health

The cost of cancer: Everyday Australians 'one critical health event' away from financial stress and poverty

Last year, Nigel Shedden got married to wife Belinda and together they moved into their dream home. Today, the couple are living with Mr Shedden's mother, and the home they spent 18 months building has been sold.




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HIV and hepatitis C risk to patients as Cairns dental clinic closed by health authorities

Health authorities urge more than 500 patients of a dental clinic in Far North Queensland to be tested for HIV and hepatitis as the clinic is investigated over its infection control practices.




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Online mental health monitoring trial keeps track of young people's progress in real time

Regional trials of a world-first digital platform aimed at transforming access to mental health services for young people tracks how participants are feeling in real time.




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Bush accountants get mental health first aid training to help farmers through drought

Accountants based in regional areas receive mental health training to help them work with clients whose financial pressures are causing emotional distress.





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For these women, contact sports' health benefits outweigh the risk of injury

As opportunities increase for women in contact sports, concerns about injury rates are also on the rise. But for some the health benefits outweigh the risk of injury.




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Perfect poo and good health connect in teaching tool for children

A kit, designed by a researcher and nurse, aims to take the taboo out of poo and help children identify what a perfect poo looks like and how to make one.




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Juvenile prison guards strip searches cause mental health problems, former inmates claim

Children as young as 10 years old are being routinely strip searched in juvenile detention in NSW with minimal or no contraband found, according to new data, and former inmates claim the searches trigger mental illness issues.




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Sober in the Country: Rural health advocate Shanna Whan fights to save farmers from self-medicating with alcohol

The founder of an online discussion supporting hundreds trying to go dry believes drought, financial hardship, uncertainty, and isolation are causing more rural people to self-medicate with alcohol.




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Suicide and Mental Health Task Force creates Guide to Assisting Distressed Individuals | January 13, 2020

The Suicide and Mental Health Task Force created a Guide to Assisting Distressed Individuals, available for download online in folder and poster format...




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Advocate Health Care Network v. Stapleton

(United States Supreme Court) - In a class action under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) against church-affiliated nonprofits that run hospitals and other healthcare facilities, brought by current and former employees of the hospitals, alleging that the hospitals' pension plans do not fall within ERISA's church-plan exemption because they were not established by a church, the Seventh Circuit's judgment affirming the District Court's decision that a plan must be established by a church to qualify as a church plan, is reversed where a plan maintained by a principal-purpose organization qualifies as a 'church plan,' regardless of who established it.



  • Tax-exempt Organizations
  • Labor & Employment Law
  • ERISA

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Azar v. Allina Health Services

(United States Supreme Court) - Held that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services neglected its statutory notice-and-comment obligations when it revealed a new policy that dramatically -- and retroactively -- reduced Medicare payments to hospitals serving low-income patients. Concluded that the new policy must be vacated. Justice Gorsuch delivered the opinion of the 7-1 Court (Justice Kavanaugh did not participate).




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Health experts don't understand how information moves | The Atlantic

If the authorities can’t satisfy the public’s desire to know more, others will fill the void with misinformation. Carl Bergstrom, professor of biology at the UW, is mentioned.




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Oliver v. Secretary of Health and Human Services

(United States Federal Circuit) - Affirmed that vaccinations given to an infant did not cause him to develop a seizure condition. The parents of an infant who developed an illness called Dravet syndrome after being vaccinated sued the Secretary of Health and Human Services for compensation under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986. Agreeing with the findings of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the Federal Circuit held in a 2-1 decision that the parents failed to show that the infant's injuries were caused by his vaccinations.




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Lomeli v. State Dept. of Health Care Services

(California Court of Appeal) - Affirmed. Plaintiff sued medical providers for birth injuries that were paid for through Medi-Cal. The Department of Health Care Services put a lien on the monies recovered from the medical providers. Plaintiff sought to remove lien. Court held that Medi-Cal was entitled to repayment and upheld the lien.




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Encompass Office Solutions, Inc. v. Louisiana Health Service and Indemnity Co.

(United States Fifth Circuit) - Affirmed a judgment in favor of a medical supplier in its lawsuit against a health insurance company that refused to pay for covered services. The supplier, which provides equipment and staffing to doctors who perform surgery in their own offices, prevailed in a jury trial.




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Southern Hens, Inc. v. Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission

(United States Fifth Circuit) - Petition denied. A company's petition for review of an administrative law judge's finding of violations and imposition of a monetary penalty against a poultry processing plant following a worker injury was upheld.




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Whole Woman's Health Alliance v. Curtis T. Hill, Jr.

(United States Seventh Circuit) - Plaintiff, an abortion care provider, sought a license from the State of Indiana to operate a clinic. Plaintiff made two unsuccessful license applications over a two-year period before resorting to the federal courts. The district court granted Plaintiff preliminary relief based on the likelihood that it would be successful at trial. Indiana appealed seeking a stay on the relief. Appellate ordered that Indiana should treat Plaintiff as though it were provisionally licensed while the litigation proceeds.




