State Highlights: Vermont Moves To Establish ‘All-Payer’ System; Pennsylvania Lawmakers Renew CHIP For 2 Years
News outlets report on health care developments in Vermont, Pennsylvania, California, West Virginia, Florida, Kansas, Maryland, Tennessee, New Hampshire and Washington.
Politico Pro:
Vermont Looks To 'All-Payer' System
Vermont may have pulled the plug on its single-payer health plan, but it’s on the verge of instituting major reforms through an "all-payer" effort that’s largely flown under the radar. For months the state has been negotiating with federal officials to secure an “all-payer waiver.” The state would control rates paid to hospitals and physicians under Medicare, Medicaid and commercial insurance. Caps would limit health care cost growth each year over a five-year period. (Pradhan, 12/10)
The Associated Press:
Pennsylvania Kids' Health Program Renewed For 2 More Years
Pennsylvania lawmakers are sending a bill to the governor that would extend the Children's Health Insurance Program for two more years, and move the program from the Insurance Department to the Department of Human Services. The House voted unanimously Thursday to renew the program that covers more than 150,000 Pennsylvania children who aren't eligible for Medicaid. (12/10)
Los Angeles Times:
Legislature Fizzles In Special Sessions On Transportation And Healthcare
Of the two special sessions called by the governor, the effort on healthcare was the most wide-ranging. Brown asked legislators to rework a soon-to-expire $1.1 billion tax on managed care insurance plans, as well as agree on a new way to pay for in-home care worker wages and restore a 10% cut in developmental disability programs made during the recession years. ... But in the case of transportation and healthcare, funding through additional revenues -- that is to say, a tax increase -- has remained a non-starter, especially in the eyes of legislative Republicans, who have argued that projected windfalls of tax revenue should be used first. (Myers, 12/10)
The Associated Press:
Agency Votes To Cut $120 Million To Workers' Health Plans
Members of West Virginia's Public Employees Insurance Agency Finance Board have voted to approve $120 million in cuts to workers' health plans. The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports the cuts are slated to affect more than 200,000 public employees and retirees. (12/11)
Health News Florida:
Judge Rejects Challenge To Medical Record Charges
An administrative law judge Tuesday rejected a challenge to a state Board of Medicine proposal that would increase the cost of copies of patient medical records. (12/10)
Kansas Health Institute:
Brownback Names Interim KDADS Secretary
Gov. Sam Brownback on Thursday named Tim Keck as interim secretary of the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services. ... The KDADS secretary oversees a $1.6 billion agency responsible for the state’s Older Americans Act programs, behavioral health programs, and home and community-based services for older adults and people with disabilities. (12/10)
New Hampshire Public Radio:
Bradley: Bills To Curb Drug Epidemic Should Pass Next Month
As the state’s drug task force plans to wrap up on Tuesday, most of the bills slotted to be fast-tracked next legislative session have more or less been chosen. The bills include increasing the penalties for fentanyl, ramping up drug prevention in schools from kindergarten through 12th grade, and creating a 24-hour hotline for those battling addiction. (Sutherland, 12/11)
The Seattle Times:
Group Health Stands By Rules Limiting Who Can Vote On Kaiser Deal
Seattle’s Group Health Cooperative says it won’t budge on plans that exclude nearly 95 percent of its members from voting on a proposed acquisition by California’s Kaiser Permanente. Officials with the co-op said this week they are upholding a long-standing tradition by leaving the key decision to about 27,000 members who registered to vote before the deal with Kaiser Permanente was announced last week. (Aleccia, 12/10)
Marketplace:
Mental Health Services Are Paying Off In California
As college campuses nationwide try and cope with increased demand for mental heath services, one study found the investment is paying off for California. The RAND Corporation looked at the effects of investment in prevention and early intervention treatment at California public colleges over about a year and a half. The study, released Thursday, predicts a $56 million "societal benefit" from annual California Mental Health Services Authority funds averaging $8.7 million a year. RAND arrived at the figure using data on lifetime earnings for California college graduates compared to those who drop out. (Wagner, 12/10)
The Sacramento Bee:
California Assisted Death Advocates Urge Quicker Implementation
Advocates for the dying on Thursday urged policymakers to start implementing a new law, currently on hold, that will allow terminally ill Californians to end their lives. (White, 12/10)
Reuters:
Study Finds Higher Rates Of Advanced Thyroid Cancer In California
A new University of California, Los Angeles study has found that in parts of California the rate of thyroid cancer patients with an advanced stage of the disease is well above the national average, prompting research into possible links to farming or radiation. According to the study, 35 percent of Californians with thyroid cancer were not diagnosed until the disease had already spread to lymph nodes or other parts of the body, compared with 29 percent of people nationwide. (Whitcomb, 12/10)
The Baltimore Sun:
Baltimore To Give Big Tax Break To Attract More Grocery Stores
The Rawlings-Blake administration is banking on a new strategy to bring fresh food to disadvantaged Baltimore communities: an 80 percent break on the taxes grocery stores pay on their cash registers, freezers and other equipment. The City Council unanimously approved the legislation Thursday as an incentive to encourage supermarkets to open in communities that don't have such stores now, areas known as food deserts. (Wenger, 12/10)
The Seattle Times:
More Children Will Be Tested For Lead Under Lawsuit Settlement
Under a settlement filed last week, all children in the state covered by Medicaid will be eligible for testing if their parents request it — or if they live in old buildings, are recent immigrants or face other exposure risks. The state Department of Health also unveiled an online map that allows residents to determine the relative risk from lead in their neighborhoods. (Doughton, 12/10)
The Tennessean:
Certificate Of Need Program To Get Legislative Review
The state's certificate of need program — the gatekeeper to health care provider expansion — has been in the spotlight in recent weeks as two hospitals unsuccessfully competed to build a freestanding emergency room. But a burgeoning debate about reform could keep the program in the spotlight. (Fletcher, 12/10)
The Seattle Times:
Chipotle In Seattle Closed For Repeated Violations
Seattle health officials closed a South Lake Union Chipotle restaurant Thursday for repeated food-safety violations. The move to shutter the Mexican-style restaurant, at 212 Westlake Ave., comes more than a month after the fast-food chain closed 43 sites in Washington and Oregon amid an E. coli outbreak that eventually sickened 52 people in nine states and sent 20 people to hospitals. (Aleccia, 12/10)
Reuters:
Officials Close Chipotle In Seattle For Food Safety Violations
Health officials shut down a Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc restaurant in Seattle on Thursday after finding "repeated food safety violations," according to a statement from the Seattle & King County public health department. The restaurant on Westlake Avenue is one of 17 in the county that had re-opened last month after passing inspections following an E. Coli outbreak. (12/10)
New Hampshire Public Radio:
N.H. Docs Tell Lawmakers Leave Best Prescribing Practices To The Board Of Medicine
The New Hampshire Medical Society told lawmakers that crafting best practices for prescribing opioids should be left to the medical community. Currently, lawmakers are considering a bill that would amend the guidelines by proposing certain dosage amounts and time limits. The proposal ranges from enforcing random urine testing for long-term opioid patients to creating a limit on doses given out during emergency room visits. (Sutherland, 12/10)