State Highlights: Iowa Medicaid Fight Threatens Hospital Access; Texas Bill Would Aid First Responders

Des Moines Register: Medicaid Dispute Could Prevent 220,000 Iowans From Using Mercy Hospitals, Clinics
More than 220,000 poor or disabled Iowans could lose access to one of the state’s largest hospital-and-clinic systems because of a payment dispute with a Medicaid management company. The affected Iowans receive Medicaid via AmeriHealth Caritas, one of three companies the state hired last year to run the public health insurance program. AmeriHealth recently mailed letters warning that it has been unable to negotiate new contract terms with Mercy Health Network. If the two sides can’t reach a deal by July 1, the Mercy system system would no longer be included in AmeriHealth’s network of health-care providers, the letter says. (Leys, 3/9)

Houston Chronicle: Bell's Bill Focuses On First Responder Mental Health 
State Rep. Cecil Bell filed House Bill 1794, which would create the Work Group on Mental Health Access for First Responders, a proposed 14-person panel that will study different issues first responders might have with obtaining mental health care, including stigmas, access and costs. The work group would provide its recommendations to the Texas governor, lieutenant governor and Legislature in late 2018. (Jordan, 3/10)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Senior Centers Try Robotic Cats To Soothe Agitated Elders
Hasbro introduced the Joy for All Companion Pets line in November 2015. Three types of cats came first.  A puppy was added last fall. (Officials at both Abramson and Kendal prefer the cats.  Holt Klinger, a dog person, prefers the puppy.)   From the beginning, the robotic animals were meant to appeal to seniors. The roots of that idea go back 10 years to the introduction of FurReal Friends, a group of animatronic toys — Pax, My Poopin' Pup is one of them — meant for 4- to 8-year-old girls, said Ted Fischer, Hasbro's vice president of business development. The company noticed that 10 percent to 15 percent of its reviews were written by moms who had purchased a toy for an aging loved one. (Burling, 3/9)

NPR: States Wrestle With Legalizing Payments For Gestational Surrogates
The battle over womb rights is brewing in Minnesota. Last month, state legislators proposed a bill that would regulate gestational surrogacy — potentially adding legal oversight to fertility clinics that facilitate these pregnancies, when one woman carries a pregnancy for another. Minnesota's surrogacy legislation and the debates that surround it echo the larger national debate on reproductive rights. (Sohn, 3/10)

The CT Mirror: Once Again, School Health Clinics Facing Cuts 
School-based health centers – which provide medical and mental health care and sometimes dental services and health education, often in schools with many low-income or high-risk students – have historically received widespread backing from policymakers in Connecticut. Research has linked them with improved academic performance and graduation rates, as well as better health measures .... Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s proposed budget calls for a 10 percent cut to grant funding for the 93 school-based health centers and associated sites that receive money from the state Department of Public Health. That follows a series of cuts in recent years. (Levin Becker, 3/10)

Boston Globe: Supreme Judicial Court Hears Case Of Woman Fired Over Use Of Medical Marijuana 
Lawyers for a woman who was fired over her use of medical marijuana brought her case before the state’s highest court on Thursday, arguing that the employer who terminated her had discriminated against her based on her use of a legal treatment. Cristina Barbuto of Brewster failed a drug test in 2014 after working for a single day at Advantage Sales and Marketing. She was let go, she claims, despite having disclosed that she uses marijuana, with her doctor’s legal permission, to combat symptoms of a digestive disorder. (Rosen, 3/9)

Sacramento Bee: Sacramento Food Bank And Family Services, Sutter Health Team Up To Provide Produce 
The bounty is available once a month at the Produce For All truck, a project of Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services, which delivers fresh fruit and veggies to Arden Arcade and about a dozen other low-income areas throughout the county. The truck’s flanks have pull-out bins that create a pop-up farmers market of sorts, which allows volunteers to quickly distribute the free produce. About 100 gathered in the church parking lot with bags in hand Thursday, anxious for their turn at the colorful food stand. (Caiola, 3/9)

San Francisco Chronicle: SF Health Officer Proposes New Benefits For Transgender Employees 
San Francisco has long led the nation when it comes to providing health insurance benefits for transgender residents. It is doubling down on that reputation. Health Service System Director Catherine Dodd is proposing to expand the health insurance benefits available to transgender employees of the city, school district, City College of San Francisco and Superior Court. (Green, 3/9)

Health News Florida: Nurses In Tampa Speak Out Against GOP Health Law Proposal 
[More] than 1,000 nurses from around the country met this week in Tampa at the American Nurses Association annual conference, and part of it was spend discussing the potential impact of repealing Obamacare. Much of the conversation focused on the newly released House plan, called the “American Health Care Act.” (Miller, 3/9)

Orlando Sentinel: UCF Startup's Product Could Bypass Drug Tests On Animals
Dr. James Hickman envisions a future when doctors can use a cancer patient’s own cells to find out which chemotherapy drug is most effective and when animals are no longer needed for researching new drugs or testing cosmetics. The UCF professor sees glimpses of it in a translucent plastic block that fits in the palm of his hand. And through the company he co-founded recently at UCF Business Incubation Program at Central Florida Research Park, he hopes to bring that future closer. (Miller, 3/9)