Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: Calif. Nurses Launch Campaign Targeting Lawmaker Who Pulled Single-Payer Bill; Audit Of Ga. Health Plan Finds Thousands Of Ineligibles
The surprise decision by Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon to block California鈥檚 single-payer health care bill, which the Democrat on Friday called 鈥渨oefully incomplete,鈥 has so infuriated the California Nurses Association 鈥 the bill鈥檚 sponsor 鈥 that the group has launched an aggressive campaign to pressure him to change his mind. The speaker says he鈥檚 even getting threats of violence online, directed at him and his family 鈥 a claim that a union spokesman on Wednesday dismissed as an attempt to distract the public from his actions. (Murphy, 6/28)
Anger over Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon鈥檚 decision to shelve universal health care legislation in California has boiled into aggressive protests and even violent rhetoric against the Democratic leader. Rendon said Wednesday that he and his family have experienced 鈥渄istressing鈥 death threats since announcing late last Friday that the 鈥渨oefully incomplete鈥 Senate Bill 562 would not move forward this year. (Koseff, 6/28)
Department of Community Health officials audited employees and dependents on the plan, which covers 640,000 Georgians. It found that almost 16,000 dependents of plan members were receiving coverage even though they were ineligible. (Salzer, 6/28)
The nonprofit Hunger Impact Partners created the free app and launched it this summer, in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Education and Minneapolis Public Schools. Summer meal sites include community centers, libraries, food trucks in parks, churches and schools. (Prather, 6/28)
The Grady Health Foundation announced Wednesday that a giant biopharmaceutical company is donating $2 million to help renovate the Grady system鈥檚 HIV/AIDS center in Atlanta. The Grady Ponce de Leon Center, which opened in 1993, serves about 6,000 patients annually from a 20-county area that includes Fulton and DeKalb, which have the highest prevalence of HIV in the state. (Miller, 6/28)
After state lawmakers passed legislation governing Florida鈥檚 medical marijuana industry this month, local zoning regulations for dispensaries being considered in Miami Beach have stalled. The new state regulations pre-empt local governments from regulating medical cannabis dispensaries any more than they regulate pharmacies, blowing a hole in the zoning plans of Miami-Dade County and Miami Beach. (Flechas and Dixon, 6/28)
Hallmark Health System plans to significantly slash inpatient services at its struggling hospital in Medford beginning this fall, the company said Wednesday. Officials said they plan to close 50 of the 98 inpatient beds at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, including all 40 medical/surgical beds and all 10 intensive care beds. (Dayal McCluskey, 6/28)
Officials at the recently opened Memorial Hermann Cypress Hospital are seeking volunteers who are interested in helping out at the $168 million facility. Currently, the hospital's program includes 45 active volunteers. Positions are open to those who are retired, community members in the workforce, and college students. (Bradley, 6/28)
Every year, more babies are born in withdrawal from drugs 鈥 and as the nationwide opioid epidemic rages on, the problem has only gotten worse. Several regional hospital collaboratives around the state have worked to share best practices for caring for infants and mothers, but new funding in the state budget has allowed for the creation of the statewide Virginia Neonatal Perinatal Collaborative. (O'Connor, 6/28)
San Francisco has a mature infrastructure to help the homeless 鈥 from cutting-edge Navigation Centers that help people find shelter to a recent $100 million charitable donation to support the chronically destitute. Oakland is still experimenting with how to respond to the crisis. (Garfoli and Veklerov, 6/28)
A medical marijuana dispensary could move in among the retail shops on Newbury Street next summer, after the Boston City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to let the project proceed. The nonprofit that proposed the facility at 331 Newbury St., Compassionate Organics, will need additional approvals from the state Department of Public Health and Boston zoning and health officials before it can start selling cannabis to registered patients. (Adams, 6/28)