State Highlights: D.C.’s Homeless Camps Paint Grim Picture Of Widening Inequality In Country; Houston’s Monitoring Of Air Quality Continues As Warning Ends

Media outlets report on news from D.C., Texas, Rhode Island, New York, Wisconsin, Iowa, Arizona, Ohio, Florida, Minnesota, California, Missouri, Louisiana, Maryland and Massachusetts.

The Washington Post: Homeless, Living In A Tent And Employed: The Changing Face Of Homelessness In The U.S.

Before 10 a.m. on another cold Thursday, Monica Diaz stirred in her tent, filled with dread. It had been two weeks since the last cleanup, and city workers would again be here soon, with their dumpster truck and police cars, to clear out the encampment. Every morning was awful, but these were the worst of all, when Monica, who’d otherwise be resting before work, was forced to confront publicly what she did her best to hide: that she’s homeless. That she lives in a tent. That she just turned 40, and that this is somehow her life. “You ready?” Monica asked her husband, after a sleepless night at the base of Union Station, near CNN’s Washington bureau, where the noise never stopped and they’d huddled together with their dog, Sassy, against the cold. (McCoy, 3/22)

The Associated Press: Benzene Warning Lifted Near Houston-Area Petrochemical Plant

Residents near a petrochemical storage terminal in the Houston suburb of Deer Park were warned to shelter in place for several hours on Thursday after elevated levels of benzene were detected in the air. The warning was lifted around noon after air-quality readings improved, but health officials said air monitoring will continue as firefighters and company officials work to stop any risk of a flare-up and to clean up the site. (3/21)

ProPublica: Doctors, EMS Leaders Call For Changes To Rhode Island’s 911 System

As Rhode Island lawmakers consider ways to improve the state’s 911 emergency system, the head of the state police on Thursday pledged to conduct a thorough review of procedures and training provided to 911 call takers. The moves follow a report by The Public’s Radio and ProPublica on Wednesday about a 6-month-old baby in Warwick who was the subject of an emergency 911 call last year. (Arditi, 3/21)

Modern Healthcare: One Medical Plans NYC Expansion With Mount Sinai Deal

National and independent primary care provider One Medical has signed a partnership with Mount Sinai Health System. The deal makes Mount Sinai the preferred healthcare system partner of One Medical in the local market. Between the agreement and a $350 million investment from the Carlyle Group late last year, One Medical plans to double its presence in New York City. (Henderson, 3/21)

Des Moines Register: Wisconsin Residents Seek Answers About Health Risks Near Iowa Sand Mines

Researchers and citizens have become concerned in recent years about the health effects because fracking, and the frac sand mining that helps drive it, appeared on the national stage only in the last 30 years. Silica-rich sand is a key ingredient in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, acting as a structural support for water and chemicals pumped into natural shale reservoirs to stimulate the production of natural gas. (Highnam, 3/21)

Arizona Republic: Fifteen Arizona Hospitals Penalized By Medicare For Patient Safety

Medicare payments to 15 Arizona hospitals will be cut this year due to poor ratings in a patient safety scoring system that considers bed sores, hospital-acquired infections and in-hospital falls, among other factors. Three of those hospitals — Banner-University Medical Center Tucson, Maricopa Medical Center and Sells Hospital on the Tohono O'odham reservation — are among 110 in the country that have been penalized every year of the program, which is now in its fifth year. (Innes and Philip, 3/21)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: NE Ohio Is Third-Largest Region In Midwest For Healthcare Investments In 2018

Northeast Ohio is the third-largest region in the Midwest for total healthcare investment. Nearly $294 million was invested in 71 companies last year, according to the 2018 Midwest Healthcare Growth Capital Report, which tracks capital investments made in biomedical companies across in Midwestern states in medical device, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, and health IT sectors. (Washington, 3/21)

Miami Herald: Miami Hospitals Plan More Layoffs Amid Financial Pain

Citing financial pressures and operating losses, Nicklaus Children’s Hospital and Jackson Health System — among Miami-Dade’s largest employers — are expected to announce layoffs and other cutbacks in the coming weeks. In a memo to staff obtained by the Miami Herald, Nicklaus Children’s executives said they will eliminate pay raises this year for all employees, reduce pension contributions and limit new hires to workers who provide direct service to patients. (Chang, 3/21)

The Star Tribune: UnitedHealthcare's Rebates To Employers Jump To $146 Million

Rebates to employer groups from Minnetonka-based UnitedHealthcare increased by about 40 percent in 2017, according to a new report, and fit with a broader trend of slightly improved profitability for carriers compared with the previous year. The report this month from Mark Farrah Associates shows UnitedHealthcare for 2017 paid rebates to large and small employers worth $146.2 million — up from $104.3 million in 2016, according to the Pennsylvania-based market research firm. (Snowbeck, 3/21)