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Coventry Health Care of Mo., Inc. v. Nevils

(United States Supreme Court) - In an insurance class action arising in the context of the Federal Employees Health Benefits Act of 1959 (FEHBA) authorization of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to contract with private carriers for federal employees' health insurance, 5 U.S.C. section 8902(a) and (d), the Missouri Supreme Court's decision, preventing federal employee insurance carries from seeking subrogation and reimbursement if there is a conflicting state law, is reversed where, because contractual subrogation and reimbursement prescriptions plainly 'relate to . . . payments with respect to benefits,' section 8902(m)(1), they override state laws barring subrogation and reimbursement.




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Moda Health Plan, Inc. v. US

(United States Federal Circuit) - In this insurance law claim a health insurer contends that the US failed to satisfy its payment obligation under a federal health insurance pool program. The Court of Federal Claims entered judgement for the insurer. The Court of Appeals reversed the judgment stating that Congress suspended the governments obligation and that subsequent regulation did not create a contract promising full payment.




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Board of Trustees of Glazing Health and Welfare Trust v. Chambers

(United States Ninth Circuit) - Held that a 2015 Nevada statute designed to protect construction general contractors from certain claims was not preempted by ERISA. A group of labor unions brought this action seeking a declaratory judgment that Nevada's SB 223, limiting general contractors' vicarious liability for their subcontractors' unpaid labor debts, was preempted by ERISA. Finding no preemption, the Ninth Circuit vacated the entry of summary judgment for the unions.




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Raam Construction, Inc. v. Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board

(California Court of Appeal) - Held that a general building contractor did not file a timely court challenge to a citation issued by government inspectors who found a safety violation at a job site. Affirmed dismissal of the contractor's petition for a writ of mandate.




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Texas Tech Physicians Associates v. US Department of Health and Human Services

(United States Fifth Circuit) - Held that a university-affiliated medical practice must return $8 million to the federal agency that administers Medicare. The medical practice's test of a new care management model (a Medicare demonstration project) did not achieve the expected cost savings. Upheld an administrative order.




health

Azar v. Allina Health Services

(United States Supreme Court) - Held that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services neglected its statutory notice-and-comment obligations when it revealed a new policy that dramatically -- and retroactively -- reduced Medicare payments to hospitals serving low-income patients. Concluded that the new policy must be vacated. Justice Gorsuch delivered the opinion of the 7-1 Court (Justice Kavanaugh did not participate).




health

Lomeli v. State Dept. of Health Care Services

(California Court of Appeal) - Affirmed. Plaintiff sued medical providers for birth injuries that were paid for through Medi-Cal. The Department of Health Care Services put a lien on the monies recovered from the medical providers. Plaintiff sought to remove lien. Court held that Medi-Cal was entitled to repayment and upheld the lien.




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CREDIBLE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH INC v. JOHNSON

(MD Court of Appeals) - No. 19, Sept. Term, 2019




health

Whole Woman's Health Alliance v. Curtis T. Hill, Jr.

(United States Seventh Circuit) - Plaintiff, an abortion care provider, sought a license from the State of Indiana to operate a clinic. Plaintiff made two unsuccessful license applications over a two-year period before resorting to the federal courts. The district court granted Plaintiff preliminary relief based on the likelihood that it would be successful at trial. Indiana appealed seeking a stay on the relief. Appellate ordered that Indiana should treat Plaintiff as though it were provisionally licensed while the litigation proceeds.




health

City of New York v. Group Health Inc.

(United States Second Circuit) - In antitrust dispute arising from a action by plaintiff seeking to prevent defendant-healthcare providers from merging, summary judgment in favor of defendants is affirmed where the district court's conclusion, that the market definition the plaintiff alleged as the basis of its claims is legally deficient, is a discretionary prerogative devoid of abuse.




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Gonzalez v Department of Health Care Services

(California Court of Appeal) - Affirmed. Plaintiff appealed from order of the probate court denying their request that special needs trust be distributed to them rather than Department of Health Care Services. Appeals court found Department was entitled to reimbursement for Medi-Cal expenses.




