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• Foster Parents Allowed to Unionize Under Oregon Bill
• Source: Oregonian   |   Oregon   |   February 21, 2013
• Foster parents would be considered public employees allowed to form, join and participate in unions.

• On Abortion, New York Gov. Cuomo Bucks Trend
• Source: New York Times   |   New York   |   February 20, 2013
• Bucking a trend in which states have been seeking to restrict abortion, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is putting the finishing touches on legislation that would guarantee women in New York the right to late-term abortions when their health is in danger or the fetus is not viable.

• Maryland Gov. O’Malley Agrees to Tougher Gun Laws Aimed at Mentally Ill
• Source: Washington Post   |   Maryland   |   February 20, 2013
• Under the governor’s modified plan, Maryland would adopt a law similar to one passed in Virginia after the 2007 massacre at Virginia Tech that would prohibit anyone involuntarily committed to a public or private mental health facility for any length of time from purchasing a gun.

• The Story Behind the Biggest Mistake in Obamacare
• BY: Dylan Scott   |   February 19, 2013
• A Governing exclusive: Because of an error in the language of the Affordable Care Act, millions of people will be able to purchase private health insurance next year.
• 14 Comments

• New Jersey to Let Feds Run Health Exchange
• Source: Newark Star-Ledger   |   New Jersey   |   February 19, 2013
• Gov. Chris Christie announced New Jersey will not collaborate with the Obama administration to create a health exchange — the virtual marketplace people will use to shop for insurance policies beginning next year .

• Health Exchanges: States Avoid 'Partnership' But Claim Regulatory Power
• BY: Dylan Scott   |   February 15, 2013
• Some states are defaulting to a federal-run insurance marketplace, but hoping to keep their regulatory authority.
• 1 Comments

• How Health Reform Could Improve Outcomes in Child Welfare
• BY: Jonathan Walters   |   February 14, 2013
• If Human Services officials want to take advantage of the Affordable Care Act, they need to get involved in its implementation now.

• Wisconsin's Scott Walker Proposes Cutting, Not Expanding, Medicaid
• Source: Politico   |   Wisconsin   |   February 14, 2013
• Instead of accepting the Medicaid expansion and the billions of federal dollars that would come with it, the governor proposed an ambitious plan to cut the number enrolled in the state Medicaid program by moving some people into the federal-run health exchange, where they can get private insurance.
• 4 Comments

• Illegal Immigrants Most Helped by Emergency Medicaid Program
• BY: Kaiser Health News   |   Nation   |   February 13, 2013
• Federal law generally bars illegal immigrants from being covered by Medicaid, but a little-known part of the state-federal health insurance program for the poor pays about $2 billion a year for emergency treatment for a group of patients comprised mostly of illegal immigrants.

• How to Market a Health Insurance Exchange
• BY: Dylan Scott   |   February 13, 2013
• Many Americans still don’t know about the online health insurance marketplaces that are being created under the Affordable Care Act. The District of Columbia is trying to figure out how to change that.
• 3 Comments

• North Carolina Gov. McCrory Supports Bill to Stop Medicaid Expansion
• Source: Raleigh News & Observer   |   North Carolina   |   February 13, 2013
• A Republican measure to prevent major components of the federal health care law from taking effect in North Carolina will almost certainly be approved after Gov. Pat McCrory endorsed the effort.

• Phoenix Hospitals Tax Themselves to Cash In on Federal Funds
• BY: Dylan Scott   |   February 12, 2013
• The city expects to bring in hundreds of millions in federal dollars through the initiative.

• Child Services Deleted Details of Children's Deaths in Tennessee
• Source: Tennessean   |   Tennessee   |   February 12, 2013
• Someone at the Department of Children’s Services who prepared documents for The Tennessean deleted large portions in the media’s copy of state child fatality records — removing information that should have been made public.

• Advancing the Debate: Political, Fiscal Costs of the Medicaid Expansion
• BY: J.B. Wogan   |   February 11, 2013
• 11 GOP governors have rejected the Medicaid expansion, but some are endorsing it -- even though they lambasted so-called "Obamacare."