San Francisco Chronicle: Transgender Man Sues Over Eureka Hospital’s Refusal To Perform Hysterectomy

In the lawsuit filed in Humboldt County Superior Court on Thursday, Oliver Knight says he was told just minutes before his scheduled hysterectomy that the hospital would not allow the procedure to happen. He says hospital staff told him that the surgery was called off because he was transgender. (Allday, 3/21)

Sacramento Bee: ACLU: CA Catholic Hospital Canceled Trans Man’s Hysterectomy

Oliver Knight says he didn’t find out a Northern California hospital had canceled his hysterectomy until minutes before the surgeon was set to start operating. By that time, Knight had been at St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka for three hours and had already put on the pink gown a nurse made him wear instead of the blue gown Knight requested, telling him pink was required for “female” surgeries, according to a lawsuit the American Civil Liberties Union filed Thursday against the hospital on Knight’s behalf. (Gilmour, 3/21)

St. Louis Public Radio: EPA Says Missouri’s Plan To Regulate Coal Ash Ponds And Landfills Is Too Weak

The Environmental Protection Agency notified Missouri environmental regulators this month that the state’s plan for overseeing the disposal of toxic waste from coal-fired power plants is not strong enough to protect human health and the environment. In a recent letter to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, EPA officials noted several provisions in the state’s plan that are weaker than the 2015 federal coal ash rule. (Chen, 3/22)

Kansas City Star: Following Colonoscopy Death, Cass Regional Passes Inspection

After a botched colonoscopy led to a woman’s death, a Kansas City-area hospital has passed a follow-up inspection and is no longer in danger of losing Medicare payments. But inspectors said they found several new infractions for poor hygiene and cleanliness that the hospital had to address. (marso, 3/21)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: Dozens Of Pediatric Doctors, Nurses Have Moved From Tulane To Children’s Hospital Under New Partnership

Children’s Hospital of New Orleans recently added 120 new pediatric health professionals as part of a new affiliation with Tulane University Medical School. Tulane Medical School’s pediatric faculty, residents and medical students started seeing pediatric patients in the critical care units at Children’s Hospital’s Uptown campus and its specialty clinics on March 1. As a result, inpatient pediatric intensive care services at Tulane Lakeside Hospital, shifted over to Children’s Hospital this month. (Clark, 3/21)

California Healthline: Crowd At Capitol Demands Immigrant Health Coverage

“Vivan los inmigrantes!” echoed through the halls of the state Capitol on Wednesday as immigrants and activists gathered to push for legislation that would extend full Medicaid coverage to adults in the country illegally. Sons and daughters clutched photos of their late parents. If they had had health insurance, maybe they would still be alive, they said. Others held “Health for All” signs and practiced the testimony they planned to give inside the fourth-floor hearing room. (Ibarra and Rowan, 3/20)

Modern Healthcare: Ascension CEO Anthony Tersigni To Retire This Year

Ascension CEO Anthony Tersigni will retire at the end of the year, the Catholic health system announced Thursday. Tersigni, who will have led Ascension for more than 15 years when he retires, will continue to serve on the executive committee of Ascension's healthcare investment fund and help guide the 151-hospital system on a consulting basis. The board has begun a formal process to find his successor. (Kacik, 3/21)

The Associated Press: CEO Of Maryland Medical System Taking Leave Of Absence

The president and CEO of the University of Maryland Medical System is taking a temporary leave of absence after reports that about a third of the system’s board has received compensation for their businesses through the network’s contracts, the chairman of the board announced Thursday. Board Chairman Stephen Burch said Robert Chrencik’s leave of absence will begin Monday. (Witte, 3/21)

Modern Healthcare: U-Maryland Medical System CEO Put On Leave After Board Conflict Scandal

The University of Maryland Medical System has put CEO Robert Chrencik on temporary leave of absence following reports that nine of the system's 30 board members, including elected public officials, have substantial business deals with the system. Board Chairman Stephen Burch announced that the board, at an emergency meeting Thursday, also voted to hire an independent firm to review board members' contractual relationships with the system. (Meyer, 3/21)

Boston Globe: Beyond Massachusetts, States Struggle To Limit Marijuana Behemoths

Massachusetts is not the only state struggling to limit the dominance of large marijuana companies. Maryland bars companies from owning more than one store, but several companies have publicly said they have multiple outlets there. (Wallack, 3/21)

Boston Globe: These Are The Hidden Titans Of Mass. Marijuana

In a state where no firm is legally permitted to own — or control — more than three stores that sell recreational pot, Sea Hunter is poised to test that limit. It has boasted to investors that it operates or has significant power over a dozen or more marijuana retail licenses. But you won’t see the name “Sea Hunter” on the shops; instead, they will carry names like Herbology, Verdant, and Ermont. (Healy, Adams, Dungca et. al., 3/21)

This is part of the KHN Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription