State Highlights: Calif. Voters Divided On Low-Cost Health Coverage For People In U.S. Illegally; Colo. Lawmakers Focus On Assisted Suicide Bill
Health care stories are reported from California, Kansas, Montana, Michigan, Oregon, and Massachusetts.
Los Angeles Times:
California Voters Sharply Disagree On Low-Cost Healthcare For Immigrants
California has adopted a series of laws in recent years to help people in the country illegally, and polls show broad support for a pathway to citizenship for the estimated 2 million such immigrants living in the state. But it's a different story when it comes to providing them healthcare benefits. California voters are sharply divided over whether free or low-cost health insurance should be granted to those who reside in the state without legal status, according to a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll. (Carcamo, 9/15)
The Denver Post:
California's Assisted Suicide Bill Boosts Colorado Effort
Friday the California legislature passed a bill to allow assisted suicide that, with Gov. Jerry Brown's signature, would make the country's most populous state the fifth to allow terminally ill residents to end their life. Rep. Lois Court, a Denver Democrat, aims to make Colorado the sixth. Court and fellow Democrats Joann Ginal of Fort Collins and Sen. Lucia Guzman of Denver fought for a bill nearly identical to California's in the last legislative session. It died in a House hearing, with some of those voting no saying they could support a bill with more protections against abuse. Court on Monday morning was busy setting up meetings with groups that have concerns to help draft those protections. (9/14)
Crain's Detroit Business:
Michigan Bill Would 'Level Playing Field' Of Health Insurance
Long-awaited legislation to reform Michigan's insurance code is expected to be introduced within the next two weeks by Rep. Tom Leonard (R-Dewitt), chairman of the state insurance committee. Ever since Detroit-based Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan won state approval in 2013 to convert into a nonprofit mutual health insurer from its 33-year run as the state's insurer of last resort, competing health insurers have been expecting the state to heed their calls to update and modernize the state's 60-year-old insurance code. (Greene, 9/14)
California Healthline:
Managed Care Tax Left Hanging
The California Legislature, now adjourned until Jan. 4, passed a flurry of bills in the last days of session, but restructuring the managed care organization tax was not among those final orders of business. That leaves the Legislature to take up the issue in 2015, just months before the current MCO tax expires. That expiration will leave a $1.1 billion hole in the Medi-Cal budget -- a deficit that was the central reason the governor in June convened the special session on health care. (Gorn, 9/14)
The Associated Press:
Lawmakers Say State Must Measure Mental Health Progress
A state agency must determine how to track the effectiveness of millions of dollars being injected into Montana's mental health care system, lawmakers asserted Monday. The Children, Families, Health and Human Services Interim Committee heard positive feedback on the $18.7 million funding package that passed this year. But health care providers said they're not sure what data to collect to demonstrate whether new and expanded programs are successful. (Noon, 9/14)
The Associated Press:
Portland State University Gets $3.5 To Study E-Cigarettes
Chemists at Portland State University have been granted $3.5 million in federal funding to study the potential dangers of e-cigarettes. The Oregonian reports PSU released a statement saying the five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health will go toward a comprehensive examination of the health effects of e-cigarettes. PSU researchers have already conducted several studies on e-cigarettes, which allow nicotine users to inhale vapor and have become increasingly popular substitutes for tobacco cigarettes. (9/14)
WBUR:
New Electronic Cigarette Regulations Set To Go Into Effect In Mass.
Those under the age of 18 will no longer be allowed to purchase electronic cigarettes in Massachusetts under new regulations filed by Attorney General Maura Healey. The regulations also ban promotional giveaways or other free distribution of e-cigarette products and require that any nicotine liquid or gel be sold in child-resistant packaging. Retailers must also move any e-cigarette products to locations only accessible to employees and all sales must be made through face-to-face exchanges — much like regular cigarettes. (9/15)
Reuters:
Activists Submit Signatures For California Condoms-In- Porn Vote
A campaign to require condom use in pornographic film productions in California has submitted enough signatures to election officials before Monday's deadline to put a ballot measure before state voters in 2016, organizers said. "Unlike most politicians, voters are not squeamish about this issue, seeing it as a means to protect the health and safety of performers," Michael Weinstein, president of AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) and a backer of the measure, said in a statement. (9/14)
