Featuring hospital and health care headlines from the media and the Web.
Iowa News
Iowa GOP lawmaker proposes keeping preexisting condition protections if ACA struck down
A Republican state lawmaker is proposing a bill that would retain a popular provision of the Affordable Care Act in Iowa if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down the whole federal health care law. The ACA, also known as Obamacare, prohibits insurance companies from denying health coverage to people because they have pre-existing medical problems. It includes a lot of other health care provisions, and they are all being reviewed by a federal judge in Texas as about 20 Republican-led states seek to have it thrown out in an effort backed by the Trump administration. (Iowa Public Radio)
Iowa’s Board of Medicine reviewing treatment at state-run facility for people with disabilities
An investigation into possible human experimentation at a state-run institution in southwest Iowa that provides care to people with severe disabilities has expanded to include an additional state regulatory board. The Iowa Board of Medicine, which licenses physicians and regulates the practice of medicine in the state, notified the Iowa Department of Human Services on Jan. 16 that it is reviewing “any studies or experiments conducted” at the Glenwood Resource Center. (Des Moines Register)
Governor introduces plan to establish school safety bureau for training, threat reporting
Following in the footsteps of other governors across the country, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is asking the state legislature to allocate $2 million to create a “Governor’s School Safety Bureau” within the state’s public safety department. The bureau would involve hiring two staff members to train teachers, administrators and local law enforcement about best practices when responding to incidents, including active shooters, at Iowa schools. Reynolds announced the initiative on Tuesday, stressing the need to improve training resources and reporting of potential threats to law enforcement. (Campus Security and Life Safety)
National News
Health care faces ‘double-barreled’ threat from Microsoft vulnerabilities
Health care organizations and hospitals need to patch a critical vulnerability and beef up their cybersecurity defenses in the face of several new cyber risks, security experts say. Last week, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued an emergency directive urging organizations to patch up critical vulnerabilities impacting Microsoft Windows operating systems. Tech giant Microsoft last week released software fixes to address 49 vulnerabilities. (Fierce Healthcare)
WHO head says he must consider all evidence before virus decision
The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said he needs to consider all of the evidence in order to decide if the coronavirus that emerged from the Chinese city of Wuhan is an international health emergency. (Bloomberg)
Most Americans are lonely and our workplace culture may not be helping
More than three in five Americans are lonely, with more and more people reporting feeling like they are left out, poorly understood and lacking companionship, according to a new survey released Thursday. Workplace culture and conditions may contribute to Americans’ loneliness. And loneliness may be on the rise. The report, led by the health insurer Cigna, found a 7% rise in loneliness since 2018, when the survey was first conducted. Pervasive loneliness “has widespread effects,” says Bert Uchino, a professor at the University of Utah who studies relationships and health. (Iowa Public Radio)