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Abortions are set to resume in Missouri after a judge blocked regulations that had restricted providers even after voters approved enshrining abortion rights into the state’s constitution. Friday’s ruling came after a Kansas City judge ruled last year that abortions were now legal in the state but kept certain regulations on the books while a lawsuit by abortion-rights advocates played out. That meant abortion facilities still had to be licensed by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. (Ballentine and Golden, 2/15)

New Jersey plans to go statewide with a program aimed at caring for older adults outside of nursing homes. The New Jersey Human Services Department announced Friday it is expanding the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly to four counties in the state that don’t offer the program. PACE provides in-home and center-based services to mostly Medicare and Medicaid dual-eligible older adults. (Eastabrook, 2/14)

Seven hospitals in Tarrant County are the first in Texas to adopt a program meant to improve the health outcomes for moms and babies. It's part of an initiative to reverse an alarming statistic: mothers in Tarrant County are dying at a significantly higher rate than the national average, according to state data. (Vandergriff, 2/17)

In a pastoral Vermont valley, a former hospice chaplain named Suzanne runs a retreat center for artists, health-care workers and educators — and, since mid-2023, terminally ill people seeking a safe, peaceful place to die. Suzanne, who asked that her last name not be used for privacy reasons, is one of a small but growing number of property owners who have been providing space to people coming to Vermont for physician-assisted dying since the state lifted the residency requirement for a 2013 law allowing terminally ill patients to end their lives on their schedule. (Waldman, 2/16)

Utah students in as early as kindergarten would be required to learn about firearm safety in the classroom under a bill that passed the state House with overwhelming support Friday. The Republican-controlled chamber approved the measure in a 59-10 vote and sent it to the Senate, despite concerns from some gun violence prevention advocates that it places an undue burden on children. (Schoenbaum, 2/15)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Iowa Medicaid Sends $4M Bills To Two Families Grieving Deaths Of Loved Ones With Disabilities

Collection agents for the state of Iowa have sent letters seeking millions of dollars from the estates of at least two people with disabilities who died after spending most of their lives in a state institution. The amounts represent what Medicaid spent covering the residents’ care when they lived at the Glenwood Resource Center, a state-run facility that closed last summer. (Leys, 2/18)