News From Around the Web
> Facebook--in collaboration with mental health organization Forefront, Now Matters Now, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and Save.org--deployed a new tool to users that helps prevent suicides, the Los Angeles Times reports. The tool, available on both the desktop and mobile versions of Facebook, enables users to flag concerning content. Article
> A new bill being proposed by Democrats and Republicans in Minnesota would require health insurers to treat reimbursements for telemedicine visits the same as those for in-person consultations, the Star Tribune reports. The bill also would allow for reimbursement of telemedicine delivered in long-term care facilities or group homes. Article
Provider News
> The U.S. badly bungled its response to the deadly Ebola virus, says a new report from the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues. The country's response to the virus was primarily focused on concerns that Americans would catch Ebola through contact with visitors from West African nations affected by the outbreak rather than addressing meaningful relief for those nations, the report states. Article
> The number of deaths reported via Minnesota's public reporting system for adverse health events last year was 13, its lowest since 2011, according to the state Department of Health's annual report. State law requires all 143 hospitals and 70 ambulatory surgical centers to report an adverse event and a thorough analysis of what caused it. Post
Health Insurance News
> Kevin Counihan, CEO of Healthcare.gov, was on the hot seat in front of a Congressional committee hearing Thursday. Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) claimed that Counihan neglected to share pertinent enrollment data with Congress after he received some 23 emails, seven phone calls and two text messages regarding the matter. Article
And Finally... Too. Much. Snow. Article