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Idaho lawmakers are expected to vote this week on a bill that would ban the use of any public funds for gender-affirming care, including for state employees using work health insurance and for adults covered by Medicaid. The legislation already passed the House and only needs to clear the majority Republican Senate before it is sent to Gov. Brad Little’s desk, where it would likely be signed into law. The Republican governor has said repeatedly he does not believe public funds should be used for gender-affirming care. (Boone, 3/18)

A decades-old policy incentivizes Colorado health providers to prematurely discharge patients with serious mental illness from psychiatric hospitals, crisis stabilization units, residential treatment centers and nursing homes, state leaders said. Now, legislators are working to address the issue by recommending that $7.2 million is allocated to the Colorado Medicaid department to reimburse providers that work with patients who need care for up to 30 days. (Flowers, 3/18)

Christian King watched her sister lie sick in a hospital bed for days after suffering a placental abruption while giving birth. Finally, after their mother pleaded with hospital staff to run more tests, they learned her blood count was dangerously low. Two blood transfusions later, she was back on her feet. The power of having an advocate during birth stayed with King. Not long after, she became a doula. (Spoerre, 3/16)

States are boosting pay to health insurance companies that administer Medicaid benefits to address rising medical spending even as some eye benefit cuts to close budget shortfalls. States such as Arizona, California, Missouri and Washington plan to increase Medicaid managed care capitation rates for fiscal 2025 to companies such as Centene and Molina Healthcare. Insurers have cited negative effects on risk pools resulting from the ongoing eligibility redeterminations process to unwind the continuous coverage provisions enacted as part of federal COVID-19 relief efforts. (Tepper, 3/15)

The letter came from the state department of human services in July 2021. It expressed condolences for the loss of the recipient’s mother, who had died a few weeks earlier at 88. Then it explained that the deceased had incurred a Medicaid debt of more than $77,000 and provided instructions on how to repay the money. “I was stunned,” said the woman’s 62-year-old daughter. At first, she thought the letter might be some sort of scam. It wasn’t. (Span, 3/16)