Tuesday, September 17, 2019 – Kaiser Health News

Connecticut To Eliminate Religious Exemptions For Vaccinations, Joining Handful Of Other States

Connecticut is one of 31 states that reported measles cases this year, part of the worst outbreak of the disease in the U.S. since 1992. Meanwhile, in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom defends his eleventh-hour changes to a controversial vaccination law.

The Wall Street Journal:Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont Plans To End Religious Exemption For VaccinationsConnecticut Gov. Ned Lamont said on Monday that the state should join a handful of others that require minors to receive vaccinations for preventable diseases, eliminating most exceptions to vaccination. The more children who receive their vaccinations, the safer it is for everyone, especially those who may be at risk to catch serious diseases, Mr. Lamont said in a statement. But if a parent decides not to vaccinate then alternate decisions must be made about where to educate your children, he said. (West, 9/16)

The CT Mirror:DPH Commissioner Finds Her Voice On ImmunizationsRene Coleman-Mitchell, the commissioner of public health, unequivocally urged legislators Monday to repeal Connecticuts religious exemption from required vaccinations for children entering school, a move some legislative leaders called overdue but welcome as they press ahead with an effort to erase the provision. Coleman-Mitchell previously said it wasnt her job to weigh in on pending legislation, but she reversed herself and pledged to testify in support of the measure when its introduced during the session that begins in February. (Carlesso, 9/16)

KQED:Newsom Defends Actions On Controversial Vaccine Exemption BillGov. Gavin Newsom on Monday defended his request for last-minute changes to SB 276, a bill that gives the state more oversight of vaccine medical exemptions for school kids. After initially asking for and receiving earlier amendments, Newsom said he would sign the measure. But in the final weeks of the legislative session, he said he wanted more changes to the bill. (Orr, 9/16)

State Highlights: Cost Concerns Rise As Hospital Competition Wanes In Urban Areas; Oklahoma Prison Officials Cite Gang-Related, Coordinated Violence

Media outlets report on news from Utah, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Massachusetts, California, Connecticut, Ohio, Georgia, Wisconsin, California, Arizona and New Hampshire.

Modern Healthcare:Lopsided Urban Hospital Markets Spark Cost ConcernsUrban hospital markets are getting more top-heavy, drawing concern from economists and researchers who warn that less competition can inflate healthcare costs. Nearly three-quarters of 112 metropolitan areas across 43 states had "highly concentrated" hospital markets in 2016, according to a new report by the Health Care Cost Institute. The share of highly concentrated markets, as defined by the HerfindahlHirschman Index, increased to 72% in 2016, up from 67% in 2012. (Kacik, 9/17)

The Associated Press:Oklahoma Prison Violence Appears Gang-Related, CoordinatedWeekend fights at six Oklahoma prisons that left one inmate dead and more than a dozen others injured were apparently coordinated and the result of race-based gang tension inside the facilities, the head of a prison workers association said Monday. The first fight erupted Saturday at the Northeast Oklahoma Correctional Center in Vinita, in the northeast of the state. (Murphy, 9/16)

Boston Globe:Former CVS Head's Gift Will Bolster Neuroscience ResearchFormer CVS (CVS) chief executive Thomas M. Ryan and his wife are giving $35 million to the University of Rhode Island to bolster a neuroscience institute, scholarships, and URI basketball the largest private donation in the state universitys history. Ryan told the Boston Globe that his father, George Ryan, died of Alzheimers disease eight years ago, and his mother, Anne Ryan, died taking care of him. (Fitzpatrick, 9/16)

Los Angeles Times:80,000-Plus Kaiser Workers May Strike Oct. 14, But Talks ContinueUnions representing more than 80,000 Kaiser Permanente workers said their members will participate in a weeklong strike starting Oct. 14 to protest the companys labor practices. The healthcare giants workers will strike in California and five other states as well as the District of Columbia, the unions said. The strike will affect employees with jobs as optometrists, a variety of technicians, clinical laboratory scientists, housekeepers and hundreds of other positions largely those who are not doctors, registered nurses or mental health workers. (Hussain, 9/16)

Sacramento Bee:80,000 Kaiser Workers To Strike In California, 6 Other StatesThe Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions announced late Monday their roughly 80,000 workers will walk off their jobs as part of a seven-day strike beginning Oct. 14 in California, five other states and the District of Columbia. (Anderson, 9/16)

The CT Mirror:Nursing Home Vacancies Test Lamont's Relationship With LaborA new policy designed to eliminate unused beds in nursing homes has put Gov. Ned Lamont at odds with a key part of his base, Connecticuts largest healthcare workers union. SEIU Healthcare 1199NE announced Monday a new online ad campaign to press the Democratic governor to reverse the policy, which it says has put nine nursing homes with large vacancy rates at risk of closing. (Phaneuf, 9/16)

