Hospital officials in Pennsylvania say a decision by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf to line-item veto supplemental funds for a few dozen hospitals could impact the most vulnerable patient populations. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports the cuts to the hospitals amount to $17.5 million, which would have triggered another $18.5 million in federal match funds. The money would go to 13 critical access hospitals in rural counties, 66 hospitals with obstetrics and neonatal services and six statewide burn care centers. Paula Bussard, chief strategy officer for the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania, says the supplemental payments support services and hospitals that typically treat a high percentage of patients on medical assistance.
A New Hampshire hospital that discovered its vaccines were stored at inconsistent temperatures is asking more than 800 children to get revaccinated. State public health officials say the affected vaccines from Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital in Lebanon aren't harmful but might have lost some potency. That means they could provide less immunity to disease. The problem occurred over the course of 14 months, from September 2014 to October 2015. The hospital is offering to revaccinate 827 patients at no cost to them or their insurance companies.
In Massachusetts where I am a physician, unintentional deaths from opioid overdoses increased from 5.3 to 10.1 per 100,000 residents between 2000 and 2013. In 2014, the number jumped to 18.6 per 100,000. These numbers include overdoses from heroin, which works the same way as opioid pills. Some people who become addicted to painkillers, unable to afford more medication or secure a prescription, then turn to heroin. But as of 2015, prescription opiates on their own account for 44 deaths each day in the United States. In 2014, then-Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick declared opioid abuse and overdose a public health emergency.
A New Mexico mom may sue a hospital that mistakenly cut off her baby son's pinky toe. Little Davante Hogue is just 8 months old and has faced repeated medical procedures since he was born prematurely alongside twin brother Delante. Now, his devastated mother Erica has revealed that a nurse at the University of New Mexico Hospital accidentally severed her son's toe during treatment. "It just makes me angry that something like this could happen," she told KOB 4 News. Davante has remained in hospital since his April 2015 birth due to a "stage-3 brain bleed," which means he may never walk, talk, see or hear.
More than a dozen state attorneys general have joined the U.S. Justice Department's investigation of the proposed acquisitions of Humana by Aetna and of Anthem's bid for Cigna Corp., according to Reuters. Florida, Iowa, Tennessee and Connecticut are among the states that have signed on with federal regulators to scrutinize the impact of the deals, the news service reported. Kentucky isn't one of them. Attorney General Andy Beshear's spokesman responded to questions by releasing a statement saying that the office "...is committed to enforcing our state's competition laws in a manner that protects Kentucky consumers. At this time, the office is not participating in the federal review."
There is no longer any question that Gov. Matt Bevin of Kentucky plans to shut down the health insurance exchange his state built to enroll residents for coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Now that he has notified the Obama administration of his intention to do so, the question is, will it change the law's substantial impact there? It is hard to predict, partly because what Mr. Bevin is doing is without precedent. While a few states have been forced to largely rely on the federally run exchange after their own versions failed, Kentucky will be the first to abandon a homegrown exchange that functions well.