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Simmons v. Secretary of Health and Human Services

(United States Federal Circuit) - Affirming the denial of attorney fees and costs to a man who sued claiming that he developed Guillain-Barre Syndrome as the result of a flu vaccination because the Court of Federal Claims correctly concluded that there was no reasonable basis for the claim.




health

Monsanto Company v. Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment

(California Court of Appeal) - Affirming the trial court's conclusion that Monsanto and others failed to state a claim in a suit where they averred that Proposition 65's reliance on the International Agency for Research on Cancer's determinations about which chemicals cause cancer improperly granted a foreign entity authority over domestic affairs.




health

Oliver v. Secretary of Health and Human Services

(United States Federal Circuit) - Affirmed that vaccinations given to an infant did not cause him to develop a seizure condition. The parents of an infant who developed an illness called Dravet syndrome after being vaccinated sued the Secretary of Health and Human Services for compensation under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986. Agreeing with the findings of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the Federal Circuit held in a 2-1 decision that the parents failed to show that the infant's injuries were caused by his vaccinations.




health

Teamsters Local 404 Health Services and Insurance Plan v. King Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

(United States Second Circuit) - Held that it was proper to remand to New York state court a case in which a labor union health plan sought disclosure of a patent dispute settlement agreement between pharmaceutical companies and the generic manufacturer of the EpiPen. Affirmed the district court's remand order, in this special proceeding under New York law seeking pre‐action disclosure.




health

True Health Chiropractic Inc. v. McKesson Corp.

(United States Ninth Circuit) - Reversed the denial of class certification in an action where a healthcare company was accused of unlawfully sending unsolicited faxed advertisements in violation of the U.S. Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The district court denied the motion for class certification on the ground that individual issues would predominate over issues common to the putative class. On an interlocutory appeal, the Ninth Circuit disagreed and remanded for further proceedings.




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Entering Phase 2, Prospective Reopening / Sleep & COVID-19 / New Health Care Workers Anthem

California moves toward Phase 2 in changing its stay-at-home rules. We check in with businesses who could soon reopen their doors. A Sutter Health sleep expert talks odd dreams and interrupted sleep, and an anthem to healthcare workers.




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NNADOZIE v. MANORCARE HEALTH SERVICES LLC HCR MD LLC

(US 4th Circuit) - No. 19-1369




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Reading Health System v. Bear Stearns and Co. n/k/a J.P. Morgan Securities LLC

(United States Third Circuit) - Affirmed that a broker-dealer was required to arbitrate a customer's claim. The broker-dealer had placed a contractual clause in its agreement with an institutional customer stating that the customer must bring any claims arising out of their agreement in a particular federal court. Splitting from several other circuits on the enforceability of such forum-selection clauses, the Third Circuit held that the clause was unenforceable because it would circumvent Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Rule 12200. The panel therefore affirmed an order compelling the broker-dealer to submit to FINRA arbitration.




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SANZONE v. MERCY HEALTH 10 10 11 20 11 20 21 40 21 40

(US 8th Circuit) - No. 18-3574




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Vantage Health Plan, Inc. v. Willis-Knighton Medical Center

(United States Fifth Circuit) - In a healthcare antitrust case, affirmed a protective order that said certain confidential business documents belonging to a non-party health insurer should be unsealed (but redacted) if and when they are filed on the public docket. The non-party sought stronger confidentiality protections.




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Doe v. Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Inc.

(United States First Circuit) - Reinstated a lawsuit alleging that a health insurance company improperly denied coverage for in-patient mental health services. After several unsuccessful administrative appeals, the insured sued the insurance company under ERISA, claiming that all of her time spent at a mental health residential treatment facility was medically necessary and thus should have been covered under an employer-provided healthcare plan. On appeal, the First Circuit vacated an order granting summary judgment for the insurance company, holding that the district court should have allowed the insured to supplement the administrative record.




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Denver businesses caught between economic realities and health concerns as they weigh reopening

On Saturday, a host of Denver businesses — from clothing stores to hair salons — will open their doors for the first time in nearly two months as Mayor Michael Hancock’s stay-at-home order expires.




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WATCH: MSU Denver uses 3D printing lab to produce personal protective equipment for health care workers

Ted Shin, the chair of the Department of Industrial Design at Metropolitan State University of Denver, could see coronavirus coming, first in China, then in Italy.




health

Denver businesses caught between economic realities and health concerns as they weigh reopening

On Saturday, a host of Denver businesses — from clothing stores to hair salons — will open their doors for the first time in nearly two months as Mayor Michael Hancock’s stay-at-home order expires.




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Police upping patrols at Tri-County Health after “civil war” threat over coronavirus restrictions

Police in Greenwood Village are increasing patrols around the Tri-County Health Department after authorities say someone sent a threatening email to the office's receptionist that warned of a looming "civil war" over ongoing coronavirus restrictions.




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Jeffrey Wright Debuts Video To Help Health Care Workers



Brooklyn For Life! buys meals from neighborhood restaurants.




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Buffie Purselle Posts Epic Statement About Mental Health



The reality stars are beefing on Instagram.




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See How DJ Khaled Is Helping Frontline COVID-19 Health Care



The hip-hop producer is going through his nonprofit.




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NBA Players Who Tested Positive For Coronavirus Share Major Health Update

Utah Jazz players were diagnosed on March 11.




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Coronavirus Is Attacking Both Our Health And Our Privacy



Find out how to block BigTech's efforts.




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Watch Doctor Sing ‘Rise Up’ In Honor Of Health Workers



Dr. Collin Brathwaite played the melody for his colleagues