First Edition: August 31, 2015
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:
Heart-Attack Patients More Likely To Die After Ambulances Are Diverted
Heart-attack patients whose ambulances were diverted from crowded emergency rooms to hospitals farther away were more likely to be dead a year later than patients who weren’t diverted, according to a recent study published in the journal Health Affairs. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of California-San Francisco and the National Bureau of Economic Research, looked at ambulance diversions affecting nearly 30,000 Medicare patients in 26 California counties from 2001 to 2011. (Feder Ostrov, 8/31)
Politico:
'Cadillac Tax' Could Wreck Popular Medical Accounts
A popular middle class tax benefit could become one of the first casualties of the Affordable Care Act’s so-called Cadillac tax, affecting millions of voters. Flexible spending accounts, which allow people to save their own money tax free for everything from doctor’s co-pays to eyeglasses, may vanish in coming years as companies scramble to avoid the law’s 40 percent levy on pricey health care benefits. (Faler, 8/31)
The Wall Street Journal's CFO Journal:
Writers Union Seeks ‘Cadillac Tax’ Exemption
The union representing thousands of film, television and digital media writers is seeking an exemption for all unions from the Affordable Care Act’s “Cadillac tax” on high cost health plans. In a letter to the Department of Treasury and Internal Revenue Service on Thursday, the Writers Guild of America East argued that health care plans negotiated under collective bargaining agreements should be exempted from the tax on high cost plans, which takes effect in 2018. (Chasan, 8/28)
The Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Olympians’ Insurance Finally Qualifies
America’s Olympians now have officially qualifying health insurance, after the federal government and the U.S. Olympic Committee reached an agreement last week on the status of their coverage. That news may come as a surprise to some of the 850 athletes and 225 dependents enrolled in the special health plan through USOC, who already had been receiving an array of health benefits under it. (Radnofsky, 8/29)
The Washington Post:
Judge Allows Alaska Governor To Move Ahead With Medicaid Expansion
Alaska’s governor won a legal victory Friday that, at least for now, will allow the state to begin next week to sign up more low-income residents for Medicaid — despite objections from state lawmakers. The dispute in Alaska has emerged as the latest political and legal skirmish over the Affordable Care Act, lingering even after the Supreme Court two months ago upheld the constitutionality of a core aspect of the law that requires most Americans to have health insurance. (Goldstein, 8/28)
The Washington Post:
Planned Parenthood’s Aggressive Defense
Planned Parenthood is using virtually every tool in its lobbying arsenal to defend against attacks from conservatives and anti-abortion activists. Lawmakers will raise the stakes when Congress returns next week by threatening to defund the group through the federal appropriations process. (Ho and Snell, 8/31)
The Wall Street Journal:
Planned Parenthood Unit Files Suit Against Alabama Gov. Bentley
The complaint, filed in federal court in Montgomery, Ala., was brought by Planned Parenthood Southeast Inc. and the American Civil Liberties Union. It will be followed next week by a request for a preliminary injunction to preserve Medicaid funding, according to Planned Parenthood Federation of America. (Armour, 8/28)
The Associated Press:
Planned Parenthood Sues Alabama Over End To Medicaid Funds
The organization said Bentley’s effort penalizes low-income women who seek contraceptive and preventative health care services at the clinics. (Chandler, 8/28)
Los Angeles Times:
The Doctor Is Online: Remote Video Medical Exams Gain Popularity
When Tom Essenpreis first signed up for his company's Anthem Blue Cross health plan, he checked out its website and came across a service that enables him to visit with a doctor online 24 hours a day. He downloaded it right away. "I immediately saw the utility of it," said the 35-year-old aerospace engineer from Hawthorne. The service came in handy one Saturday when his 2-year-old daughter had what he said was "goopy stuff clogging up the corner of her eye." (Zamosky, 8/28)
The Associated Press:
6 San Quentin Inmates Ill With Legionnaires’ Disease
At least six San Quentin State Prison inmates were ill with Legionnaires’ disease and dozens more under observation Sunday, prompting a weekend halt to visitors, no hot meals and limited drinking water supplies at California’s oldest prison. At least 51 inmates are under observation for respiratory illness at the prison’s medical unit, said Dana Simas, a spokeswoman with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. (8/30)
USA Today:
Top-Notch Community Health Care Emerges In New Orleans From Hurricane Katrina's Rubble
Following the catastrophic hurricane, health care administrators and providers strategized to make their public health system more resilient in a disaster, and focused on improving patient delivery to the city's indigent population—a change that studies since have shown is remarkably better for patients. "In the aftermath of Katrina, few could have predicted that the next 10 years would bring a profound transformation to the health system here in New Orleans," says Charlotte Parent, director of the New Orleans Health Department. (Marsa, 8/29)
NPR:
As Heroin Addiction Grows, Maine Focuses On Drug Enforcement
A cap on the number of opiate addiction patients that doctors can treat means many who want to take Suboxone can't get access to it. In Maine, the governor has reduced funding for the treatment. (Sharon, 8/29)