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Thousands of Californians may have to pay out-of-network medical costs to go to their nearest hospital after contract negotiations between Adventist Health and Blue Shield of California — a major health care provider and health insurer in the state, respectively — fell through last week. Adventist Health and Blue Shield had been in talks to reach a new contract for about 11 months, but failed to come to an agreement about reimbursement rates before the previous contract expired Dec. 1. (Ho, 12/8)

Earlier this year, Trinity Moravian Church in Winston-Salem received national attention for doing something extraordinary: It erased nearly $3.3 million in medical debt for 3,355 local families living below the poverty line. The tiny church, with an average attendance of about 75 on Sundays, did it by raising $15,000 and partnering with RIP Medical Debt, a national nonprofit that buys unpaid medical debt and forgives it. (Crouch, 12/11)

In a win for Vertex Pharmaceuticals, a Colorado state board voted not to place the company’s best-selling cystic fibrosis medication on a list of drugs for which payment limits will be set for most residents, including those whose insurance is covered by a government agency or a commercial health plan. (Silverman, 12/8)

Some patients of a Seattle-based cancer center received threatening emails following a data breach last month. Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center officials said a Nov. 19 hack hit a portion of the health care system’s clinical network, possibly leaking patient data. This week, some former and current patients received threatening emails claiming names, Social Security numbers, medical history and other data of more than 800,000 patients had been compromised, The Seattle Times reported. (12/9)

Pregnant and postpartum MassHealth members are slated to gain access to doula coverage this spring as state officials aim to tackle worsening maternal health outcomes. Doula coverage will be offered during labor and delivery, as well as for visits throughout pregnancy and the postpartum period, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services announced Friday. (Kuznitz, 12/8)

Minnesota's emergency services providers say they're facing a crisis of their own, prompting the state legislature to form a task force focused on solutions. It had its first meeting on Friday. The EMS woes are particularly troubling in rural parts of the state, said to Rep. John Huot, an EMT for 30 years and the co-chair of the panel. He sounded the alarm that some communities can wait as long as 90 minutes to get the care they need. "We need to fix a system that's on collapse," he said in a news conference. (Cummings, 12/8)

St. Cloud will soon be home to a new University of Minnesota Medical School campus beginning in 2025. Friday was a banner day for Minnesota's nationally known medical program as the Board of Regents approved the expansion of the University of Minnesota Medical School program with the addition of CentraCare Regional Campus St. Cloud location. This was the first time they've expanded the program in 50 years since the addition of the Duluth campus in 1972. (Johnson, 12/8)

Texas has less than one mental health facility for every 100,000 people, according to an analysis of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration data. ... That lack of facilities resulted in Texas being ranked as the worst state to seek mental health support, according to a new list by MentalHealthRehabs.com, a national directory of mental health providers. (Ikramuddin, 12/8)

Cleveland is preparing to double the number of social workers who team up with specially-trained police to handle some mental health calls. With City Council approval this week, Mayor Justin Bibb received the OK to strike a new contract to provide what’s known as a co-response model of policing, in partnership with the Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board of Cuyahoga County. (Astolfi, 12/8)

 Seniors in New York have a new tool for dealing with loneliness. The state Office for the Aging is partnering with Intuition Robotics to combat senior isolation. Officials say hundreds of free artificial intelligence companions have been distributed to seniors, and 150 devices are still available. (12/8)