State Highlights: California Wipes Out Debt For Doctors Who Agree To See Low-Income Patients; D.C.’s Plan To End Disabilities Program Prompts Backlash

Media outlets report on news from California, D.C., Wisconsin, Florida, Maryland, Texas, Georgia, Iowa, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida.

The New York Times: Doctors In Debt: These Physicians Gladly Struck A Deal With California

Dr. Michael Gabriel Galvez, a pediatric hand surgeon who treats mostly low-income patients at a hospital in California’s Central Valley, jokes with families that he went to “30th grade.” But that did not come cheap. The debt he has accrued from 18 years of higher education and medical training, including Stanford Medical School, fellowships and residency, is about $250,000. (And that does not include credit card debt.) (Rueb and Zraick, 7/25)

The Washington Post: Backlash Intensifies Over D.C. Plan To End Disabilities Services Contract

Backlash intensified this week to the D.C. government’s effort to end a 14-year-old partnership with Georgetown University that provides a range of medical and social services for people with disabilities. The District’s Department on Disability Services has announced that it will end its contract with Georgetown in August, moving the services currently offered by the university in-house or replacing them through another contractor. City officials say the move has been in the works for years and will maintain the same services now offered while shifting some costs to the federal government. (Jamison, 7/25)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 27K Wisconsin Households Could Lose Food Stamps Under Trump Proposal

More than 27,000 households in Wisconsin could lose their access to food stamps under a new proposal from the Trump administration. These families receive federally funded subsidies for food by being enrolled in other need-based assistance programs but otherwise might not be eligible, what the U.S. Department of Agriculture calls a loophole it wants to close. (Beck, 7/25)

Health News Florida: Florida Supreme Court Agrees To Take Hospital ER Liability Case

In a case stemming from the death of a woman after a botched cosmetic procedure, the Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to decide whether a hospital can be liable for treatment provided by emergency-room doctors who are independent contractors. Justices said they will take up an appeal in a Miami-Dade County case involving the 2013 death of Suyima Torres, who was taken by ambulance to Doctors Hospital after she became unconscious following a cosmetic procedure at a clinic. (Saunders, 7/25)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. County Health Officials Warn Of Measles Exposure At Westside Shops

Los Angeles County officials warned Thursday that a county resident with measles may have exposed others at several shops on the Westside. Officials identified businesses in Venice, Brentwood and Santa Monica that the infected person visited, along with a coffee shop in downtown L.A., over a three-day period last week. (Karlamangla, 7/25)

The Washington Post: 76 Baltimore Police Misconduct Cases Have Been Allowed To Expire Since 2016

An ongoing failure by Baltimore police internal affairs detectives to investigate misconduct complaints against officers in a timely manner has resulted in 76 such cases expiring without any conclusions on the officers’ guilt or innocence since 2016, the Baltimore Sun has found. Emails between Baltimore police commanders, obtained by the Sun through a public records request, show a pattern of detectives and their internal affairs supervisors failing to investigate administrative misconduct cases within Maryland’s one-year limit for such work. (Rector, 7/25)

Georgia Health News: Illinois Activists Join Georgians’ Fight Over Ethylene Oxide

Everyone was struggling to absorb news that broke last week that state and federal environmental regulators had flagged certain neighborhoods in the area as having higher cancer risks because of a toxic gas called ethylene oxide. In the Smyrna area, which straddles the line between Cobb and Fulton counties, the ethylene oxide comes from a plant run by Sterigenics, which uses the gas to sterilize medical products and supplies, drugs and spices. (Miller and Goodman, 7/25)

Modern Healthcare: Texas Labs To Pay $56 Million To UnitedHealthcare

A group of five Texas lab companies agreed to pay $56.2 million to UnitedHealthcare to settle allegations that the labs submitted millions of dollars in fraudulent claims for unnecessary and expensive urine tests. The lab companies sued UnitedHealthcare in 2016 for refusing to pay claims for the labs' services. UnitedHealthcare then filed counterclaims, alleging that the three owners of the out-of-network labs orchestrated a scheme in which they paid kickbacks to providers for ordering urine tests that were often medically unnecessary. (Livingston, 7/25)

Iowa Public Radio: Iowa DNR Starts Testing For Manganese In Public Water Systems

State environmental officials have started testing the state’s public water supply systems for an emerging chemical of concern.The metal manganese can contaminate drinking water, but has no federal or state health regulations in place. The mineral naturally occurs in groundwater, surface water and soil. It’s also an essential nutrient for people, which is found in foods like nuts and seeds, and is considered to benefit bone health. (Peikes, 7/25)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Medical Care, Forced Lockdowns And Unsanitary Conditions Still Problems At Cuyahoga County Jail, State Says

Cuyahoga County failed to address a myriad of problems at its jail in the eight months since federal jail inspectors documented dozens of problems in the facility they said is rife with “inhumane" conditions, according to state jail inspectors. A July 18 letter from John Adams, the supervisor in charge of Ohio’s jail inspections, said the jail still struggles to provide adequate medical care for inmates, that inmates are still subjected to forced lockdowns called “red-zoning” and are forced to live in squalid conditions. (Ferrise, 7/25)

Modern Healthcare: UHS To Pay Feds $127 Million In Behavioral Health Settlement

Universal Health Services announced Thursday it has agreed to settle civil complaints against its behavioral health facilities for $127 million, pending federal approval. The King of Prussia, Pa.-based hospital chain said it reached the agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Division and on behalf of various states' attorneys general. It will resolve accusations against the company's behavioral health facilities. The agreement is still subject to requisite approvals and the execution of a definitive settlement and related agreements, according to UHS. (Bannow, 7/25)

Cincinnati Enquirer: CVS Pharmacist Loses License For Stealing Drugs

An employee at the CVS pharmacy in Middletown was suspended by the Ohio Board of Pharmacy after she was convicted for stealing stimulants, according to the board's meeting minutes. In April 2018, CVS began noticing shortages in its supply of stimulants, including three strengths of dexmethylphenidate, focalin and dextroamphetamine, the document said. All three of these drugs are used to treat ADHD. (Berry, 7/25)

Health News Florida: Lawmakers Ask For New Hearing In Major Medical Marijuana Case

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is asking an appellate court to revisit a decision that Florida officials argue injected “confusion and uncertainty” into the state’s medical marijuana industry. DeSantis and health officials on Wednesday asked the 1st District Court of Appeal for a hearing by the full court, known as an “en banc” hearing, after a July 9 ruling that Florida’s “vertical integration” system requiring licensed operators to grow, process and distribute cannabis and by-products runs afoul of a constitutional amendment that broadly legalized medical marijuana. (Kam, 7/25)

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