State Highlights: S.C. Public Employees Won’t Pay More For Health Care Next Year; Fla. Adds 1,000 New Nursing Home Beds
Health care stories are reported from South Carolina, Florida, California, Maryland, Oregon, Nevada, Illinois, Minnesota, Kansas and Texas.
The Associated Press:
Public Workers Won't Pay More For Health Care In 2016
South Carolina's public employees will not pay more for health insurance next year, but their employers will. The State Fiscal Accountability Authority unanimously approved Tuesday the health care rates that legislators wrote into this year's budget. It called for no change to employees' monthly premiums or co-payments. (Adcox, 8/25)
Health News Florida:
State Adds Nearly 1,000 New Nursing Home Beds
A shortage of nursing home space across Florida will be helped by the addition of almost 1,000 more new beds. The state Agency for Health Care Administration on Monday approved requests for new beds across Florida.
Most of the approvals are in North Florida and Central Florida, where long waiting lists are common. (8/25)
News Service Of Florida:
Medical Malpractice Law Goes To Supreme Court
The Florida Supreme Court will consider whether to take up a dispute about the constitutionality of a 2013 medical-malpractice law that critics contend violates patient privacy rights. The 1st District Court of Appeal in July upheld the law, which is backed by groups such as physicians. But attorneys challenging the law in an Escambia County case filed a notice last week asking the Supreme Court to take up the dispute. The challenge focuses on part of the law that allows what are known legally as "ex parte communications." In ex parte communications, for example, defense attorneys representing a doctor accused of malpractice could get personal health information about the patient involved in the case. That information could come from other doctors who treated the patient, and disclosure could occur without the patient's attorney being present. (8/25)
Los Angeles Times:
Dispute Arises Over Use Of State Money For County Diversion Program
An internal tussle has developed that could complicate Los Angeles County’s ambitious plan to send more mentally ill criminal defendants into treatment programs rather than jail cells. County supervisors want to cover the cost with a blend of county and state money. But some officials are questioning whether supervisors can legally tap some of the accounts they have in mind. (Sewell, 8/25)
The Sun:
San Bernardino County Jail To Treat Mentally Ill Inmates Statewide
The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a $10.8 million contract with the state to expand a treatment program for mentally ill inmates at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga to include inmates from other counties across California. Under its contract with the Department of State Hospitals, West Valley’s Jail Based Competency Treatment Program, tailored to restore mental competency to inmates so they can stand trial for the crimes in which they are accused, would expand from 20 to 96 beds and allow mentally ill inmates from Los Angeles County and other California counties that do not offer such a program to receive treatment. (Nelson, 8/25)
The Washington Post:
How Companies Make Millions Off Lead-Poisoned, Poor Blacks
But to critics, Access Funding is part of an industry that profits off the poor and disabled. And Baltimore has become a prime target. It’s here that one teen — diagnosed with “mild mental retardation,” court records show — sold her payments through 2030 in four deals and is now homeless. It’s here that companies blanket certain neighborhoods in advertisements, searching for a potentially lucrative type of inhabitant, whose stories recall the legacy of Freddie Gray. (McCoy, 8/25)
The Associated Press:
Managers Slow To Fix Vulnerabilities In Databases Holding Oregonians' Information, Audit Says
An audit has concluded that Oregon technology managers never resolved known security vulnerabilities at a state data warehouse that stores a trove of sensitive information about Oregonians. The audit was released Tuesday by the Secretary of State's office. It says the state data center has only recently begun addressing concerns outlined in at least 11 security audits or letters since 2006, and most of the weaknesses remain unresolved. (8/25)
USA Today:
Vegas Health Clinic Gambles On A New Brand Of Primary Care
Walk into Turntable Health in downtown Las Vegas and you’d be forgiven for thinking you had stepped into a trendy technology start-up rather than a doctor’s office. Most of the patients are hip casino workers and techies in their 20s and 30s. While waiting to see the doctor, they spin records on the turntable, play video games on the Xbox or stretch out at the in-house yoga studio. (Farr, 8/25)
Tribune Wire Reports:
Illinois Man Denies Cancer Drug Smuggling Conspiracy Charge
Illinois man pleaded not guilty Tuesday to conspiring with an online Canadian pharmacy to smuggle mislabeled, unapproved and, in two cases, counterfeit prescription drugs into the U.S. to sell to doctors. Ram Kamath appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah Lynch for arraignment in Missoula. So far, he is the only one of the 14 individuals and companies named as defendants to appear in court to face criminal smuggling, conspiracy and money laundering charges. (8/25)
The North Field News:
UCare No Longer An Option For Rice County Managed Care Providers
Beginning Jan. 1, 2016, the 4,200 individuals in Rice County who chose UCare as their managed care provider through the county’s social services office will have one less option. Up until recently, the county had planned to continue its relationship with its three managed care providers: UCare, Medica and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota. On Aug. 18, it was announced that UCare lost out in the statewide competitive bidding process to retain its contract with the department of human services. UCare has filed a lawsuit against the state, and a hearing is slated for Friday. (Krein, 8/25)
The Kansas Health Institute News Service:
State Officials: Combining Medicaid Waivers Not About Money
Cabinet officials say Kansas’ quest to combine Medicaid waivers for people with seven categories of disabilities is intended to provide better care and outcomes, not cost savings. But costs will go down if care improves as intended, they say. Officials from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services are beginning a statewide listening tour on the proposed changes after briefing a legislative committee on them Friday. (Marso, 8/25)
The Texas Tribune:
Study Finds Childhood Obesity Program Failed
A four-year, $37 million state program to improve physical education at high-poverty middle schools failed to reduce obesity rates, according to a study by the University of Texas at Austin. The program, Texas Fitness Now, primarily gave schools money to buy sports and gym equipment from 2007 to 2011. One-quarter of the money was originally meant for nutrition, but a much smaller ratio — about seven percent of the funds in 2009 and 2010 — went to healthy eating initiatives, the study’s lead author said. (Walters, 8/25)
The Texas Tribune:
Former Cancer Center Agency Official Found Not Guilty
A former high-ranking official with the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas — accused of deceiving colleagues to secure an $11 million grant for a biotechnology firm — was found not guilty Tuesday by a 12-member jury in Austin. Jerry Cobbs, former chief commercialization officer of the state agency known as CPRIT — a voter-approved initiative to spend up to $3 billion on cancer-fighting projects over 10 years — was found not to have deliberately misled his colleagues to get the grant approved, as argued by the state's Public Integrity Unit, which investigates public corruption. (Walters, 8/25)
Health News Florida:
Healthcare Website For Transgender Community To Launch In Miami
A new website will make it easier for Miami's transgender community to access healthcare providers who are experienced in working with trans individuals. MyTransHealth is a website developed for transgender people by transgender people. The site will connect transgender people with qualified medical professionals and also allow users to rate and review them. (Green, 8/25)