Daily Rounds: Roxbury Center 'Near-Mutiny'; Mass. Cost Lessons; Hearing Aid Coverage; Senior Olympics

Alarm bells in Roxbury health center (The Boston Globe) - "Roxbury Comprehensive Community Health Center has been a neighborhood fixture since 1968, dispensing readily available care to a needy community from its Warren Street headquarters. Unfortunately, its own health is dire and worsening by the day, as its management confronts a near-mutiny from frustrated staff and pressure from state regulators to improve its standard of care. Alarmed state Department of Public Health officials forced the center to close its laboratory in late June, citing a list of shortcomings that runs nearly 30 pages long. The problems included mislabeled lab samples, use of expired medical supplies, and failing to comply with various Medicaid and Medicare regulations."

Massachusetts takes on health costs (Lead masthead editorial in Sunday's New York Times) - "Some critics worry that the state will not have the personnel and resources to do an effective job of enforcing these provisions. Others warn that the bill could impose burdensome regulations on health care providers and damage a cornerstone of the state’s economy. Still, hospital and doctors’ groups have been supportive, and the bill was approved unanimously in the Senate and overwhelmingly in the Assembly. That may be a sign, some say, that the bill lacks the teeth needed to control the way providers set prices. But don’t count Massachusetts out. It led the way in expanding coverage. What happens there on cost control will offer valuable lessons for the rest of the country."

State seeks coverage for children's hearing aids (AP via The Boston Herald) "Private health insurers would be required to provide coverage for children’s hearing aids under a recent bill approved by the Legislature. The bill, which is awaiting the signature of Gov. Deval Patrick, mandates that insurance carriers cover up to $2,000 of the cost of any single hearing aid for minors up to the age of 21. The Massachusetts Hearing Aids for Children Coalition says parents often have to pay out of pocket for expensive hearing aids that are prescribed by doctors and that must be replaced every 3 to 5 years."

Senior olympics help older athletes stay motivated, fit (USA Today) - "The fired-up feeling you get from watching Jamaica's Usain Bolt sprint down the track probably will cool off unless you have a long-range goal. Sophia has a way to help you make it stick. He is lining up people 50 and older to compete at the 2013 Summer National Senior Games in Cleveland. Qualifying continues through the end of the year. He expects a record number of participants; about 10,000 competed in 2011."