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Missouri is violating federal disability law by unnecessarily institutionalizing thousands of adults with mental illness in nursing homes, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a scathing report published Tuesday. The report, which is based on a year-and-a-half of investigation, determined that those suffering with mental illness are “subjected to unnecessary stays in nursing facilities, generally because of a series of systemic failures by the state.” (Bates, 6/20)

Troubles are mounting for a trio of nursing home owners facing an ongoing $83 million fraud lawsuit brought last year by New York Attorney General Letitia James (D). A New Jersey superior court judge Monday appointed an independent receiver to run two nursing homes in the state owned by Kenneth Rozenberg, Beth Rozenberg and Daryl Hagler. The three are collectively associated with approximately 40 nursing homes, mostly in New York and New Jersey. (Eastabrook, 6/20)

The head of the Maryland agency tasked with regulating nursing home and hospital safety will resign effective June 27, several weeks after a lawsuit revealed a substantial backlog in inspections and complaint investigations. ... The Health Department did not provide a reason for her resignation in a news release Thursday afternoon. (Shepherd, 6/20)

California’s Occupational Health and Safety (Cal/OSHA) Standards Board voted Thursday afternoon to implement rules protecting indoor workers from extreme heat. California now joins just a few other states, including Oregon and Minnesota, to protect people who work indoors in facilities like warehouses, restaurants and refineries. The state estimates the new rule will apply to about 1.4 million people who work indoors in conditions that can easily become dangerously hot. (Borunda, 6/21)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: California Leaders Tussle With Health Industry Over Billions Of New Dollars For Medi-Cal 

Gov. Gavin Newsom, state lawmakers, and health industry leaders have a small window to reach an agreement on billions of new dollars for Medi-Cal before it’s put to voters in November. An initiative, supported by virtually every sector of the state’s health care industry as well as the local Republican and Democratic parties, would lock in the money for Medi-Cal, California’s version of the Medicaid health insurance program for low-income residents. The funds would be used primarily to increase payment rates for health care professionals who serve Medi-Cal patients. (Wolfson, 6/20)

A bill allowing doctor-assisted suicide in Delaware failed to win approval in the state Senate on Thursday after narrowly clearing the House earlier this year, but it could come back next week. The legislation failed in the Democrat-led Senate in a 9-9 tie after three members of the Democratic caucus spoke against the measure. No Republican lawmakers voted for it. (Chase, 6/20)

In Angela D. Wharton’s long journey as a sexual assault survivor, Thursday was a day that signaled there should be no more cases like hers in Maryland. In 1996, Wharton was raped at gunpoint outside her apartment building in Baltimore. Two years later, her untested sexual assault kit and other evidence were destroyed by police — an act she didn’t discover until 20 years later. (Jackman, 6/20)

Texas will begin building seven new state psychiatric hospital projects this year as it continues to attempt to address the mental health crisis. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission projects are funded by $1.5 billion, which lawmakers approved in 2023 to expand, renovate and build new facilities across the state. The agency owns and operates nine state hospitals and one residential treatment center for youth. (Simpson, 6/20)

North Carolina got a step closer to legalizing medical marijuana on Thursday when the state Senate gave it its initial approval. The Senate approved a measure legalizing medical marijuana in its first of two votes, 33-9, with nine Republicans breaking from the rest of the party to oppose it. If approved a second time, the bill will go to the state House, which has historically blocked Senate attempts to legalize the drug’s medical use. (Seminera, 6/20)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Super Bowl Parade Shooting Survivors Await Promised Donations While Bills Pile Up

Abigail Arellano keeps her son Samuel’s medical bills in a blue folder in a cabinet above the microwave. Even now, four months after the 11-year-old was shot at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade, the bills keep coming. There’s one for $1,040 for the ambulance ride to the hospital that February afternoon. Another for $2,841.17 from an emergency room visit they made three days after the shooting because his bullet wound looked infected. More follow-ups and counseling in March added another $1,500. (Lowe and Sable-Smith, 6/21)