15)
The Baltimore Sun: Top Patient Safety Expert, Innovator Of Checklists, Departs Johns Hopkins
Dr. Peter Provonost, one of the nation’s top patient safety experts and advocates, is leaving Johns Hopkins Health System for a job at insurance giant UnitedHealthcare, he announced Thursday on Twitter. “A great opportunity to help improve care for millions,” tweeted Pronovost, currently Hopkins’ senior vice president for patient safety and quality and director of the Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality. (Cohn, 12/14)
The Associated Press: Couples Win Lawsuit Over Donated Eggs With Genetic Defect
Two couples that gave birth to children with a genetic defect later traced to donated eggs won a lawsuit against a New York fertility doctor and his clinic in the state’s highest court Thursday. The two children, both born in 2009, have Fragile X syndrome, a genetic condition that can lead to intellectual and developmental impairments. The parents, identified by initials and last names in legal papers, were told the egg donors were screened for genetic conditions. (Klepper, 12/14)
The Associated Press: Maryland Medical Society Aims To Reduce Diabetes
The American Medical Association is partnering up with MedChi, the Maryland State Medical Society, as part of a multi-state effort to reduce Type 2 diabetes. The association has started to work on preventing new cases of Type 2 diabetes in California, Michigan and South Carolina and will now be paired with Maryland as well eight additional medical societies — in Maine, Mississippi, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island — to develop models to prevent the disease, according to a recent statement. (Slater, 12/14)
Minnesota Public Radio: Diabetes Hospitalizations Are Falling In Minnesota
Minnesota Health Department researchers say efforts to better coordinate care for diabetes likely fueled a sharp 22 percent drop in hospitalizations for the condition. They traced the decline between 2006 and 2014 to fewer hospital admissions for diabetes-related health problems other than extremely high or low blood sugar levels. (Zdechlik, 12/14)
Minnesota Public Radio: Protecting The Elderly
A recent Star Tribune series exposed abuse and neglect in Minnesota nursing homes. The newspaper found that in the last year, across state-licensed homes for the elderly, there have been 25,226 allegations of neglect, physical abuse, unexplained injuries and thefts. To make matters worse, 97 percent of these incidents were never investigated. As we and our loved ones get older, how do we prevent abuse and exploitation? (Curtis and Pekow, 12/14)
Sacramento Bee: Concealed Carry Reciprocity: Prospects Dim For Top Gun Priority In 2018
Activists are blaming the Republicans they help put in power — as well as Democrats — for the lack of action on the gun lobby’s number one legislative priority. (Drusch, 12/14)
The Washington Post: This Lawmaker And New Mom Had A Marathon Hearing. So She Pumped From The Dais.
As a new mother, D.C. Council member Brianne K. Nadeau (D-Ward 1) often pauses during long workdays to go into her office, shut the door and pump milk for her 3-month-old daughter. But on Thursday during a public hearing about homelessness that spanned nearly six hours, Nadeau announced that instead of excusing herself, she would be pumping from the dais. (Chandler and Nirappil, 12/14)
The Associated Press: Maryland Gets OK To Expand Developmentally Disabled Service
Maryland has received federal approval to expand services for people with developmental disabilities. The state health department said Thursday said the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services approved expanding services through the Maryland Developmental Disabilities Administration’s Community Supports Waiver. (12/14)
Denver Post: A Pharmacy Unit Of Denver-Based Dialysis Provider DaVita Will Pay $63.7 Million To Resolve Whistleblower Claim
A pharmacy services unit of the Denver-based dialysis provider DaVita Inc. will pay $63.7 million to resolve allegations it improperly billed federal health care programs and paid illegal financial inducements to patients, the U.S. Department of Justice reported Thursday. The settlement resolves an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice into the practices by DaVita Rx LLC, a pharmacy services unit that specializes in serving patients with severe kidney disease. (Osher, 12/14)
Tampa Bay Times: City Council Sinks Deal To Alter Ownership Of Bayfront Health St. Petersburg
After months of tense negotiations and weeks of political impasse, the City Council on Thursday derailed a proposal that would have changed the ownership structure of the city’s largest hospital, Bayfront Health St. Petersburg. The 5-3 vote scuttled a deal that would have allowed the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg, a nonprofit that owns 20 percent of the hospital, to sell its share, separate from Bayfront and expand its charitable mission. (Frago and Griffin, 12/14)
The Philadelphia Inquirer/Philly.com: Penn Medicine Proton Cancer Therapy Coming To South Jersey
Penn Medicine and Virtua plan to build a $35 million proton cancer therapy center on Virtua’s campus in Voorhees, the two nonprofit health systems said Thursday. Penn already has a proton therapy center on its University City campus. Since the Roberts Proton Therapy Center opened in 2010, at a cost of $144 million, Penn oncologists have treated almost 4,500 patients there, Penn said. The South Jersey center is expected to open in 2020. (Brubaker, 12/14)
The Baltimore Sun: Upper Chesapeake Health Files For State Approvals On New Havre De Grace Facilities
University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health is moving forward with the first phase of its planned Havre de Grace Medical Campus. The Harford County based hospital and outpatient services operator has applied for approval to build a 40-bed, “special psychiatric hospital” on 32 acres off Barker Lane, according to legal notices published recently by the Maryland Health Care Commission. (Anderson, 12/14)
Seattle Times: Swedish Health’s Ambitious Seattle Plans Involved A Developer With A Stake In Their Success
While it’s common for hospitals to have close relationships with their top benefactors, prominent experts in nonprofit and health-care law say the Swedish-Sabey alliance has developed an unusual interdependence, setting up potential conflicts and pitfalls that some organizations work to avoid. ...Along the way, Sabey’s company has collected millions of dollars in annual rent from Swedish and embarked on a for-profit venture with its parent organization. He has helped connect device companies with surgeons and propelled a contentious plan for taller buildings in the campus neighborhood where his business now owns $150 million in real estate. (Baker, 12/14)
