From The State Capitols: Organ Donations; Short-Term Health Care; Rural Hospitals And More

Kansas City Star: Law Would Let Kansans Donate Organs Only To Kansans
Kansas legislators have a plan to make sure organ donations aren’t shipped off to the coasts: Allow residents to specify that their organs must go to Kansans. Senate Bill 194, which lawmakers discussed in a hearing Tuesday, is intended to ward off new national policies to redistribute organs from areas where donations are more plentiful — such as the Midwest — to areas suffering shortages — such as larger cities. (Marso, 3/13)

The Baltimore Sun: Legislation Would Require Maryland Schools To Teach Students About Becoming Donors Before They Become Drivers
Several bills progressing in the Maryland General Assembly would provide support for living organ or tissue donors, and educate high school students about becoming a donor. Sponsored by Sen. Shirley Nathan-Pulliam, D-Baltimore City and County, Senate Bill 954 could require county boards of education to begin teaching students about organ donation in public schools starting in the 2020-2021 school year. (Youngmann, 3/12)

Arizona Republic: New Arizona Law Will Expand Short-Term Health Insurance Plans
The Arizona law, set to take effect 90 days after the current legislative session ends, extends the current maximum time for having a short-term plan under state law from one year to three years. Backers stress that the short-term plans have long existed in Arizona. (Innes, 3/12)

Texas Tribune: Property Tax Bills Pile One More Worry On Texas' Rural Hospital Districts
Squeezed by Medicare cuts and a growing number of uninsured patients, rural hospital districts in Texas are worried that the Legislature’s property tax reform package could rock small health care providers or force them to scale back services. Some hospital executives see the legislation — which aims to slow the rate of property tax revenue growth — as potentially the latest in a series of government-inflicted blows that has left many of the state’s rural providers insolvent or with precarious balance sheets. (Najmabadi, 3/13)

The Associated Press: States Weigh Bans On Shackling Jailed Moms During Childbirth
Michelle Aldana gave birth to her first child chained to a hospital bed. Then serving time at the Utah state prison on a drug charge, she says she labored through the difficult 2001 birth for nearly 30 hours, her ankles bleeding as the shackles on both her legs and one arm dug in. "I felt like a farm animal," she says. (3/13)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio Lawmakers Want To Ban 'Barbaric' Practice Of Shackling Pregnant Inmates
Ohio has no laws against restraining female inmates during their final weeks of pregnancy or even during delivery. That means officials at Ohio's prisons, juvenile detention facilities and local jails must decide whether to use restraints – and their decisions are not always the same. (Balmert, 3/12)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: ‘Heartbeat’ Abortion Ban Advances Out Of Ohio Senate Committee
Lawmakers advanced a bill Tuesday evening that would ban abortions when a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can be as soon as six weeks into a pregnancy. Senate Bill 23 cleared the Ohio Senate Health, Human Services and Medicaid Committee. The committee’s chair, Sen. David Burke, said the goal is to have it on the Senate floor Wednesday. If it passes the Senate, it would head to the Ohio House. (Hancock, 3/12)

The CT Mirror: Advocates Press For A Wider Definition Of Family In Paid Leave Bill
A measure that would allow workers to receive up to 12 weeks of paid leave per year to care for a sick family member is being weighed by the legislature’s Labor and Public Employees Committee. Two similar bills have already cleared the committee; one is headed to the House and the other to the Senate. (Carlesso and Pazniokas, 3/12)

Houston Chronicle: Texas Lawmakers Look To Uber, Lyft To Transport Medicaid Patients 
Texas would soon start relying on Uber, Lyft and other ridesharing services to shuttle Medicaid patients to and from the doctor, if a new House bill becomes law. The state is one of several eyeing rideshare as a way to save money and ensure Medicaid patients make it to their health care appointments. Each year an estimated 3.6 million people delay or forgo care due to lack of transportation, studies have found, leaving providers with cancellations and patients with potentially more costly medical issues in the future. (Morris, 3/12)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Kemp Says He’s Open To Medical Marijuana Expansion 
Gov. Brian Kemp sounded receptive to a measure moving through the Georgia Legislature that would allow medical marijuana oil to be grown, manufactured and sold to registered patients. The Republican told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he was impressed by the “strong vote” earlier this month in the House for the measure, which would allow 60 dispensaries to serve the state’s rising number of medical marijuana patients. House Bill 324 was approved by a 123-40 vote. (Bluestein, 3/12)