State Highlights: Budget Gaps, Medicaid Debates Force Longer State Legislature Sessions; In Calif., Proposed Blue Shield-Care 1st Merger Raises Eyebrows

The Associated Press: State Budget Gaps Force Longer Sessions In Some Legislatures
With budget deadlines looming for nearly all states, disagreements over closing deficits or expanding Medicaid are forcing several legislatures to extend their sessions. The number of states in which lawmakers and governors are at odds over budget problems pales in comparison to those dealing with red ink during the Great Recession. But it serves as a cautionary note during a year in which the national economy is at its healthiest since the recovery began. (Cassidy, 6/8)

Los Angeles Times: Blue Shield's Proposed Acquisition Of Care1st Faces Tough Scrutiny
A top California regulator vowed a "deep dive" into a $1.2-billion acquisition proposed by Blue Shield of California amid criticism that the nonprofit insurer is shortchanging the public. Shelley Rouillard, director of the state Department of Managed Health Care, signaled tough scrutiny ahead for Blue Shield's proposed purchase of Medicaid insurer Care1st Health Plan at a hearing she held Monday at the request of several consumer groups. (Terhune, 6/8)

Wyoming Public Radio: Committee Begins Work On Finding Health Care Solutions
Wyoming lawmakers are considering working with communities to allow them to determine their own health care needs. The Joint Labor and Health committee is trying to find ways to improve health care in the state and reduce costs to hospitals. Hospitals say the care they are required to provide to poor and uninsured patients is costing them millions. (Beck, 6/8)

The Seattle Times: Some State Workers To See New Option For Health Care Coverage
An approach to health care that supporters tout as better quality for a lower price will be offered to some Washington state employees beginning next year. The Washington state Health Care Authority, the agency that manages benefits for public workers through the Public Employee Benefits Board (PEBB), has signed deals with the UW Medicine Accountable Care Network and the Puget Sound High Value Network to provide coverage to PEBB members. The arrangements are similar to an accountable care organization or ACO. (Stiffler, 6/8)

The Associated Press: Kaiser Permanente, Workers Reach Tentative Contract Plan
Kaiser Permanente and unions representing 105,000 health care workers across the United States have reached a tentative labor agreement. A joint statement released Monday by Kaiser Permanente and the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions praised the three-year contract, which would cover registered nurses, pharmacists, and maintenance and service workers. They say the pact includes 2 percent to 4 percent wage increases each year depending on the region. (6/8)

Orlando Sentinel: Advocates Worry About Kids Being Removed From Program For Medically Fragile
The state [of Florida] last month removed about 2,000 children from a specialized program that provides services to medically fragile kids, finding that they were no longer "clinically eligible" under a new screening process. But the move by the Department of Health to re-evaluate children in the Children's Medical Services Network is drawing criticism from pediatricians and some children's advocates. (Menzel, 6/8)

The Raleigh News&Observer: State Owes Medical Providers For Caring For Poor, Elderly
The state Medicaid office owes medical providers nearly two years worth of back payments for poor, elderly patients, an expense that will increase past and future costs, according to the state budget office. The state has not been properly paying providers for patients who use both Medicare, the federal government health insurance for the elderly, and Medicaid, the government health insurance for the poor. Providers have been complaining since the state first started using a new Medicaid payment system called NCTracks in July 2013 that they were being underpaid, but the state did not start making those payments until March of this year. For people who use both forms of insurance, Medicaid pays deductibles and copayments. Both the state and federal governments pay Medicaid bills. (Bonner, 6/8)

The Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Joins National Debate On Assisted Suicide
Death isn't a choice. But there are options, and Marian Ziebell has a plan. She knows how she wants to die. Turning 82 in June, Ziebell lives in the Uplands Retirement Village in Pleasant Hill, about 90 miles east of Nashville. She suffers from the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. Ziebell doesn't want to see the late stages of the disease. If she goes through with the plan in Tennessee, there's a chance someone will have broken the law. Killing oneself isn't illegal, but the act of helping someone commit suicide is a felony. That could mean up to 12 years in prison, if convicted. (Boucher, 6/8)

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Poor Adults In Missouri May Get Better Access To Health Care
Dr. Heidi Miller still remembers the time a young patient came to her office a few years ago complaining about head pain. The patient had an abscess a swollen area of body tissue on his face, a complication of poor oral health. "It was so big that it looked like his face was stretched as big as a baseball," said Miller, who works at Family Care Health Centers. "It's very disheartening because it is totally preventable." Miller and other health workers are hopeful that such cases will soon become more rare. Starting in the fall, about 250,000 low-income Missourians may have access to dental care for the first time in a decade. (Shapiro, 6/8)

Orlando Sentinel: Medical Marijuana Group Expects Big Petition Drive Soon
United For Care, which last year put a failed constitutional amendment proposal on the November election ballot, expects to begin its main petition push in a matter of weeks to get a new proposal to voters in November 2016. The organization, chaired by Orlando lawyer Morgan, already has a few volunteers pushing petitions. Yet it has raised little money so far for what would have to be a multimillion-dollar effort to get the issue on the ballot. (Powers, 6/8)

The Associated Press: Maine Donor Says Kidney Transplant OK'd For Next Week
A Maine man who responded to a plea for a kidney donation that he saw painted on a car window is scheduled to have the surgery next week. Joshua Dall-Leighton responded to the plea for a donor on South Portland resident Christine Royles’ car. But the surgery was delayed by medical and legal hurdles, including crowdsourced donations to Dall-Leighton aimed at defraying his expenses. Hospital officials said in April they needed time to determine if the donation violated the National Organ Transplant Act, which forbids potential donors from profiting from a donation. A crowdfunding website set up for the donation has raised more than $49,000. Royles also organized fundraisers to pay bills and reimburse Dall-Leighton’s time away from work. (Whittle, 6/8)