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Connecticut's largest union representing health care workers is optimistic a new, tentative agreement to pay certified nursing assistants at 20 nursing homes $15 an hour will become standard throughout the state and nation. The tentative agreement announced Tuesday evening would cover 2,600 workers at Connecticut nursing homes owned by iCare and Genesis. It still needs to be ratified by workers over the next couple weeks, but it ends the potential threat of a strike at these homes. The union is still negotiating on behalf of workers at seven Paradigm Healthcare facilities. (Haigh, 11/11)

There are major differences in health care status among different types of Asians and Latinos in California -- and yet the state so far has resisted treating those subgroups differently, according to UCLA researchers who released an updated version of health survey data last month. (Gorn, 11/11)

Georgia’s charity health clinics produce cost savings when treating patients with hypertension, a new University of Georgia study has found. Serving patients with high blood pressure in Georgia Charitable Care Network clinics is less expensive than treating them in other settings, including by federally qualified health centers, by Medicaid providers and through private insurance, the study said. (Miller, 11/11)

The Titan Music Group recently conducted a large survey and several focus groups of musicians in Austin; it produced the Austin Music Census for the city. The census found that 20 percent of Austin musicians live below the federal poverty level. More than 50 percent qualify for federal housing subsidies, and nearly 19 percent lack health insurance. A lot of Austin musicians rely on the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians for help. (Zaragovia, 11/12)

Terri Rice grew depressed, avoided going to the doctor and ignored her diagnosis as pre-diabetic until she finally became diabetic. When she heard about Fabulous You, a program created by the Maryland chapter of the American Diabetes Association, on a TV news report in September, Rice signed up. Designed for diabetic and pre-diabetic women willing to commit to health-improving lifestyle changes, Fabulous You helped Rice, 36, lose more than 20 pounds in two months. She started exercising, changed her diet, began volunteering at her daughter's school and started attending church again. (Cech, 11/11)

In the program’s first year – it began operating in June 2014 – the teams conducted 5,133 “consultative activities” for 181 pediatric and family medicine practices, involving 1,234 patients under 23. Sixty percent of the interactions involved young people with diagnoses of anxiety, depressive disorders or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. (Levin Becker, 11/12)

In a surprising move, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed two bills on Wednesday to establish an “emergency medical marijuana” program for qualified patients, two months before the planned debut of a statewide program providing for the medical use of the drug. (McKinley, 11/11)

Combating heroin’s ability to diminish and destroy is a task both daunting and complex. Mayor Michael B. Coleman and Columbus Health Commissioner Dr. Teresa Long are convinced they can help with clean needles, treatment, testing for HIV and hepatitis C and improved access to a naloxone, a drug that can rescue addicts from potentially fatal overdoses. (Crane, 11/11)

Smoking rates among veterans are significantly higher than the rest of Ohio's population. With that in mind, the Ohio Department of Health has launched an anti-tobacco campaign focused on getting veterans to quit. (Higgs, 11/11)