In its ruling, the Arizona Supreme Court held that the assessment—contrary to plaintiffs' claim—did not qualify as a "tax," which would have required approval from two-thirds of the state Legislature prior to enactment, in today's bite-sized hospital and health industry news from Arizona, Maryland, and Texas.
- Arizona: The Arizona Supreme Court on Friday unanimously ruled that a hospital assessment used to help pay for the state's expansion of Medicaid was constitutional. In its ruling, the court held that the assessment—contrary to plaintiffs' claim—did not qualify as a "tax," which would have required approval from two-thirds of the state Legislature prior to enactment (Roubein, The Hill, 11/17).
- Maryland: Eric Weintraub, a psychiatrist at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, has provided treatment for opioid misuse to patients in a halfway house in Hagerstown, Maryland, via telemedicine for the past two years. Weintraub has acknowledged that his services violate a 2007 federal law that prohibits providers from offering remote care prior to meeting a patient in person. However, Weintraub said he felt compelled to provide his services as the Hagerstown community lacks physicians who have the ability to oversee opioid misuse treatment and prescribe Suboxone (Zimmerman, Becker's Hospital Review, 11/17).
- Texas: Medical Center Health System has named Rick Napper as its new president and CEO beginning January 2018. Napper, who currently serves as the president and CEO of St. Joseph Health System, has previously served as the EVP and COO of Memorial Healthcare System in Tennessee and as the president and CEO of Magnolia Regional Health Center in Mississippi (Vaidya, Becker's Hospital Review, 11/17).
Updated: Where the states stand on Medicaid expansion
Our editorial teams have been tracking where each state stands on Medicaid expansion, combing through lawmakers' statements, press releases, and media coverage.
In this latest iteration of our Medicaid map, we've determined each state's position based on legislative or executive actions to expand coverage to low-income residents using ACA funding.