Facing Funding Gap, New York’s Child Care Voucher Program May Soon Cave

The New York Times: A ‘Life-Changing’ Child Care Program In New York Could Soon Collapse 
For tens of thousands of New York City families, vouchers for free or discounted child care from the city’s Administration for Children’s Services have offered a lifeline as the cost of day care for infants and toddlers has skyrocketed. Those vouchers could start disappearing in a matter of weeks unless lawmakers in Albany act quickly to fund the program before an impending budget deadline. (McFadden, 3/24)

Stat: MAHA Movement Flexing Political Muscle In Statehouses Nationwide
From cancer warning labels to soda taxes, progressive states like California and New York have long led the way on legislation meant to improve public health. Now the Make America Healthy Again movement is prompting lawmakers in more conservative states, like Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, and Utah, to join blue ones in introducing bills that aim to tackle chronic disease and other health issues. (Todd and Cueto, 3/26)

CBS News: Florida Lawmakers Target AI In Insurance Claim Denials
A Florida Senate committee has approved a bill that would prevent insurers from using artificial intelligence as the sole basis for denying claims, with the proposal saying decisions should be made by a "qualified human professional," The Senate Banking and Insurance Committee unanimously backed the proposal, which comes as other states also have looked at the use of artificial intelligence in insurance decisions. (3/25)

New Hampshire Bulletin: NH Lawmakers Look To Ban Ski, Boat Waxes Containing PFAS
Some ski, boat, and board waxes contain PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a class of harmful, synthetic chemicals commonly used to make products stain- and water-resistant. PFAS are linked to a number of negative health effects like some cancers, high cholesterol, reproductive and fetal development issues, and more. House Bill 167, which is making its way to the full House Wednesday, would ban such waxes containing intentionally added PFAS from sale in the state. (Sullivan, 3/25)

From California and Montana —

MedPage Today: Hospital Slammed For Not Telling Families About Patients' Deaths
Mercy San Juan Medical Center has for years transported numerous deceased patients to an off-site morgue without notifying next-of-kin, leaving anguished families searching for loved ones who seemed to just disappear. That's according to accusations in three California statements of deficiencies filed in the last 3 years. Investigators found the hospital failed to meet requirements for completing patients' death certificates within 15 hours, making sufficient attempts to notify family, and writing discharge summaries within 14 days. (Clark, 3/25)

San Francisco Chronicle: Mayor Daniel Lurie Just Overhauled S.F.’s Street Crisis Teams
Mayor Daniel Lurie is overhauling San Francisco’s street outreach teams in an attempt to better coordinate the city’s response to people in crisis on the streets. Lurie on Tuesday announced that his administration is consolidating a disparate network of city-funded teams that try to help with people who are unhoused or struggling with addiction or mental illness. Instead of nine groups under different departments and using different approaches, San Francisco will now have five “tightly knit, neighborhood-based units,” plus a sixth roving citywide team, Lurie said at a news conference. (Morris, 3/25)

KFF Health News: Montana Examines Ways To Ease Health Care Workforce Shortages
Mark Nay’s first client had lost the van she was living in and was struggling with substance use and medical conditions that had led to multiple emergency room visits. Nay helped her apply for Medicaid and food assistance and obtain copies of her birth certificate and other identification documents needed to apply for housing assistance. He also advocated for her in the housing process and in the health care system, helping her find a provider and get to appointments. (O'Connell, 3/26)

Abortion legislation —

The CT Mirror: CT Weighs Telehealth Protections For Abortion, Gender-Affirming Care
A Connecticut legislative committee heard public testimony Monday on a bill that would expand the state’s existing “shield law,” which provides statutory protections for providers of abortion and gender-affirming care. (Golvala, 3/25)

Wyoming Public Radio: Abortion Providers Refile Lawsuit Challenging Two New Wyoming Laws 
A lawsuit seeking to overturn two new abortion restrictions has changed venue for the second time, moving back to Natrona County. The civil suit is targeting two laws, including HB 42, which shuttered Wyoming’s only clinic that provided procedural abortions. Wellspring Health Access has said it’s turned away patients looking for a range of services since Feb. 28. It’s also aimed at stopping another law, HB 64, which mandates women get a transvaginal ultrasound two days before receiving abortion pills. (Clements, 3/25)

AP: Kentucky Governor Vetoes GOP Abortion Bill, Says It Undermines Doctors And Endangers Pregnant Women
A Republican-backed bill touted as an attempt to bring clarity to Kentucky’s near-total abortion ban was vetoed Tuesday by Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, who said it would do the opposite by undermining the judgment of doctors while further imperiling the lives of pregnant women in emergency situations. Beshear, an abortion-rights supporter who is seen as a potential candidate for the White House in 2028, followed the advice of abortion-rights supporters who urged the governor to reject the measure. (Schreiner, 3/26)

Also —

The New York Times: Horace Hale Harvey III, Early Abortion Rights Advocate, Dies At 93
On July 1, 1970, one of the first independent abortion clinics in the country opened on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. New York State had just reformed its laws, allowing a woman to terminate her pregnancy in the first trimester — or at any point, if her life was at risk. All of a sudden, the state had the most liberal abortion laws in the country. Women’s Services, as the clinic was first known, was overseen by an unusual team: Horace Hale Harvey III, a medical doctor with a Ph.D. in philosophy who had been performing illegal abortions in New Orleans. (Green, 3/25)