In support: The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals and the Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum, a nonprofit organization, have formed the Health Information Technology Advisory Council to support the development of health-released information technology strategies. The council consists of 17 health care stakeholders from across Louisiana, the agencies say in a news release today. The stakeholders on the council will serve on behalf of health care providers, payers and purchasers, offering expertise to help drive innovation and advancement in the state’s health IT infrastructure.
In the bank: Louisiana is set to receive a $693,014 cut of the $136 million settlement Chase Bank has reached with 48 states and the federal government stemming from the bank’s credit card debt collection processes. Under terms of the settlement, Chase Bank must reform its collection practices and pay restitution to consumers affected by what the states and federal government said were unlawful. “Consumers in Louisiana and across the country were subject to collections actions based on information that was incorrect or just out-and-out wrong,” Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell says in a prepared statement. “We are glad to see that the practices have stopped, and I believe this action is appropriate to hold the company accountable for its past practices, provide restitution to harmed consumers and ensure that it does not happen again.” The Attorney General’s Office has more.
Sweating it out: A federal appeals court says Louisiana prison officials don’t have to air-condition cells on death row at the state penitentiary—but they do have to provide some relief from the heat for three death row inmates suffering from high blood pressure and other illnesses. The Associated Press reports today’s 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling came in the case of three condemned killers who filed suit over the heat. All three suffer from high blood pressure among other health problems. The appeals court agreed that the excessive heat posed a serious health threat to the three and therefore violated their constitutional rights. But it said that issue could be remedied without air conditioning. Suggested remedies include allowing the prisoners more access to air-conditioned areas and providing them with ice and fans.
