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A bill just introduced in the General Assembly would scrap the state’s current health care regulatory apparatus, known as certificate of need or CON. Georgia’s CON laws play a crucial role in health care facility construction and services across the state. (Miller, 2/21)

The temporary budget that legislators passed this week includes a provision intended to assure the public that they won’t privatize Medicare under an interstate health care compact. The compact is an agreement among states to petition Congress for the option to receive federal money for health care programs as block grants free from federal regulations. Kansas is one of nine states that had joined it as of December. (Marso, 2/19)

A $2.4 billion managed-care organization tax package awaiting votes in the California Legislature reflects the heavy imprint of the state’s health insurance industry, which pushed for major changes to avoid any tax hit that could be passed on to customers. ... It has a strong chance of winning enough support from Republican lawmakers to reach the needed two-thirds vote threshold to pass. Then, the state would be on the verge of its ultimate goal: continuing to pull in more than $1 billion in federal matching money. (Miller, 2/20)