Boston Globe:Former Athenahealth CEO Jonathan Bush Joins Health Care StartupFor Jonathan Bush, there is life after athenahealth. The outspoken former chief executive of the Watertown company has landed a new gig as executive chairman of the Boston startup Firefly Health, which aims to provide primary care for patients through an app as well as clinic and employer visits. (Chesto, 9/16)

St.Louis Post Dispatch:Striking UAW Workers In Wentzville List Wages, Health Benefits And Job Security Among Top ConcernsZandra Bartell transferred here in June after the General Motors plant in Lordstown, Ohio, ceased production. It was either come here or be without a job, said Bartell, 49. On Monday, she found herself, along with thousands of other local United Auto Workers members, seeking a better deal from the company. (Merrilees, 9/16)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution:While Some Georgia Agencies Cut Jobs And Programs, Others Get MoreFor every dollar state agencies are proposing to cut to meet Gov. Brian Kemps order to slow spending, theyre requesting nearly two more to pay for programs, from education and health care to law clerks and fighting gangs. Thats because not all agencies are equal when it comes to cutting, or adding spending. (Salzer, 9/16)

The Associated Press:Lawyer: Ex-Wisconsin Nurse To Plead Guilty To Hurting BabiesA defense attorney says a former Wisconsin nurse is prepared to plead guilty to hurting infants in a Madison hospital's intensive care unit. Forty-three-year-old Christopher Kaphaem faces 19 felony child abuse counts involving nine infants. WKOW-TV reports Kaphaem's attorney, Jonas Bednarek, notified the court of the plea in a letter Monday. (9/16)

San Francisco Chronicle:Surge Of Critical Injuries On SFs Streets Mirrors Spike In FatalitiesAs San Francisco reels from a recent string of traffic fatalities, new city data points to another vexing trend: a surge in the number of pedestrians gravely injured by cars. Fifty-five pedestrians were critically hurt in crashes last year, according to the Department of Public Health. (Swan, 9/16)

Los Angeles Times:Activists Study Where Homeless Could Sleep Under L.A. PlanWhen Los Angeles City Councilman Mitch OFarrell laid out a proposal that would bar people from sleeping on streets and sidewalks near schools, parks and other targeted facilities, local activists lined up at a City Hall hearing to denounce the idea and showed up at OFarrells home in Glassell Park to protest. Now they have taken to the streets again this time with pens and maps. (Reyes, 9/16)

Sacramento Bee:CalPERS Health Insurance Premiums Rising In SacramentoPrices for CalPERS most popular health insurance plans are going up more in Sacramento County than in most of the state, partly as a result of a change the retirement funds board made to how it groups insurance markets last year. Employees of schools and local agencies who are enrolled in CalPERS most popular plan, a Kaiser Permanente HMO, face a 12 percent premium increase in the Sacramento area, according to published rates. (Venteicher, 9/16)

Arizona Republic:Census: Arizona Had 'Statistically Significant' Jump In Uninsured In 2018Arizona is one of eight states that had "statistically significant" increases in the number of people without health insurance between 2017 and 2018, the U.S. Census Bureau says. In Arizona, 750,000 people didn't have any health insurance last year. That's about 1 in 10 people or 10.6% of the population. The number of Arizonans without coverage jumped by 55,000 people over 2017, after several years of drops in the rate of uninsured. (Innes, 9/16)

NH Times Union:Sullivan County Officials Hail Effort To Curb 'Bath Salt' UseFlanked by police chiefs in Claremont City Hall, Sullivan County Attorney Marc Hathaway said the state has finally given law enforcement the legal resources to end the scourge of bath salt use in the county. Its the most disruptive drug in the county, Hathaway said. Hathaway and the police chiefs from Claremont, Newport, Sunapee, Grantham, Plainfield and several other communities announced a change in the drug schedule in New Hampshire that now makes the most common variant of bath salts illegal. (Fisher, 9/16)

Georgia Health News:First Air Testing Results Around Sterigenics Lead To More QuestionsInitial testing of the air near a medical supply sterilizing facility in Smyrna found little to no ethylene oxide in the large majority of samples taken earlier this month. The September tests occurred days after Sterigenics shut down the plant, which uses ethylene oxide (also known as EtO), a cancer-causing chemical. (Goodman and Miller, 9/16)

Boston Globe:Pot Use Among Mass. High School Students Fell In The Decade Before Legalization, New Report Says. Will That Trend Continue?Fewer Massachusetts high school students used marijuana over the decade before the states first cannabis stores opened last year, according to a new report.In 2017, about 24 percent of the states public high school students said they used cannabis in the previous month, down from 28 percent in 2011. Meanwhile, the share of the students reporting heavy cannabis use at least 20 times per month also dropped, from 9 percent to 5.6 percent. (Martin, 9/16)

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Tuesday, September 17, 2019 - Kaiser Health News