North Carolina Senate Republicans Now Push To Expand Medicaid Coverage
The AP reports that the move to "strongly" consider legislation to improve Medicaid coverage for hundreds of thousands of low-income people is an "extraordinary turnabout," since the party has opposed expansion for a decade. Also: new rules for malpractice payments in California, and more.
AP:
NC Medicaid Expansion Gets Serious Attention From Senate GOP
North Carolina Senate Republicans are strongly considering legislation that would expand Medicaid coverage to hundreds of thousands of additional low-income adults. Such legislation would mark a key step in an extraordinary turnabout by GOP members in the chamber set against expansion for a decade. A draft bill yet to be formally filed also would include several other medical, health care coverage and insurance reforms, according to a summary of the bill obtained by The Associated Press. Many of these proposals, including expansion, have been discussed in a House-Senate health care study committee that’s met several times since February. (Robertson, 5/23)
In updates from California —
Los Angeles Times:
California Gets New Rules For Medical Malpractice Payments
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Monday to raise the amount of money that patients can receive in medical malpractice cases, increasing pain and suffering payments for the first time since lawmakers placed a cap on monetary damages nearly five decades ago. The governor’s signature on Assembly Bill 35 was the final step in a process that began last month when rival interests groups — doctors and lawyers — announced a deal to avoid a costly battle at the ballot box in November to overhaul the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act of 1975, known as MICRA. (Gutierrez, 5/23)
Los Angeles Times:
Facilities Emitting Gas In Vernon Will Remain Open Amid Probe
The medical sterilizer facilities in Vernon that were found in violation of emitting a carcinogen at elevated levels will not be shuttered. District 4 Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn had called for the Sterigenics facilities to be temporarily closed last week. She cited heightened emissions of ethylene oxide that could put people at risk. But the South Coast Air Quality Management District determined that the facilities will stay open, stating in a letter Thursday that it will work with the facilities to ensure the safety of the community. (Alyssa Choi, 5/23)
In other news from Texas, Maine, and Pennsylvania —
Dallas Morning News:
Treatments For Trans Youth At Dallas Hospital Can Continue Until April, Court Orders
A Dallas County judge has granted a nearly one-year injunction against Children’s Medical Center Dallas that will allow doctors there to continue intake of transgender youth seeking certain medical treatments. Judge Melissa Bellan signed a temporary injunction Monday that lasts until next April, replacing a two-week temporary restraining order granted May 12. Requested by Dr. Ximena Lopez, both the injunction and the restraining order halted the hospital’s recent decision to stop providing certain medical treatments, such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy, to new transgender patients while a court battle continues over whether to reverse the policy altogether. (Wolf and McGaughy, 5/23)
Bangor Daily News:
Advocates Say Maine Needs To Develop LGBTQ-Rights Curriculum After Removing Lesson
Leaders of two advocacy groups said Maine needs to create its own LGBTQ curriculum and policies after the administration of Gov. Janet Mills removed a video explaining transgender identities to children that was targeted by a Republican ad. The video was part of a pandemic program the Maine Department of Education began in 2020 to provide optional, free online lessons created by teachers to schools or parents. The video, titled “Freedom Holidays,” was meant for children in preschool through 2nd grade. The entire module program was supported by $2.8 million in federal funding.
But the department took the video down last week before a Maine Republican Party ad characterized the video as a “radical school lesson.” The state said the video was removed because they felt it was inappropriate for the target audience. The Whitefield teacher who created the video criticized its removal. (Andrews, 5/23)
The New York Times:
After Fetterman’s Stroke, Doctors Look At Senate Campaign Prospects
Specialists in stroke, heart disease and electrophysiology said that some of the campaign’s public statements do not offer a sufficient explanation for John Fetterman’s described diagnosis or the treatment they say he has received. The stroke, he said in a statement released by his campaign, was caused by a blood clot. He said the clot was the result of atrial fibrillation, a condition in which the upper chambers of the heart beat chaotically and are out of sync with the lower chambers of the heart. The campaign said the clot was successfully removed by doctors at a nearby community hospital, Lancaster General Hospital. (Kolata and Glueck, 5/23)
