State Highlights: A Busy Year Expected For Abortion Rights Battles In The States; In Georgia, Health Costs Are All About Location, Location, Location

WBUR: Activists Brace For 2019 Abortion-Rights Battles In The States
With a newly configured U.S. Supreme Court, the stakes are high for abortion-rights battles at the state level. Abortion-rights advocates and opponents are preparing for a busy year — from a tug-of-war over Roe v. Wade to smaller efforts that could expand or restrict access to abortion. (McCammon, 1/2)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Where You Live In Georgia Could Help Set Your Insurance Costs
In the battle of titans over health care money, drug and care prices soar. Hospital systems merge, giving them more bargaining power. Insurance companies narrow their networks, striking better deals but with fewer hospitals and doctors. Consumers may wind up paying more money, having fewer choices or, sometimes, both.In the case of metro Atlanta, two lower-income counties with lackluster hospital options found themselves in a tight spot in the eyes of insurance companies: Clayton and Rockdale. (Hart, 1/2)

The Associated Press: First Flu Deaths Of Season Reported In Delaware
Public health officials are reporting the first flu-related deaths in Delaware in the 2018-2019 flu season. Authorities said Wednesday that a 65-year-old man who was infected with Influenza A died last week, making him the first flu fatality. Officials say a 73-year-old man and a 77-year-old woman also died within the past few days after being infected with Influenza A. (1/2)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Flu Is On The Rise In The Philly Area, But There Is Still Time To Get The Shot
In Pennsylvania, flu activity is categorized as widespread, and has increased in all regions with the highest rates reported in the southeast and northeast. There have been a total of 6,435 laboratory-confirmed influenza cases, including eight adult deaths from Sept. 30 to Dec. 29, according to the state Health Department. (Schaefer, 1/2)

Arizona Republic: MCSO Blew Off Investigation Into Abuse Of Migrant Kids
In mid-September, Southwest Key alerted the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, along with state and federal authorities, about several instances of possible abuse captured on security cameras at its shelter in Youngtown. ...Since when do the cops, called to investigate what appears to be child abuse, walk away without getting to the bottom of what is going on? (Laurie Roberts, 1/2)

KCUR: Kansas City Psychiatric Hospital Is Shutting Down, Laying Off 129 Employees
Two Rivers Behavioral Health System, a free-standing psychiatric hospital in south Kansas City, will close on Feb. 9 and lay off 129 nurses, therapists and other employees. The 105-bed facility at 5121 Raytown Road opened in 1986 and treated children, adolescents and adults for psychiatric and substance use disorders. Susan Fitzpatrick, the hospital’s business director, said the decision to close the hospital was made by its corporate parent, Universal Health Services of King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. (Margolies, 1/2)

The Washington Post: Transplant Links Baltimore Homicide Victim To Western Maryland Retiree
Charles McAtee turned 60 last month, and he hasn’t felt this good in years. He’s back to pushing a snowblower around his Western Maryland home. He feels half his age. In fact, his heart is. This holiday season, McAtee holds dear a Baltimore County woman responsible for the best gift he ever received: her son’s heart.In three hours and three minutes, that heart went from her son’s chest into McAtee’s. The two men matched height, weight and O Positive blood — that’s all. One was 27, one 57; one black, one white; one aspired to be a rapper, one retired from the Internal Revenue Service. Who could have expected the bond that would follow? (Prudente, 1/2)

Denver Post: Colorado Insurance Regulators Recovered Nearly $38.5 Million For Consumers Last Fiscal Year
Colorado’s Division of Insurance recovered nearly $38.5 million for consumers during the past fiscal year, a third of it from investigations into consumer complaints, the division recently announced. Even though the number of cases the division opened against insurers in the fiscal year ending June 2018 was 22 percent lower than the previous fiscal year, the state ramped up its collections on consumer complaints by 34 percent, according to division records. (Migoya, 1/2)

Arizona Republic: Arizona's Frayed Child Care Safety Net Leaves Parents With Tough Choices
Child-welfare advocates, as well as the state agency that administers the child care program, recognize that access to affordable and high-quality care are keys to not only keeping kids safe and families together, but also a good start in school. But the child care safety net the state provides for lower-income families is thin. (Pitzi, 1/2)

