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Iowa will pass up millions in federal dollars in order to remove state funding for Planned Parenthood under a bill approved Tuesday by a group of Republican lawmakers, and the measure has strong support in the new GOP-majority Legislature. (1/31)

Louisiana Heart Hospital's bankruptcy and pending closure is part of a national trend toward more outpatient services, an industry expert said Tuesday (Jan. 30). It's one that is putting enormous financial pressure on specialty hospitals around the United States. Jack Finn, former president of the Metropolitan Hospital Council of New Orleans, said evolving medical technology has moved more big-ticket procedures from speciality medical centers, where they were performed over the course of several days, into physicians' offices or one-day clinics. Hospitals that focus on cardiovascular care and other specialties are feeling the brunt of the evolution, he said. (Chatelain, 1/31)

The Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City has settled its long-running case against hospital giant HCA for $160 million. The settlement comes after a state appeals court earlier this month reduced a trial court judgment in favor of the foundation from $434 million to $188 million. Coupled with an earlier settlement in the case that netted the foundation $13.5 million, the foundation will end up getting about $173.5 million from HCA – bringing the foundation’s total assets to about $700 million. (Margolies, 1/31)

Denver Health Medical Center patients who are terminally ill will be able to receive life-ending prescriptions through Colorado’s new medical aid-in-dying law, but not until mid-year. Denver Health has decided to opt in to the new law, but is taking time to develop a policy before opening up the option to patients. The medical center is researching differences between state and federal laws and is “working diligently” to answer questions before putting its policy in place by July 1, the hospital said. Until then, patients who wish to use the law will receive referral assistance and Denver Health will transfer relevant records to another health care provider. (1/31)

A team charged with conducting an independent review of the discharge of a New Hampshire Hospital patient who committed suicide hours after her release on July 27 issued a list of recommendations Tuesday, including augmented suicide risk training.     The sentinel review team submitted a confidential report to Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Commissioner Jeffrey Meyers, along with the recommendations, earlier this month. Only the recommendations were made public Tuesday. (Feely, 1/ 31)

A key Georgia House committee easily passed legislation Tuesday aimed at helping provide basic dental care to hundreds of thousands of poor children and elderly Georgians in nursing homes. The Health and Human Services Committee approved House Bill 154, sponsored by the panel’s chairwoman, state Rep. Sharon Cooper, R-Marietta, which would allow dental hygienists to provide basic treatment without a dentist being present. (Salzer, 1/31)

A House committee unanimously approved legislation Tuesday that would allow dental hygienists to practice in school clinics, nursing homes and safety-net locations without having a dentist present. The passage of House Bill 154 by the House Health and Human Services Committee comes a year after the sudden collapse of similar legislation in the 2016 General Assembly session. (Miller, 1/31)

A simple toothache turned deadly last week for a long-haul trucker from Sacramento, and now his family is trying to raise money to bring his body back home. Vadim Anatoliyevich Kondratyuk was just 26 and had two young children. He was driving a truck route from Truckee to New York last Tuesday when he started to feel pain in the lower left side of his mouth, said his wife, Nataliya Kondratyuk. He pulled over in Oklahoma to see a dentist, who diagnosed an infection and prescribed antibiotics. (Caiola, 1/31)

Although people living on our streets and in encampments are literally in the public eye, the depth of the trauma and crisis that they face is often hidden. Neighborhoods share the consequences of the untreated trauma and crisis unfolding on our streets. To help people resolve their individual problems and support neighborhoods with these challenges, our department has been leading a coordinated citywide effort with two efforts — Navigation Centers and the new Encampment Resolution Team — at the core. It is important that San Franciscans understand these programs. (Kositsky, 1/31)

Frustrated by the pressures of the health-care system and cumbersome insurance paperwork, Lewis is among a small group of physicians who have taken a leap of faith and started solo direct primary-care practices, instead of joining a larger practice or a health system. Direct primary care doctors charge patients directly, bypassing the insurance companies. Most offer monthly memberships. And some, like Lewis, also help patients file their bills with the insurance companies to get reimbursed. (Miller, 1/31)

Tampa City Hall will begin providing paid parental leave to full-time employees after a baby's birth or the placement of a child for adoption or foster care with the employee, Mayor Bob Buckhorn announced Wednesday. The new policy will provide eight weeks of paid leave to primary caregivers. That's the person who has primary responsibility for the care of the new addition to the family and is typically also recovering from childbirth herself. (Danielson, 2/1)

Piercing your ears would be exempt, but advancing to the nose or lips or beyond should require parental consent. That’s according to a bill considered at the Iowa Statehouse today. Backers say the measure would bring body piercing into better alignment with tattooing, which is banned altogether in Iowa for people under age 18, with or without parental consent. (Russell, 1/31)