Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: Texas Ranked As State With Most Uninsured People; Surge Of Domestic Violence Cases Stuns Sacramento
Of the 10 highest uninsured cities in the U.S. in 2016, eight of them were in Texas.Those Texas cities include Dallas, Laredo, and Baytown, according to the analysis conducted by WalletHub of health insurance data. WalletHub measured and ranked 547 different cities around the country. Of the 64 largest cities analyzed (these were cities with more than 300,000 people), Dallas (22.2 percent) came in dead last with Houston  right above it. (Alfonoso, 9/15)
Since January, there have been eight fatal domestic violence encounters in the Sacramento area involving the deaths of 14 victims – eight of whom were children, authorities said. All of the adult victims this year in Sacramento were women and most were women of color. (Chabria and Magagnini, 9/15)
A state pharmacy inspector made a surprising discovery last year while conducting a routine records review at a Westside facility that compounded drugs for patients at UCLA medical centers. More than 1,000 IV bags of sterile medications for heart patients and others with serious health issues had been made with expired and potentially dangerous ingredients, according to state Board of Pharmacy records. (Christensen, 9/15)
Legislators arrived at the State Capitol on Friday with the opportunity for the first time to see the details of a $41.4 billion, two-year budget proposal that the administration of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and Democratic legislative leaders hoped would end Connecticut’s summer-long budget impasse. (Phaneuf, Pazniokas and Rade Thomas, 9/15)
After watching his mother die from meningitis in a nationwide outbreak caused by contaminated steroids, Scott Shaw is determined to make sure something like that never happens again. A stiff punishment for the Massachusetts pharmacist Shaw believes is partially responsible may help, he says. (9/17)
A state oversight agency has found that a former medical vendor for New York's Nassau County jail failed to provide adequate treatment, directly resulting in the deaths of three inmates last year. (9/16)
Last week, the Virginia Department of Health held an event at the Richmond City Health District with health care leaders, as well as Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, in which Stoney and Virginia’s health commissioner, Dr. Marissa Levine, received their flu shots. ... In Virginia, the rate of people receiving their flu shots remained relatively stagnant between 2010 and 2014, VDH data show, with just under 50 percent receiving vaccines. (O'Connor, 9/17)
An author of a study that shows Ohioans with developmental disabilities struggle to get adequate medical care says medical schools should focus more on the issue. The study revealed that people with disabilities fared worse than others when it comes to their health status, the quality of their health care, access to care, unmet health-care needs and number of hospitalizations and emergency department visits. (Viviano, 9/16)
Before the sun rose Saturday, people in need of medical care began lining up outside Desert Mirage High School in Thermal for an opportunity to see physicians, dentists, optometrists and hearing specialists – all for free. From 8 a.m. to about 3 p.m., volunteers with Flying Doctors health fair, organized by Luz Moreno with Clinicas de Salud del Pubelo Inc. in Coachella, brings doctors from all over into the east end of the valley to provide much-needed medical care. The one-day clinic offers everything from basic medical checkups to cancer screenings and everything in between. Volunteers also assist with insurance enrollment for those who qualify. (Barkas, 9/16)