State Highlights: Kansas City To Get A Mental Health Assessment Center; Virginia Mulls Move To Enhance Medicaid’s Coverage Of Drug Treatment

The Kansas City Star: Kansas City To Get A Mental Health Assessment Center
When Kansas City police pick up people who appear to be suffering mental health problems, they have two choices — take them to an emergency room or jail. Neither option is ideal. And that’s why an agreement creating a mental health assessment and triage center at 12th Street and Prospect Avenue was heralded Wednesday by city, county and state officials. (Stafford, 10/14)

Heartland Health Monitor: New KC Mental Health Center Will Get $20M From Sale Of Missouri Hospitals
The sale of two Kansas City-area hospitals will generate $20 million in the next decade to help operate a new mental health crisis center on the city’s East Side, Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster said Wednesday. Koster made the announcement while standing outside the state office building at the corner of 12th Street and Prospect Avenue that will house the 16-bed Kansas City Area Adult Behavioral Health Assessment and Triage Center. (Sherry, 10/14)

The Richmond Times-Dispatch: Virginia Medicaid Program Soliciting Public Comments On Possible Substance Abuse Coverage Expansion
Virginia’s hard-to-qualify-for Medicaid program is even stingier when it comes to treatment for substance abuse disorders — strictly limiting who can get services and what kinds of services the program covers. The rising problem of prescription, heroin and other opioid overdose deaths in Virginia has state officials looking at how to enhance or expand those services. (Smith, 10/14)

Quad-City Times: Branstad Faces Questions About Medicaid Changes
Joy Newcom of Forest City told Gov. [Iowa] Terry Branstad on Wednesday his proposed privatization of Medicaid services was too much, too soon and had too many unanswered questions. Newcom, the mother of a 24-year-old son with mental and physical disabilities, expressed her concerns at a town hall meeting Branstad held in Mason City. About 100 people attended, many of whom had questions about the changes in Medicaid. Under the new program, as of Jan. 1, about 600,000 Medicaid recipients in Iowa will go from a state-run program to one operated by four managed care organizations. (Skipper, 10/14)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Without State Aid, The Local Stress Is Building
Months without financial aid from Harrisburg - and no sign the spigot will flow again soon - is starting to wear on officials and agencies across the region. Through this month, Delaware, Chester, Montgomery, and Bucks Counties have shelled out more than $70 million from reserves to keep critical social service providers afloat. But officials from each aren't sure how long they can last and are watching their coffers week by week. (Nussbaum, 10/14)

Georgia Health News: Mammogram Prices Wildly Inconsistent Across Atlanta
Costs of mammograms in the Atlanta area can vary enormously — with some more than 5 times as expensive as others — a differential that’s among the widest in the United States. The prices of mammograms in metro Atlanta range from $89 to $488, according to Castlight Health, a company that helps businesses analyze health care prices. (Miller, 10/14)

Stateline: Should The Smoking Age Be 21? Some Legislators Say Yes
While a growing number of states have turned their attention to marijuana legalization, another proposal has been quietly catching fire among some legislators—raising the legal age to buy cigarettes. This summer, Hawaii became the first state to approve increasing the smoking age from 18 to 21 starting Jan 1. A similar measure passed the California Senate, but stalled in the Assembly. And nearly a dozen other states have considered bills this year to boost the legal age for buying tobacco products. (Bergal, 10/14)