Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Medically Assisted Suicide Measure Sails Through Hawaii Legislature On Way To Governor
Hawaii lawmakers approved legislation Thursday that would make it the latest liberal-leaning state to legalize medically assisted suicide. The state Senate voted 23-2 to pass the measure that has already cleared the House. It allows doctors to fulfill requests from terminally ill patients for prescription medication that will allow them to die. The governor has said he will sign the bill, which would make Hawaii the sixth state to legalize the practice, plus Washington, D.C. (3/29)
Minnesota House Republicans want to spend $50 million to help make schools safer from violence. The plan, announced Thursday, significantly overlaps with a $21 million proposal by Gov. Mark Dayton, a Democrat, suggesting that agreement is possible — on measures that don’t include gun control. (Orrick, 3/29)
Students at North Carolina’s public schools would benefit from far greater access to school nurses who could treat injuries, dole out medicine, and monitor chronic illness, according to a report that legislative staff completed last May, based on a September 2016 request. In January, the General Assembly’s Program Evaluation Oversight Committee heard a short version of the long-delayed report by the nonpartisan Program Evaluation Division. The report was next scheduled to be brought forward at a February meeting that was canceled. (Goldsmith, 3/29)
During the frenetic last-day activity Thursday at the General Assembly, state lawmakers failed to agree on a way to curb surprise medical billing. ... Legislators couldn’t reach a compromise over two differing proposals. (Miller, 3/30)
