State Highlights: Insurers In Massachusetts Agree To Improve Access To Mental Health Care; Advocates Back Maryland Bills To Protect Consumers From Debt, Lawsuits

WBUR: AG Healey Reaches $1 Million Settlement With 7 Companies To Increase Behavioral Health Access
State Attorney General Maura Healey announced Thursday that her office reached settlement agreements with all seven companies — including five health insurers — to change their practices and pay a total of $1 million. She said the changes should affect about one million Massachusetts residents. Healey’s office said the companies limited access to mental health and substance use treatment in several ways, including: not covering behavioral health the same as physical health; offering lower reimbursement rates for behavioral health; requiring prior authorizations for some behavioral health services; and not properly managing and updating behavioral health provider directories. (Becker, 2/27)

The Baltimore Sun: As Maryland Hospitals Continue To Sue Patients, State Lawmakers Call For ‘Guardrails’ 
Maryland hospitals sued their patients over unpaid bills more than 145,700 times in the 10 years that ended in 2018, leading to wage garnishments, liens and bankruptcies, according to a new report from a coalition of consumer groups and unions. Such lawsuits aren’t new, but medical debt is getting more attention in the state and around the nation, especially as election-year presidential candidates debate how to help Americans struggling to pay for health care. (Cohn, 2/28)

Bloomberg: J&J Ordered By Jury To Pay $9 Million In Talc-Cancer Case
Johnson & Johnson was ordered by a Florida jury to pay $9 million to an 82-year-old woman who blamed asbestos-tainted talc for her cancer, the latest court loss for the company in U.S. litigation over its iconic baby powder. Jurors in Miami concluded on Thursday that asbestos in baby powder used by Blanca Mure-Cabrera over her lifetime contributed to the development of her mesothelioma, said David Jagolinzer, one of her lawyers. That type of cancer has been specifically linked to asbestos exposure. (Feeley, 2/27)

The Baltimore Sun: Former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh Sentenced To 3 Years For ‘Healthy Holly’ Children’s Book Fraud Scheme 
Former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh, who held elected offices in Baltimore for two decades and was elevated by voters to lead the city after the upheaval of 2015, was sentenced to three years in federal prison Thursday for a fraud scheme involving a children’s book series. U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow described Pugh’s crimes as “astounding” and said she took advantage of a career spent doing good works to mislead organizations who purchased her “Healthy Holly” books. (Broadwater, Fenton and Rector, 2/27)

Modern Healthcare: AseraCare To Pay $1 Million To Settle False Claims Act Case
Hospice provider AseraCare on Thursday said it settled a closely watched False Claims Act case with the federal government for $1 million. The lawsuit hinged on whether a physician’s medical judgment can be deemed false based only on another physician’s conflicting opinion. The settlement will not require a corporate integrity agreement, the Plano, Texas-based company said in a statement. (Meyer, 2/27)

The Washington Post: District Seeks To Ban ‘Ghost Gun’ Kits As Seizures Of Homemade Weapons Soar
The number of untraceable “ghost guns” built from kits and seized by police has begun to surge in the District and some other areas nationwide, raising concerns that firearm traffickers have found a new way to bypass background checks and pour more weapons into cities struggling with violence. D.C. police said such guns were used in three killings in the city in recent years. District officers last year took 116 ghost guns off the streets, compared with just three in 2017. (Hermann and Jackman, 2/27)

Kaiser Health News: Colorado Forges Ahead On A New Model For Health Care While Nation Waits
With the nation’s capital mired in gridlock and the Affordable Care Act facing a dire legal challenge, the prospects of lowering health care costs for Americans this year seem unlikely.Just don’t tell that to Coloradans. Democratic majorities in the state House and Senate and a Democratic governor eager to push aggressive health care measures have turned Colorado into one of the foremost health policy laboratories in the country. (Hawryluk, 2/28)

The Wall Street Journal: Property Manager Sued Over Lead-Paint Compliance By New York State
A property manager overseeing more than 6,000 apartment units in 134 buildings in New York City has been noncompliant with lead-paint regulations, state Attorney General Letitia James said Thursday. In a lawsuit, Ms. James accused Chestnut Holdings of failing to identify which apartments house children under 6 years old, as city law requires. The property manager, which mostly operates apartments in low- and middle-income communities in the Bronx, didn’t conduct annual investigations of those apartments for hazards that can cause lead poisoning, such as peeling paint, the lawsuit alleges. (Blint-Welsh, 2/27)

San Francisco Chronicle: SF Corruption Investigation Yields 14 New Subpoenas Served As Nuru Probe Widens
San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera issued a flurry of subpoenas Thursday in a widening public corruption investigation started after former Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru’s arrest on fraud charges last month. Herrera’s office issued 14 subpoenas to firms with ties to either Walter Wong, a San Francisco building permit consultant, or Zhang Li, a billionaire real estate developer from China. (Fracassa, 2/27)

Philadelphia Inquirer: FTC Sues To Block Jefferson University’s Acquisition Of Einstein Health
The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday said it will sue to block Thomas Jefferson University’s acquisition of Einstein Healthcare Network, a deal that has been pending since September 2018, alleging that the combination would reduce competition and raise prices in Philadelphia and Montgomery Counties. (Brubaker, 2/27)

Detroit Free Press: Michigan To Pay $80M To Settle Prison Sex Abuse Claims
The Michigan Department of Corrections will pay $80 million to settle a lawsuit alleging sexual abuse of males under 18 years of age in Michigan prisons, the parties announced Thursday. The settlement would end a class-action suit first brought in 2013 on behalf of more than 1,300 young male prisoners. (Egan and Gray, 2/27)

NBC News: University Of Michigan Wrestler Says He Was Booted Off Team For Reporting Abusive Doctor
The whistleblower whose allegations of sexual abuse at the hands of a University of Michigan doctor sparked a police investigation and continue to roil the school said Thursday that he’s been seeking justice since 1975. The former wrestler, Tad Deluca, said that was the year he was punished for reporting in a nine-page letter what he says the late Dr. Robert Anderson did to him repeatedly under the guise of medical examinations. (Siemaszko, 2/27)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: New Milwaukee Development To House Diversion Program For Sex Workers
A Milwaukee central city development is adding a new building that could house a diversion program to help women who work in the street sex trade. The Benedict Center wants to operate its Sisters Program at the building being developed at 1609 W. North Ave., according to new plans filed with the city Board of Zoning Appeals. (Daykin, 2/27)

Chicago Tribune: Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Commissioners Gain More Control Over Health Board 
With newly obtained authority, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle has appointed a member of her staff to join the independent board that oversees the county health and hospital system, she said Thursday. In addition, the Cook County commissioners will now have the power to advise on and approve of the next CEO who takes over the financially struggling health system. Going forward, Cook County Health administrators will be mandated to meet with county officials monthly to discuss the system’s finances. (Bowean, 2/27)