San Francisco Chronicle: It’s Now Legal To Sell Home-Cooked Food — But There’s A Catch
Jan. 1 was supposed to be the date when, thanks to a new law, California cooks could apply to their local health department for permits to sell food cooked in their home kitchens. But because of the wording in AB626, which Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law in September, Bay Area cooks may have to wait months or years for the opportunity to do so. (Kauffman, 1/2)

Denver Post: Denver's Every Child Pediatrics Served More Than 22,000 Kids Last Year
When Denver pediatrician Dr. Larry Wolk founded his nonprofit Rocky Mountain Youth Clinics in 1996, he scarcely could have foreseen the complex challenges facing Colorado kids nearly two decades later. Not only are there about 90,000 children in the state without a “medical home” — or a healthcare provider they see regularly — but the ever-expanding definition of pediatric wellness now includes everything from behavioral counseling and literacy to affordable housing and childcare options for working parents. (Wenzel, 1/2)

The Baltimore Sun: Maryland Board Of Public Works Approves Deal To Share With Outside Lawyers Any Money Recovered From Opioid Industry 
Maryland’s Board of Public Works on Wednesday approved a deal in which outside lawyers will help the state investigate the opioid industry for potential litigation — and receive a percentage of whatever money they help recover. The state spending panel approved a deal with three firms — Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd of San Diego, Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein of San Francisco and Silverman Thompson Slutkin & White of Baltimore — that will pay the lawyers from 3 percent to 8 percent of awards, depending on how much companies settle for or judges order paid in penalties. (Broadwater, 1/2)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Westlake-Based Student Health Insurance Plan At 4 Ohio Colleges Shuts Down Abruptly
The student healthcare insurance provider for at least four Ohio colleges shut down in December, leaving schools and hundreds of students searching to find a replacement without lapses in coverage. The Westlake-based Student Educational Benefit Trust covered students at Ohio Dominican University, Hiram College, the University of Akron and the University of Toledo, according to its website. (Bamforth, 1/2)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: New Program Offers Support And Fresh Food For Breastfeeding Moms In New Orleans 
The program connects moms to local breastfeeding support groups such as the La Leche League, Café au Lait, Baby Bistreaux Nutrition Clinic and CHAMPS NOLA Baby Café. These groups provide an informal setting for new moms to receive support and ask questions to each other as well as certified lactation consultants who work with the groups. Moms who attend a monthly meeting with one of the support groups additionally receive a loyalty card that gives them $80 in Crescent City Farmers Market tokens each month over the course of six months. (Clark, 1/2)

Chicago Tribune: Black And Hispanic Women Less Likely To Be Referred To Chicago's Top-Tier Centers For Breast Cancer Diagnosis: UIC Study 
Black and Hispanic Chicago women are less likely than white women to get diagnosed with breast cancer early, when the illness is more treatable, in part because racial minorities are less likely to be diagnosed at high-performing centers of excellence in breast cancer care, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The study of 989 patients found that 35 percent of white patients were diagnosed at a relatively late stage, compared with 47 percent of black patients and 53 percent of Hispanic patients. (Schoenberg, 1/2)

Houston Chronicle: Sam Houston State Medical School Clears First Accreditation Hurdle
Sam Houston State University’s proposed osteopathic medical college has cleared its initial accreditation hurdle, keeping it on track for a targeted fall 2020 opening. The Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation granted “candidate status” to the SHSU proposal in December, following a hearing early in the month. It must still grant “pre-accreditation,” a longer process, before Sam Houston can begin admitting students. Full accreditation is only granted after the graduation of the first class. (Ackerman, 1/2)

St. Louis Public Radio: Missouri's Medical-Marijuana Program Has Long Road Ahead
The timetable imposed by Amendment 2 – which Missouri voters overwhelmingly backed in November – will likely give the state close to a year before pot in its various forms will be legally available for patients. Dr. Patricia Hurford, a Kirkwood-based physician, is optimistic that the wait will be worth it. She also practices in Illinois, which has had a medical-marijuana program in place for several years. (Mannies, 1/3)

Tampa Bay Times: Edible Marijuana Coming For Florida’s Largest Medical Pot Provider
The state's first and largest medical marijuana provider, Trulieve, signed an exclusive deal to bring high-end edible marijuana products to Florida, the company announced Wednesday. Binske, the Colorado-based company, began operations just two years ago, markets what they call a "commoditized high" through their top-shelf products. (Gross, 1/2)