State Highlights: In Calif., Immigrants Would Qualify For Medi-Cal Under Pending Bill; N.Y. Medicaid Revamp Emphasizes Outpatient Care

The San Jose Mercury News: Health Care: Illegal Immigrants Would Get Medi-Cal Under California Bill
On Monday, state legislation that would extend free or low-cost health care coverage to immigrants who are in the country illegally heads to the Senate Appropriations Committee for a key vote. If Senate Bill 4 can make it over that hurdle, through the Assembly and ultimately garner Gov. Jerry Brown's signature, more than a million low-paid undocumented farm and construction workers, hotel maids and service workers would qualify for Medi-Cal, the state's health program for the poor. (Seipel, 5/3)

The Associated Press: N.Y. Medicaid Overhaul Envisions Combined Outpatient Care
Using an estimated $8 billion as incentives, New York is overhauling Medicaid, pushing providers to establish more outpatient clinics, reduce hospital beds, use electronic records and enable low-income patients to see doctors and psychologists in the same visit. Medicaid now covers almost one-third of all 19 million New Yorkers. Half this year's $62 billion budget is paid by the federal government. (5/3)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Suit Aims To End Ban On Elder-Care Work After Felony
Anyone with a felony conviction, no matter what it was for or how long ago it occurred, is precluded under Pennsylvania's Older Adult Protective Services Act from working in nursing homes, home health care, or residential facilities for the mentally ill or mentally retarded. That's why late last month the woman - who asked not to be identified for fear of losing her job - joined a lawsuit in Commonwealth Court against the state and three of its departments, seeking to have the law declared unconstitutional. (Von Bergen, 5/2)

The Sacramento Bee: Injuries, Illness Fuel California Vaccine Bill Partisans
A bill requiring full vaccinations for almost every California school child has charged Sacramento, mobilizing constituents who arrive from around the state for impassioned, marathon hearings. Much work at the Capitol can seem obscure and remote from most citizens, but Senate Bill 277 has connected with people on an emotional level. (White, 5/1)

The Associated Press: Ohio Clinics Close, Abortions Decline Amid Restrictions
The number of abortion providers in Ohio has shrunk by half amid a flurry of restrictive new laws over the past four years, and the number of the procedures also is declining, according to a review of records by The Associated Press. Both sides agree the added limits and hurdles placed on Ohio abortions have played a role in facility closures reaching to every corner of the nation’s 7th most populous state. What is less clear is whether the downward trajectory in procedures is a cause or an effect of some of the most significantly reduced abortion access in the nation. (Carr Smyth, 5/3)

The Associated Press: Texas The Front Line On High School ECG Debate
Spurred by the deaths of teenagers ... who are struck down each year by sudden cardiac arrest, Texas lawmakers are pushing to make their state the first to require public high school athletes to undergo electrocardiogram testing. Those pushing for the change ... say testing is relatively cheap and simple, and that it could save lives. ... But opponents of mandatory screening, including the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association, question its effectiveness, saying it would lead to thousands of false-positives each year, which would lead to further, more expensive testing that isn't necessary. (Vertuno, 5/3)

The New York Times: Pine Ridge Indian Reservation Struggles With Suicides Among Its Young
Since December, the Pine Ridge reservation, a vast, windswept land of stunning grasslands and dusty plateaus, has been the scene of an unfolding crisis: nine people between the ages of 12 and 24 have committed suicide here. ... Many more youths on the reservation have tried, but failed, to kill themselves in the past several months: at least 103 attempts by people ages 12 to 24 occurred from December to March, according to the federal Indian Health Service. ... Tribe officials, clergy members and social workers say they cannot remember such a high rate of suicides and attempts in such a short period of time on the reservation, which is already overwhelmed with high rates of unemployment, poverty, domestic abuse and alcohol addiction. (Bosman, 5/1)

Kaiser Health News: Rural Indiana Struggles With Drug-Fueled HIV Epidemic
In a first for Indiana, the state’s legislature last week passed a bill permitting drug users in areas with disease outbreaks to trade used needles for clean ones. It’s in response to an HIV outbreak of historic proportions. Kaiser Health News correspondent Sarah Varney and PBS NewsHour producer Jason Kane travelled to Austin, Indiana, near the Kentucky border, to file this story that aired on the NewsHour on May 1, 2015. Here's the transcript. (5/4)

The Seattle Times: Banking On Faith: Cost-Sharing Ministries Offer Obamacare Alternative
The Miras — including daughter Jael, 4, and baby Sienna Rain, now a healthy 9-month-old — are among the growing numbers of people looking to “health care-sharing ministries” across the U.S. At last count, there were more than 10,000 members in Washington state and nearly 400,000 nationwide, individuals and families whose medical costs are taken care of entirely through the organized goodwill — and monthly payments or “shares” — of like-minded religious followers. (Aleccia, 5/2)

Des Moines Register: Innovation Helps Address Nurse Shortage
Shortages in the numbers of skilled professionals loom. A scarcity of educators produces constant strain. Burnout threatens the very newest nurses. But innovative educational and practice options could help Iowa and its health care system meet the increasing demands on this essential caregiving profession. ... The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists "registered nurse" as among the top job occupations for growth through 2022 — an increase of 19 percent. "If you look across the country, there are places that already experiencing some shortages, although Iowa is not among them," says Rita Frantz, dean of the University of Iowa College of Nursing. What Iowa is short on are the people qualified and willing to teach nursing. It is at nursing schools that the pressures of the changing profession and the state's aging demographics are felt most acutely, say experts (Roberson, 5/3)

Modern Healthcare: UnitedHealthcare Pilot To Curb Lab Costs Draws Protest
A UnitedHealthcare pilot to control rising clinical laboratory costs in Florida has sparked an uprising among physicians and lab companies who say the program is burdensome and unfairly limits competition. After a delay caused by physician complaints, in mid-April UnitedHealthcare started requiring doctors in its Florida provider network to give prior notice when ordering one of 79 lab tests, and to use a limited group of pre-approved labs for those tests. (Royse, 5/2)

The Wall Street Journal's Pharmalot: Should Companies Have To Pay For Disposal Of Unwanted Drugs?
Should drug makers be required to pay for take-back programs in which consumers can drop off unwanted medicines? A growing number of local officials believe they should. Earlier this week, San Mateo County in California became the fourth local government in the country to adopt an ordinance that mandates the pharmaceutical industry underwrite the costs of a take-back program. (Silverman, 5/1)