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Kansas state lawmakers advanced a Medicaid expansion proposal on Thursday even as Congress contemplated a bill that could halt states from expanding the program. Supporters of expanding KanCare, the state’s privatized Medicaid program, said the debate in Kansas can’t be dictated by Washington. Opponents urged lawmakers to wait until the federal health care debate progresses. (Shorman, 3/23)

Kansas lawmakers are now a step away from what could be a showdown with Republican Gov. Sam Brownback on the political football issue of Medicaid expansion. The Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee on Thursday advanced an expansion bill to the full Senate for a vote supporters say will take place Monday...Since 2013, 31 states and the District of Columbia have expanded Medicaid eligibility. Kansas and Missouri are among 19 that have not. (McLean, 3/23)

Minnesota lawmakers are on the verge of approving as much as $300 million per year to try to stabilize the state’s 2018 individual health insurance market and lower premiums. But before the program, known as reinsurance, gets off the ground, lawmakers and the governor first have to settle an important question: where should the money come from? The idea, which DFL Gov. Mark Dayton supports despite some qualms, is a top priority for lawmakers and some business groups. (Montgomery, 3/24)

A bill seeking to legalize needle exchange programs in New Hampshire passed the full Senate Thursday and now heads to the House. A similar measure failed in the Senate last year but this time it passed on a simple voice vote. (Sutherland, 3/23)

Officials with the University of Kansas Health System made another effort Thursday to keep guns out of its buildings before a state law that would allow concealed weapons takes effect July 1. Senate Bill 235, which had a hearing Thursday before the Senate budget committee, would allow Kansas’ state hospitals and public hospitals, like the University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, Kan., to keep banning handguns. (Woodall, 3/23)

California air quality officials have approved what are widely considered to be the most rigorous and comprehensive regulations in the country for controlling methane emissions, a move that helps cement the state’s status as a standard-bearer for environmental protection. The new rules, green-lighted Thursday by the state’s Air Resources Board, seek to curb methane emissions at oil and gas production plants by up to 45 percent over the next nine years. (Fracassa, 3/23)