State Highlights: Michigan To Vote On Health Insurance Tax; Costs Continue To Be Barrier In Coverage, Study Finds

The Associated Press: Bill Continues Michigan Health Insurance Tax Until 2025
Michigan's tax on health insurance would be continued until 2025 under legislation scheduled for a vote in the Legislature. The Senate plans to vote on Tuesday on extending the 0.75 percent health insurance claims assessment, which helps pay for Medicaid coverage for low-income residents. The tax will go away in two years if legislation is not enacted. (12/15)

The Associated Press: Survey Finds, Despite Gains, Some Struggle For Health Care
Even as Massachusetts continues to lead the nation with the highest rate of insured residents, some barriers to obtaining care persist. Those barriers are most acute among some minority and vulnerable populations, including Hispanics, those with lower incomes, people in fair or poor health, and individuals who are limited in their activities. That's according to a 2015 survey by The Center for Health Information and Analysis, created by a 2012 state law. (Leblanc, 12/14)

Vermont Public Radio: More Vermonters Are On Medicaid. Now, How To Pay For Them?
The future funding of Vermont's Medicaid program will be one of the biggest issues facing lawmakers during the upcoming Legislative session. On Monday, the House Appropriations Committee started its review of this ever-expanding program. ... A recent decision to expand Medicaid eligibility will be under review and some legislators also want to look at the full scope of the Medicaid benefit package. These questions are being raised because the state faces a roughly $30 million shortfall in the Medicaid program in the current fiscal year and a projected $60 million shortfall in next year's budget. (Kinzel, 12/14)

California Healthline: Health Reform May Change Workers' Roles
There will be new job opportunities in California because of the Affordable Care Act, but likely more of a shift in the nature of those jobs and not necessarily an increase in the number of them, according to a new study released last week by researchers at UC-San Francisco. (Gorn, 12/14)

Modern Healthcare: Judge Allows Teladoc Lawsuit Against Texas Medical Board To Proceed
A federal judge on Monday rejected the Texas Medical Board's request to jettison a lawsuit filed against it by Teladoc over the board's new restrictions on the practice of telemedicine in the state. The judge's decision means the case, which has implications for medical boards and telemedicine across the country, will continue to move forward. Teladoc sued the board in April over a rule that requires physicians to either meet with patients in person before treating them remotely or treat them face-to-face via technology while other providers are physically present with them when treating them for the first time. (Schencker, 12/14)

The Associated Press: 13 Challenges Filed Over Florida Medical Marijuana Licenses
When Florida's Office of Compassionate Care named five nurseries to grow and distribute medical marijuana in the state, many expected there would be a few challenges filed — but not the more than a dozen that had landed by Monday's deadline. Department of Health officials said in an email that 13 administrative challenges across all five regions have been received. Lobbyists and officials who have been following the process had estimated there would be eight at the most. (Reedy, 12/14)

The St. Louis Post Dispatch: BJC Decision TO Close Psychiatric Unit Hits St. Francois County
Soon there will be a gaping hole in hospital psychiatric services in St. Francois County, about 70 miles south of St. Louis. No acute adult psychiatric beds will exist in this county of 66,000 people after BJC HealthCare closes an in-patient facility at the former Mineral Area Regional Medical Center in Farmington, Mo. (Liss, 12/14)