State Highlights: In Mass., Hallmark Health Physicians Leave Partners For Rival System; N.Y. Repeals Tampon Tax
Outlets report on health news from Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Nevada, Georgia, Iowa and California.
Boston Globe:
Hallmark Doctors To Leave Partners, Join Tufts
A group of nearly 400 doctors north of Boston has decided to end its longtime ties with Partners HealthCare and join a rival physician network affiliated with Tufts Medical Center. The decision by the Hallmark Health System physician group follows the announcement last month that Hallmark would pursue a merger with Tufts’s parent company. The move shakes up the competitive market for doctors in Eastern Massachusetts and is a blow to Partners, the state’s largest health system. (McCluskey, 7/21)
The Associated Press:
New York Repeals Sales Tax On Tampons And Sanitary Napkins
New York state has repealed its tax on tampons and other feminine hygiene products, a move expected to save women $10 million a year. Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the measure into law Thursday, calling it “a matter of social and economic justice.” The repeal passed the Legislature earlier this year after female lawmakers from both parties complained the tax was sexist because personal products including condoms and bandages were already exempt from the sales tax. (Klepper, 7/21)
The CT Mirror:
Union Ad Features Disabled Woman’s Appeal To Reverse State Layoffs
Connecticut’s largest health care workers union took to the airwaves Thursday to protest ongoing state employee layoffs. The commercial launched by SEIU, New England 1199 and airing on Connecticut stations and the internet, features a woman, identified as Jenny, who is living with cerebral palsy. In the 30-second spot, Jenny, who "speaks" using a computer that reads her eye signals, makes a direct appeal to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to restore her state-appointed speech pathologist, identified only as "Mallory." (Phaneuf, 7/21)
The Associated Press:
Nevada Ending Discrimination Of Prison Inmates With HIV
Nevada’s Department of Corrections is changing a series of policies and practices that the U.S. Justice Department says illegally discriminate against prison inmates with HIV by housing them separately and denying access to work assignments that can speed their release. The Justice Department concluded last month the state was violating inmates’ civil rights under the policies based largely on outdated and unfounded fears about the transmission of the virus that causes AIDS. (Sonner, 7/21)
Atlanta Business Chronicle:
Emory, Metaclipse Therapeutics Get $2.4 Million Grant For Breast Cancer Vaccine
A team of Emory University and Atlanta-based Metaclipse Therapeutics Corp. researchers landed a $2.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health and National Cancer Institute. The five-year grant will be used to develop new cancer vaccine immunotherapies for patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). TBNC is very hard to treat because it doesn't present any defined targets for drugs or vaccines to attack, and five-year survival rates are lower for it than other types of breast cancer. (Hensley, 7/20)
Iowa Public Radio:
Transgender State Employee Alleges Workplace Discrimination
A long-time employee at the Iowa Women’s Prison in Mitchellville has filed a complaint with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission alleging discrimination on the basis of gender identity. According to the complaint, 34-year old Department of Corrections transgender nurse Jesse Vroegh is being denied access to male restrooms and locker rooms, but is allowed to use unisex facilities instead. ...The complaint also names Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield for denying coverage for what is called medically necessary surgery. (Russell, 7/21)
Georgia Health News:
Piedmont-United Dispute Shows No Sign Of Resolution
Three weeks after their old contract expired, Piedmont Healthcare and UnitedHealthcare remain far apart in trying to reach a new one. Since July 1, five Piedmont hospitals, as well as health system doctors, have been “out of network” to tens of thousands of United members. Those patients now face higher out-of-pocket costs if they choose to go to Piedmont facilities and physicians. (Miller, 7/21)
Center for Investigative Reporting:
‘I Was Greedy And Stupid’: Workers’ Comp Attorney Admits To Bribes
Sean E. O’Keefe was a well-known attorney in San Diego, advertising on his website that his team put injured workers’ needs first. In recently released court records, O’Keefe testified that he paid a firm to send him two-thirds of his clients. He also promised the recruiter, Carlos Arguello, that he would make sure those workers ran up bills at certain medical providers who offered MRIs, sleep studies, psychology, medications and toxicology screenings. (Jewett, 7/18)
KQED:
Oakland, S.F. Revise Medical Marijuana Regulations In Face Of New State Law
A new state law has Oakland and San Francisco remaking their medical cannabis laws in the face of new state requirements. The actions are distinct from a November statewide ballot measure that would legalize recreational marijuana for adults over 21 years old. The present law, passed last fall, imposes new regulatory measures on medical pot businesses in California. Previously, businesses needed only a city license. (Levi, 7/21)