State Highlights: Law Change Opens Door For Minnesota’s First Nurse-Led Clinic; Philly Airport Workers Strike For Better Wages, Health Benefits

Modern Healthcare: Minnesota's First Nurse-led Clinic Opens Monday
The University of Minnesota School of Nursing is launching the Gopher State's first nurse-led outpatient clinic, made possible by a recent change in state law. Family nurse practitioners will offer primary-care services and an on-site pharmacist in the downtown Minneapolis clinic, one of roughly 250 clinics in the country that operate without a physician's oversight. The clinic, which opens April 6, is expected to serve as a training facility for U-M nursing students, clinical pharmacists and other primary-care providers as well, the school said. (Rubenfire, 4/2)

The Associated Press: Philadelphia Airport Workers Strike Over Wages And Benefits
They want their employers, airline contractors Prospect Airport Services and PrimeFlight Airline Services, to comply with a living wage law passed last year that requires pay of $10.88 or more per hour at city-owned facilities. They're also calling for affordable health benefits and sick days. (4/2)

The Associated Press: Iowa House Committee OKs Bill On State Mental Health Facilities
An Iowa House committee has approved a bill that would keep two state mental health facilities open longer. The Appropriations Committee unanimously supported the bill Thursday. It would require the Department of Human Services to submit a transition plan to a new commission, which would have to give its approval before the facilities in Clarinda and Mount Pleasant could close. (4/2)

Nexstar Broadcasting: Maryland Lawmakers Work To Provide Fertility Benefits For Married Lesbian Couples
In 2013, same sex marriage became law in Maryland. Two years later, lawmakers are working on bringing equality to health benefits. Currently, straight couples are eligible for in vitro fertilization coverage under health insurance, after two years of unsuccessful attempts to have a baby. Now, lawmakers want to extend these benefits to lesbian couples facing similar challenges and it's getting widespread support in the house and senate. (Garriss, 4/2)

Minnesota Public Radio: MN Health Providers Fall Short On Digital Records Requirement
Minnesota officials say thousands of health care providers are violating the state's new rules requiring electronic patient health records — but there isn't much they can do about it. (Zdechlik, 4/3)

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Patient-Doctor Relationship Increasingly Forged Through Computer Screens
Missouri’s largest health insurer recently launched a new online patient-doctor interface, a move that reflects the growing importance of telehealth as the industry looks to curb costs and enhance patient access. More patients than ever are seeing their doctors through computer screens and smartphones. It’s a trend that shows no signs of subsiding as hospitals and insurance companies continue to roll out the latest technological advances. (Shapiro, 4/3)

The Hill: State Lawmakers Filed Hundreds Of Anti-Abortion Bills So Far In 2015, Study Finds
More than 300 anti-abortion bills have been filed in state legislatures in the first quarter of 2015, a new study has found. Anti-abortion bills have been filed in a total of 43 states so far this year, according to research released Thursday by the reproductive health nonprofit Guttmacher Institute. (Ferris, 4/2)

The Charlotte Observer: Charlotte Lawmaker Sponsors New Abortion Bill
A bill that would put more restrictions on abortion was introduced in the N.C. House Wednesday by a group of Republicans that includes a Charlotte lawmaker. The bill would increase the waiting time required to get an abortion, bar physicians other than obstetricians or gynecologists from performing abortions and prohibit medical schools at UNC Chapel Hill or East Carolina University from offering abortions. (Morrill, 4/2)

The Associated Press: New Mexico Pushes Claims Of Poor Care At Nursing Home Chain
After months of review, New Mexico's top prosecutor is following through with a lawsuit against one of the nation's largest nursing home chains over claims of inadequate care. The state initially sued in December, alleging that the business' thin staffing made it impossible to provide good care. The suit targeted several nursing homes run by Preferred Care Partners Management Group, a privately held company with operations in at least 10 states: Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. (Bryan, 4/2)

WBUR: Find The Uninsured Rate In Your Mass. Town
Among states, Massachusetts has the lowest rate of residents lacking health insurance. We know that. But beneath the topline state figure, there’s significant variation on a more local level. (Swasey, 4/2)

The Charlotte Observer: Bill Proposes Extensive Overhaul Of N.C. Death Investigations
North Carolina's troubled system of mostly volunteer medical examiners would be transformed into a staff of trained, full-time death investigators under a new bill in the General Assembly. The architect of the legislation, Sen. Jeff Tarte, a Mecklenburg County Republican, says he would like to phase out the state's roughly 350 part-time medical examiners over a five-year period. The state's examiners – mostly doctors and nurses who look into deaths in their spare time – are supposed to determine the cause of suspicious and violent deaths, such as shootings, suicides and auto wrecks. Their findings are used to help solve crimes, identify public health threats and settle life insurance payouts. (Alexander, 4/2)

The Hill: Drug-Resistant Bacteria Found In Several States
Nearly 250 Americans have been sickened by a drug-resistant stomach bug that is linked to overseas travel, federal health officials warned Thursday. The disease, which has been reported in 32 states since December 2014, comes as the government is already on high alert after outbreaks of potentially deadly antibiotic-resistant infections. (Ferris, 4/2)