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A dispute about the cost and potential benefits of expanding Medicaid eligibility is heating up ahead of a Kansas Senate committee vote on a bill. In testimony Monday to the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee, supporters of expanding eligibility for KanCare, the state’s privatized Medicaid program, said expansion would more than pay for itself. Former Kansas Senate President Dave Kerr, a Hutchinson Republican, said in its first full year, expansion would add about $81 million to the cost of KanCare. But he said it would generate more than $154 million in revenue and savings, enough to cover the costs of expansion with about $73 million to spare. (McLean, 3/22)

Gov. Mark Dayton on Wednesday warned Republican lawmakers he won’t agree to give insurance companies hundreds of millions of dollars to stabilize Minnesota’s individual health insurance market without more information about how the companies would use the money. The House and Senate passed bills last week to spend, respectively, $384 million or $600 million over the next two years on a new “reinsurance” program to protect insurers against unusually high claims. (Golden, 3/22)

The Texas Senate, voting 19-10, gave initial approval Wednesday to a bill that would ban insurance coverage for abortions in the state. Senate Bill 20 by Sen. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, would prohibit abortion coverage in private plans, under the Affordable Care Act and in state-issued insurance plans, except for medical emergencies. Those interested in abortion coverage would have to purchase supplemental coverage if offered by their insurer. (Lindell, 3/22)

The Texas Senate on Wednesday gave initial approval to a measure that would require women to pay a separate premium if they want their health plan to cover an elective abortion. Under Senate Bill 20, health plans would still be allowed to cover abortions that are deemed medically necessary. The measure does not make exceptions for cases of rape or incest. (Evans, 3/22)

A bill up for consideration in the Kansas Legislature would strengthen safe-sleep practices in child care facilities. The bill was introduced by Rep. Tom Burroughs, a Kansas City, Kan., Democrat, whose grandson died about a year ago. (Ryan and Woodall, 3/22)

A proposal to impose fines and prison time on doctors who perform abortions that are based solely on whether the mother wants to have a boy or girl received final passage from the Arkansas House. The measure was passed Wednesday on a 57-9 vote. The bill's sponsor, Republican Rep. Charlie Collins previously told lawmakers that having this ban as law is the right thing to do. (Mukunyadzi, 3/22)

Lawmakers have put forward competing proposals to implement Amendment 2, which passed with 71 percent of the vote in November and lets patients with debilitating medical conditions such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, epilepsy and post-traumatic stress disorder use cannabis. On Wednesday, the Senate's Health Policy panel discussed five approaches to implement the voters' will. Their deliberations, led by Sen. Dana Young, R-Tampa, revealed the first look at what kind of cannabis bill might pass the Senate — as well as early fault lines. (Auslen, 3/22)