State Highlights: Georgia Governor Seeks Changes To Medicaid Program; Ohio Hospital Draws Allegations Of Negligence After Patient Deaths

Georgia Health News: ‘Waiver’ On The Way? Kemp Signals A Plan To Increase Coverage Uninsured
It looks as though Gov. Brian Kemp will indeed pursue a Medicaid “waiver’’ proposal to expand health coverage in Georgia. Kemp, in his State of the State speech Thursday — three days after he was sworn in as Georgia’s new chief executive — said he will seek “to expand access [to care] without expanding a broken system.’’ (Miller, 1/17)

The Associated Press: Patient's Widow: Hospital Safeguards 'Failed Tremendously'
The 44-year-old excavator was taken to the emergency room with shortness of breath. Breathing trouble also sent a 64-year-old woman to the same hospital. A third patient, a 79-year-old woman with health problems, was transferred from an assisted care facility. Now their relatives allege each died because employees at a hospital in Ohio either negligently or intentionally gave them inappropriately large doses of powerful pain medicine. (Franko, 1/17)

Arizona Republic: New Abrazo Residency Programs In Arizona May Help With Doctor Shortage
Abrazo, a network of five hospitals in the Valley, already runs a family medicine residency program at the Abrazo Central Campus in Phoenix. The new programs will be based at the Abrazo Arrowhead Campus in Glendale, but residents will rotate among several campuses. (Fiflield, 1/17)

Nashville Tennessean: Gov. Bill Haslam Leaves Office With Legacy On Education, Health Care And Economy
Surrounded by friends, family, supporters and lawmakers, Gov. Bill Haslam outlined his vision for the state on Jan. 15, 2011. Standing on a stage across the street from the state Capitol, the Knoxville Republican touted the need to improve Tennessee’s standing in education and personal health while vowing to have state government operate within its means. And he promised to listen. (Ebert and Allison, 1/18)

Health News Florida: Climate Change Means A Rise In Mosquito-Borne Illness
In Florida, changing climate and a lack of good diagnostic tools, make it easier for insect-borne diseases like Eastern Equine Encephalitis to spread. The personal and financial costs of even one case of this disease can be catastrophic. (Prieur, 1/17)

KCUR: Kelly Budget Spends On Kansas Schools And Child Welfare, Republicans Worry About Cost
In her first budget as governor, Democrat Laura Kelly aims to inject cash into what she calls critical state services. The proposal unveiled Thursday also would start to wean the state off money diverted for years from highway construction and upkeep. But the bill met a predictably harsh reception from some Republicans. They argued the spending plan would lead to budget deficits. (Koranda, 1/17)

Texas Tribune: Dueling Texas Budget Plans Tens Of Millions Apart On Prisoner Health Care
While the state's Republican leaders appear in sync on issues like school finance and property taxes, they clearly see things differently when it comes to at least one thing: prison health care. In the budget proposals the Texas House and Senate released this week, the amount of money allocated to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to care for sick inmates varies drastically. (McCullough, 1/18)

WBUR: Selling Food From Your Kitchen Is Legal In California, But There's A Catch
A new law in California allows home cooks to prepare and sell meals out of their personal digs as of January 1. But would-be household hash slingers shouldn't grab their aprons and chef hats just yet. The law — the first of its kind in the country — has a major caveat: counties have to opt in, and so far, none have. (Romero, 1/17)

NH Times Union: Bill Would Make It Easier For Transgender People To Change Birth Certificates
New Hampshire’s first transgender state representatives, Democrats Lisa Bunker of Exeter and Gerri Cannon of Somersworth, were in Representative’s Hall on Thursday, but not for a House session. They were there to support House Bill 446, which would make it easier for transgender people to get a new birth certificate without having to obtain a court order. The bill states, “If an individual requests a birth certificate reflecting a sex other than that which was assigned at birth, a new birth record shall be prepared to reflect a change in the individual’s sex upon receipt of a certification affirming the individual’s gender identity by a licensed and qualified health care provider.” (Solomon, 1/17)

Austin American-Statesman: State Health Agency Ordered To Reimburse Home Health Providers
A state district judge Thursday ordered the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to accept reimbursement requests from in-home monitoring service providers after the agency had denied the requests since the beginning of the year. Court documents filed on behalf of four home health agencies allege that the estimated 300 home health agencies in Texas were on the brink of collapse because they had to foot the bill for work typically reimbursed under Texas Medicaid. (Downey, 1/17)

MPR: Flu Season Ramps Up Across Minnesota
Reports of flu cases are coming into Minnesota's health department from all corners of the state. In its weekly update on flu activity released Thursday, the state Department of Health announced that influenza activity is now considered widespread. (Enger, 1/17)

San Jose Mercury News: Silicon Valley Sees Hope In Microsoft's $500 Million For Housing
Microsoft’s promise to pony up $500 million for Seattle-area housing has Silicon Valley buzzing, full of hope that tech titans here will pour similar sums into the housing shortage in their own back yards. The Redmond-based software giant will dole that money out as loans for low and middle-income housing, and as grants to fight homelessness, the company’s answer to its hometown’s rising prices and jobs-housing imbalance. (Kendall, 1/17)

Austin American-Statesman: Seton Healthcare Breaks Ground On Elgin Clinic
Seton Healthcare Family broke ground Wednesday on a health center in Elgin that officials say will address the unmet health care needs of the growing community. The $2.5 million clinic, which will be licensed as a rural health clinic, will offer primary and after-hours urgent care, a laboratory, X-ray services, nine examination rooms and access to Seton’s telemedicine network. (Mulder, 1/17)

New Hampshire Public Radio: Advocate: New Investment In Affordable Housing Will Help End Homelessness In N.H.
Efforts to end homelessness could get a major boost this year in New Hampshire. Cathy Kuhn, the director of the New Hampshire Coalition to End Homelessness, says there is bipartisan support for a proposed $20 million investment over two years into the state’s affordable housing fund. (Tuohy, 1/17)

Texas Tribune: Report: Texas Coal Power Plants Leaching Toxic Pollutants Into Groundwater
As the Trump administration considers weakening Obama-era safeguards for the disposal of toxic coal waste, a new report shows that groundwater near all of Texas’ 16 monitored coal-fired power plants is contaminated with pollutants — including known carcinogens — linked to so-called coal ash. The report by the Washington D.C.-based Environmental Integrity Project, released Thursday, analyzed on-site groundwater monitoring data that power companies are now required to report to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under an Obama-era regulation known as the “Coal Ash Rule.” (Collier, 1/17)

Boston Globe: Former City Councilor Tells Of Plans For Marijuana Business
Jackson, a former six-year councilor who ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Boston in 2017, is the chief executive of cannabis firm Verdant Medical, which is seeking approval to open a hybrid medical dispensary-recreational pot shop on Blue Hill Avenue in Mattapan Square. The facility would be built in a storefront currently occupied by a check-cashing business and a laundromat. (Adams, 1/18)

Tampa Bay Times: On Medical Marijuana, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Wants To Heed The Will Of Voters
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday that he has asked the Legislature to change the law to allow smoking medical marijuana. If it doesn’t by mid March, he’ll drop the state’s appeal of a court decision that says banning it violates a constitutional amendment. (Gross, 1/17)