State Highlights: Texas Lawmakers Take Aim At Insurers And Drug Coverage Practices; Fla. House Poised To Approve Trauma Center Deregulation Bill

Houston Chronicle: Lawmakers Take Aim At Insurance Plan Changes To Patients' Medications
Health insurers are under pressure from Texas legislators to halt a practice that allows them to change the terms of coverage for prescription drugs with a pair of bills in the House and Senate that would extend earlier protections. Patient advocacy groups and doctor and nurse associations long have been opposed to the practice known as "non-medical switching," which allows insurers to drop medications from their plans, raise co-pays, or add other restrictions and requirements, typically for financial, as opposed to medical, reasons. (Canaves, 4/27)

Tampa Bay Times: Watered-Down Deregulation Of Trauma Care On Tap In Florida House 
The Florida House is expected to pass watered-down legislation meant to increase the number of trauma centers in the state on Friday. Trauma centers, which handle the worst, most time-sensitive injuries like gunshot wounds and violent car crashes, are limited under state law based on the need in each part of the state. State Rep. Jay Trumbull, R-Panama City, had proposed to get rid of limits statewide. (Auslen, 4/28)

Pioneer Press: Minnesota Measles Outbreak Grows To 29 Cases, Spreads To Stearns County
A measles outbreak that began last month in Hennepin County has grown to 29 confirmed cases and has spread to Stearns County, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. The outbreak’s victims have all been children age 5 and younger, and only one is known to have been vaccinated against measles, the MDH said. Twenty-five have been unvaccinated Somali-Minnesotan children, while the vaccination status and ethnicity of the others is not yet known. Twenty-eight of the cases are located in Hennepin County, while one is in Stearns County. (Woltman, 4/27)

The Star Tribune: 5 More Cases Of Measles Include First Outside Hennepin County 
State health officials reported five more cases of measles Thursday, including one in Stearns County that marked the first time the current outbreak has spread beyond Hennepin County. A total of 29 children have now been sickened since the end of March, making it the largest measles outbreak in Minnesota since 1990. (Howatt, 4/27)

Sacramento Bee: Doctor Shortage At CA State Prison Sacramento Hurts Care 
A summary of the unidentified inmate’s death is included in the latest report by a state inspector general calling attention to “inadequate” health services at a prison with a difficult population of 2,400 inmates that sits next door to Folsom State Prison. The new report, released in late March by the state Office of Inspector General, faulted a “critical shortage” of doctors at the prison and a “seemingly unprecedented ability to recruit and retain” primary care providers. (Ashton, 4/27)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Immigrants Avoid Food Stamps Amid Crackdown On Illegal Immigration
Significantly fewer immigrants have been signing up for food stamps at the Latin American Association in Atlanta since Donald Trump became president in January, including the parents of U.S. citizen children. The Buckhead Christian Ministry — which feeds and clothes needy families — has also seen substantially fewer Hispanic clients this year. (Redmon and Schneider, 4/27)

Boston Globe: UMass Boston Nursing Program Faces Uncertain Future 
The nursing school at the University of Massachusetts Boston, one of the campus’s most successful programs, faces an uncertain future because of a logistical snafu caused by the myriad construction projects underway at the same time. The program is housed in a building set to be demolished in the next few years, but the Baker administration has nixed a plan to fund a replacement building, leaving the nursing program looking for a new home. (Krantz, 4/28)

Health News Florida: Volunteer Dentists Offer Critical Care In Lee Dental Clinic 
A statewide assessment of dental health needs found nearly a third of older adults in Florida aren't getting the early dental care they need. That lack of care is behind an expanded dental clinic in Lee County relying on volunteer health professionals to treat those most in need of dental care. (Smith, 4/27)

California Healthline: California Proposes Stringent Cap On Toxic Chemical In Drinking Water
California regulators are proposing a strict limit on a toxic man-made chemical that has contaminated water supplies throughout the state, particularly in its vast agricultural heartland. California would be the second state, after Hawaii, to establish a threshold for the former pesticide ingredient and industrial solvent known as TCP (1,2,3-trichloropropane) in drinking water. The chemical compound, identified in California as a human carcinogen, is no longer in wide use but has leached over the years into many wells and reservoirs in California and other states. (O'Neill, 4/27)

Miami Herald: Partners Of Florida Medical Marijuana Grower Fight In Court Over Pending Sale 
A lucrative deal that would place a private Fort Lauderdale equity firm at the center of Florida’s fast-growing medical marijuana market is at risk of collapsing amid allegations of “ransom demands” and a corporate coup inside a state-licensed pot dispensary. According to the details of a lawsuit brought by politically connected Panhandle developer Jay Odom against his partners, the shareholders of the Chestnut Hill Tree Farm cannabis nursery in Alachua have splintered over the pending sale of the company’s assets to a new operator. (Smiley, 4/27)

The Baltimore Sun: Keswick Campus To Get Center For Healthy Living 
Keswick, which provides long-term care and other services to seniors, plans to open a Center for Health Living housed on its campus in Baltimore's Roland Park-Hampden area.The center will connect older adults in the community to health and wellness services that can help them stay fit and in their own homes. Keswick residents and community members will have access to programs focused on socialization, education, arts, lifelong learning and exercise. There will also be information on chronic disease and care management. The center, spanning more than 10,000 square feet, is currently being designed and will be located inside Keswick's Bauernschmidt Building. (Cohn, 4/27)