State Highlights: Calif. Lawmakers Set To Approve Budget Measure; State Legislatures Passing ‘Surge’ Of Abortion Restrictions

Los Angeles Times: State Lawmakers Set To Approve Budget With Increased Spending
The Legislature is expected to approve a budget Monday that bets on California's economy to continue growing and sets the stage for higher state spending in coming years. The plan, which is not supported by Gov. Jerry Brown, includes $749 million more in discretionary spending than the governor has proposed. ... The lawmakers' budget plan, for example, would allocate $40 million, starting Jan. 1, to make public healthcare available to children who are in the country illegally. ... There's also $45 million to expand dental benefits for adults enrolled in public healthcare starting Jan. 1. Annual costs would be double that amount. ... A proposal to partly roll back a recession-era cut in state payments to doctors who serve poor patients is slated to cost about $37 million in the next budget. (Megerian, 6/14)

Los Angeles Times: Surge Of New Abortion Restrictions Limits Access 'Brick By Brick'
With state legislatures across the country passing dozens of abortion restrictions for the fifth year, access is becoming more limited than at any time since the Supreme Court's landmark decision legalizing the procedure in 1973. The current legislative session is shaping up to be among the most active, and abortion rights advocates point to what they call an alarming result of the steady flow of new laws: In some states, so many limitations have piled up that the procedure, while technically legal, is nearly impossible to obtain. (La Ganga, 6/13)

The Associated Press: Pennsylvania Accused Of Lax Regulation Of Nursing Homes
A new report from a legal aid organization for the poor accused the Pennsylvania Department of Health of failing to properly investigate complaints about nursing homes or enforce regulations that are designed to protect residents' safety. The report by Community Legal Services of Philadelphia said the department dismissed 92 percent of complaints from 2012 through 2014 for about 46 nursing homes that operated in Philadelphia. It also said the department minimized the severity of violations, and never found violations in follow-up inspections. (Levy, 6/12)

The Sacramento Bee: California’s Largest Nursing Home Owner Under Fire From Government Regulators
Courtney Cargill’s suicide proved to be the final straw for government regulators, who decertified South Pasadena Convalescent in January and yanked its Medicare and Medi-Cal funding. The move marks one in a series of harsh regulatory actions officials have taken in recent months against a California-based nursing home chain that has quickly become the state’s largest, with facilities stretching from San Diego to Roseville to Eureka. (Lundstrom and Reese, 6/13

The Associated Press: Republicans Face 2014 Differences On NC Medicaid Overhaul
It looks like North Carolina House and Senate Republicans are nearing the same impasse they reached a year ago over the best way to overhaul how the state Medicaid program pays to treat its 1.8 million patients. As House leaders began running through committees last week their preferred Medicaid proposal — one very similar to what they voted for in 2014 — Senate budget-writers prepared this week to unveil a government spending plan expected to contain Medicaid reforms like those the chamber's Republicans strongly backed last year. (Robertson, 6/14)

The Boston Globe: Small Firms Find Sick Time Law Tough To Digest
Olive Chase has built a thriving catering business on Cape Cod, arranging everything from cheeseburger buffets on the beach to five-course meals for wealthy museum donors. In her nearly 30 years at the helm of the Casual Gourmet, Chase has had to adapt to some major shifts in business regulations, but the complex sick time law going into effect July 1 is turning out to be the biggest challenge yet. (Johnston, 6/15)

The Denver Post: Colorado Ballot Initiative Calls For $25B Single-Payer Health System
A group called ColoradoCare is petitioning for a 2016 ballot question, Initiative #20, to establish universal health coverage under a state-run single-payer system that would increase state taxes by $25 billion. The ballot initiative seeks to establish a constitutional right to health care in Colorado. The proposed system, which the state would create in 2017 under a provision of the Affordable Care Act called Section 1332, "innovation waivers," would do away with the state health insurance exchange, Connect for Health Colorado, and private insurance carriers. However, the state would still receive federal assistance, including Medicare and Medicaid. (Draper, 6/12)

The Baltimore Sun: Amid Teen Pregnancy Decline, Debate Renewed About Birth Control In Schools
A decades-old practice of dispensing birth control to students in Baltimore is generating new debate as schools are again offering a long-acting hormone implant as an option. After Baltimore schools became the first in the nation to provide Norplant to students more than 20 years ago, city leaders say they continue to be pioneers in adolescent reproductive health. The school birth control program now offers an array of contraceptives and has been credited with reducing the city’s teen pregnancy rates to a record low. But the ability of city students to obtain contraceptives on their way to class — including condoms, birth control pills and the morning-after pill — remains controversial. (Green and Richman, 6/13)

New Hampshire Union Leader: Medical Marijuana Moving Forward, But It's A Long, Slow Process
Three groups selected by the state to operate New Hampshire’s first medical marijuana dispensaries are still a long way from being open for business next year. Although there is still more to come in what has been a lengthy approval process, the groups have at least preliminary clearance to move forward and work out the locations of the dispensaries and who will be working there. (Alden, 6/14)

The Elgin Courier-News: East Dundee Mental Health Center To Provide Cell Phones To Patients
Cell phones are the newest tool an East Dundee healthcare center is using to help enhance its care for behavioral health patients. Aaron Bush, 7 Hills Healthcare Center administrator, said as the behavioral health program has progressed, with more than 1,000 home and inpatient visits being performed, staff realized that the mental health of patients is greatly affected by a lack of communication due to having limited minute phones or no phone at all. (Saunder, 6/14)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Connecting LGBT Community With ACA
Before the Affordable Care Act, it wasn't unusual for people in the LGBT community to be locked out of health insurance. Insurers could legally deny coverage based on a person's sexual orientation, gender identity, or pre-existing health condition. "It was everything from transsexual men and women being denied health coverage because their health history was confusing to a hospital or an insurance company, to young LGBT people not being able to afford coverage," said Brian Sims, a Pennsylvania state representative, lawyer, and LGBT civil rights activist. (Calandra, 6/12)