State Highlights: Ariz. House Approves Hotly Contested Abortion Bill; Kansas Senate OKs Mental Health Drug Compromise
A selection of health policy stories from Arizona, Kansas, California, Georgia, Massachusetts, Ohio, Montana, Utah and Arkansas.
The Arizona Republic:
Arizona House Approves Abortion Restrictions
Doctors would be required to inform patients they could potentially reverse the effects of the so-called morning-after pill under a hotly debated abortion-related bill the Arizona House of Representatives approved Monday. (Pitzl, 3/23)
The Associated Press:
Arizona House Passes Bill On Abortion Restrictions
The Arizona House on Monday approved a bill barring women from buying any health care plan through the federal marketplace that includes abortion coverage after stripping out a provision that would have made the names and addresses of abortion providers public. The proposal passed on a 33-24 party-line vote after heated debate that lasted more than an hour, with all but one Republican who voted backing the proposal. (Christie, 3/23)
The Kansas Health Institute News Service:
Kansas Senate Passes Mental Health Drug Compromise
Legislators of all political stripes came together Monday as the Senate passed a compromise bill regarding regulation of mental health drugs dispensed under Medicaid. Mental health advocates had balked at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment's earlier bid to repeal a law barring the state from imposing any restrictions on psychotropic medications under Medicaid. A bill to do so failed to clear the Senate in February. (Marso, 3/23)
The Associated Press:
New Plan To Control Mental Health Drugs Advances In Texas
A new proposal for controlling mental-health drug costs in the Medicaid program in Kansas advanced in the Legislature on Monday, weeks after the Republican-controlled Senate rejected another plan from GOP Gov. Sam Brownback's administration. The Senate gave first-round approval to a bill requiring a review of Medicaid's mental health prescriptions. The measure also creates an advisory committee to draft guidelines on prescriptions for 368,000 needy and disabled residents whose health care is covered by the $3 billion-a-year program. (Hanna, 3/23)
California Healthline:
If Duals Project Is Curtailed, Future Is Cloudy For Program For Frail Seniors
Some advocates and legislators are urging the state to extend the timeline for transitioning the Multipurpose Senior Services Program into managed care plans within the seven-county duals demonstration project. (Gorn, 3/23)
Georgia Health News:
Autism Bill Appears Stalled In Georgia House
The fight over autism treatment coverage continued in a House committee hearing Monday, pitting organizations concerned about costs against those advocating for the most effective services for children. (Miller, 3/23)
The Boston Globe:
As Nursing Homes Close, Residents Scramble To Find Alternatives
Hundreds of frail nursing home residents have been forced to move as a growing number of Massachusetts facilities have been bought, sold, and closed over the past two years, state records show. But the public has had virtually no say in the process. A Massachusetts law passed last summer was designed to provide public comment about the closing or sale of nursing homes, yet state officials have not put that into effect. Regulators say they are still working on rules to implement the law. (Lazar, 3/24)
The Associated Press:
Montana Senate Endorses Funds For Community-based Mental Health Care
Montana senators have given nearly unanimous approval to a slate of bills that would boost community-based mental health care. (3/23)
The Associated Press:
Utah Medical Waste Incinerator Proposed Doubling Production
A medical waste burning plant that is leaving North Salt Lake City after being cited for toxic emissions wants to more than double production at a new facility in a rural part of the state. The increased demand is being driven by advances in health care and increased regulations on drug disposal, Koenig said. (McCombs, 3/23)
The Associated Press:
Arkansas Senate Approves Medicaid Plan Termination Notices
Thousands of people enrolled in Arkansas' compromise Medicaid expansion would receive notices that their coverage is ending — even though lawmakers haven't decided the program's future — under a proposal approved Monday by the Senate. (DeMillo, 3/23)
