State Highlights: Pa. Attorney General Tells Hospital Network To Keep Doors Open To Competitors; Texas Lawmakers Propose Reforms To Improve Child Safety

Modern Healthcare: State Tells UPMC To Keep Its Network Open To Highmark, Other Plans
Pennsylvania’s attorney general picked a side in the long-running market battle between UPMC and Highmark Health, filing a court petition Thursday seeking to require UPMC to fairly negotiate with Highmark and other health plans. Democratic Attorney General Josh Shapiro argued that UPMC has violated its charitable obligations to the state, and he wants the Commonwealth Court to enable open and affordable access to UPMC’s provider network through negotiated contracts; require baseball-style arbitration if negotiations fail; and bar UPMC from engaging in excessive and unreasonable billing practices. (Meyer, 2/7)

Austin American-Statesman: Statesman Investigation Spurs Lawmakers To File 11 Bills On Child Care Safety
Months after an American-Statesman investigation into dangerous conditions in some Texas child care centers, state lawmakers are proposing sweeping reforms aimed at improving safety. At least 11 bills targeting a wide range of problems are in the works. (Ball and Collins Walsh, 2/7)

Boston Globe: Atrius Health Decides To Go It Alone
Newton-based Atrius includes about 825 doctors, including Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, and it is not part of a hospital system. Last year, the nonprofit doctors group solicited bids from several other companies and considered forging a deal to find stronger financial footing. (Dayal McCluskey, 2/7)

WBUR: Bucking The Merger Trend, Atrius And Blue Cross Sign A Novel Payment Deal
Amid a steady drumbeat of Massachusetts health care mergers and acquisitions, the future of the state’s largest independent group of physicians has been fueling the rumor mill. But Atrius Health, with 825 doctors and 32 medical practices, will remain independent. (Bebinger, 2/7)

The Washington Post: Va. Lawmakers Vote To Ban Handheld Devices While Driving, But Will It Reduce Crashes?
Virginia lawmakers voted this week to prohibit drivers from using handheld mobile devices while behind the wheel, a major tightening of an existing ban against texting while driving as new research shows distracted driving remains a persistent problem. With passage of legislation by both houses of the General Assembly, Virginia joins Maryland, the District and other states nationwide in banning the handheld use of cellphones while driving. (Laris, 2/7)

The CT Mirror: Senate Dems Offer Nursing Home Staffing Bill
Senate Democrats unveiled a proposal Thursday to encourage nursing homes to maximize staff assigned to direct patient care. But the bill’s fate may rest with the state’s ongoing budgetary challenges. (Phaneuf, 2/7)

The New York Times: Arizona Nursing Center Where Woman Was Raped Will Close
The care facility in Arizona where an incapacitated woman was raped and later gave birth will soon be closed, the nursing home’s operator announced on Thursday. In a statement, the operator, Hacienda HealthCare, said it was working to determine exactly how it would move its patients from the Phoenix facility elsewhere and did not specify a location. It pledged to do “everything in our power” to ensure that the transition would be smooth. (Stevens, 2/7)

Arizona Republic: Hacienda HealthCare Closing Facility Where Patient Was Raped, Gave Birth
The non-profit company said the board of directors, “after a great deal of consideration, has come to understand that it is simply not sustainable to continue to operate” the facility. …Gov. Doug Ducey was quick to criticize the decision, calling the announcement, “concerning” because state agencies have been actively working to increase oversight at the facility to ensure patient safety. (Innes, 2/7)

Modern Healthcare: Kaiser Permanente Lays Off 200 Colorado Employees
Kaiser Permanente is laying off another 200 employees in Colorado, where it is the largest not-for-profit health plan. The integrated health system also laid off 200 employees in November. (Bannow, 2/7)

The Associated Press: Pittsburgh Water Agency To Spend $50M To Replace Lead Pipes
Pittsburgh’s beleaguered water authority will spend $50 million to replace lead service lines, give filters to low-income residents and take other steps to address the city’s lead crisis under a settlement approved Thursday by state utility regulators. It comes a week after the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office filed criminal charges against the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority, alleging it mishandled a lead pipe replacement program in 2016 and 2017 and put more than 150 households at elevated risk of lead poisoning. (2/7)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee County Moves To Replace Troubled Jail Medical Contractor
The Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors voted Thursday to execute a two-year contract with Wellpath to provide medical, dental and mental health services at the jail and House of Correction. The $39.7 million contract would begin April 1.The plan now heads to County Executive Chris Abele. (Spicuzza, 2/7)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Ohio Recovery Center Owner Indicted, Accused Of Buying Batmobile, Ghostbusters Car With Ill-Gotten Money
Six Ohio residents, including a businessman who owned reproductions of the Batmobile, the “Back to the Future” DeLorean and the “Ghostbusters” car, were indicted by a federal grand jury in a scheme to improperly bill Medicaid for more than $48 million. (Heisig, 2/7)

Sacramento Bee: California Regulators Fine Mercy Redding In Patient Death
The California Department of Public Health announced Thursday that regulators are fining Redding’s Mercy Medical Center after a surgical team there left a medical sponge in a patient during surgery, causing inflammation in his chest that contributed to his death. The Redding hospital must pay $47,500 for procedural violations that put the health and safety of patients in jeopardy, known as an immediate jeopardy penalty. (Anderson, 2/8)

The Associated Press: Pacific Gas & Electric Vows To Improve Wildfire Prevention
The nation’s largest utility on Wednesday promised to overhaul its wildfire-prevention measures in response to growing legal, financial and public pressure for its role in starting some of the most destructive blazes in California history. In a regulatory filing, Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. proposed to build weather stations, fireproof more miles of electrical wires and shut off power to more of its 5.4 million customers more often when wildfire danger is highest. The embattled utility also vowed to increase inspections, cut more trees and work with forestry experts to lessen its role in starting wildfires. (Elias, 2/6)

Sacramento Bee: Popularity Of Pot Brownies Calls For Childproof Packaging Law
Who could blame a kid for eating a brownie? But now in California, what looks like a brownie or candy may contains levels of THC, the main active ingredient in marijuana, that are dangerous to young children. The health hazards of marijuana ingestion—both edible and inhaled THC—are much more severe than they are in adults. (Lena Rothstein and Lauren Gambill, 2/8)

The Associated Press: School Shooting’s Criminal, Civil Cases Slowly Creep Forward
The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre resulted in criminal and civil court cases and the creation of a state investigative panel examining the shooting’s causes. A look at where those stand. (2/7)

Health News Florida: House Balks At Total Repeal Of Pot Smoking Ban
Florida House leaders have rolled out a proposal that would allow patients to smoke medical marijuana, but only after going through what one critic called a “bureaucratic mess of red tape.” The House proposal, released Tuesday afternoon, would require doctors to get the approval of a “case review panel” before they could order smokable marijuana for patients. (Kam, 2/7)