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A judge ruled Tuesday against a restraining order that would have stopped Anthem Blue Cross from switching 500,000 Californians to health insurance plans offering no coverage for out-of-network care. A consumer group had asked the judge for the restraining order after Anthem sent notices saying customers would be automatically switched into plans that paid nothing for doctors and hospitals outside the network if they did not change to another insurer by Dec. 15. (Petersen, 11/15)

A state commission working on ways to reduce the cost of health care in Colorado says greater transparency in pricing would help patients avoid costly doctors’ visits.That is just one of more than a dozen recommendations that the Colorado Commission on Affordable Health Care sent to lawmakers and the governor Tuesday in its second annual report. The commission’s first report, issued last year, found that Coloradans’ spending on health care had quadrupled over the past two decades. This year, the commission held seven public meetings across the state in the hopes of finding ways to control runaway health care costs. (Ingold, 11/15)

Water tests conducted at about 300 public school buildings in Massachusetts this year show that more than half had at least one sample with lead levels above regulatory limits, state officials announced on Tuesday. Steps are being taken to address the problems found in the 164 school buildings by flushing pipes, shutting off drinking fountains or taps, and making long-term plumbing repairs, officials said. (Rocheleau and Andersen, 11/16)

Elevated levels of lead have been discovered in the yards of 11 homes near a closed indoor gun range in south Sacramento’s Mangan Park, city officials said Tuesday. Tests of the soil in 29 yards near the city-owned James G. Mangan Rifle and Pistol Range last month found 11 with lead above the state’s Department of Toxic Substances Control screening level for residences. (Lillis, 11/15)

District of Columbia lawmakers have given final approval to a bill that would allow terminally ill patients to end their own lives with the help of a doctor. The “Death with Dignity” bill was approved Tuesday on an 11-to-2 vote and goes to Mayor Muriel Bowser for her signature. Once the bill becomes law, it will be sent to Congress for review. (Nuckols, 11/15)

South Carolina’s public health agency is holding off on recommending any changes to abortion clinic regulations after being inundated with responses to its drafted proposal. The state Department of Health and Environmental Control confirmed Tuesday the process is delayed indefinitely. It received nearly 460 comments on proposed changes put out in September for public review. (Adcox, 11/15)

Founder's Women's Health Clinic, one of two abortion providers in central Ohio and facing closure because of state requirements, could get a second chance. The Ohio Department of Health on Friday rejected Founder's request for an exception from having a "transfer agreement" with a local hospital for emergency care, a requirement under state law. (Johnson, 11/15)

The leader of a mental health crisis center in Kansas City told legislators Tuesday that the amount of money his facility is saving Kansas hospitals, prisons and jails is nearly double its total budget. Randy Callstrom is president and CEO of Wyandot Inc., a community mental health center that took over the former Rainbow Mental Health Facility state hospital in 2014. Callstrom told the Joint Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice that the facility, rebranded as Rainbow Services Inc., or RSI, saved $6 million last year by stabilizing people in crisis who otherwise would have ended up in state hospitals, local emergency rooms or jails and prisons. (Marso, 11/15)

Untreated mental illnesses can lead to repeat encounters with law enforcement. Now, Clermont police are joining forces with the Lake County Sheriff's Office and LifeStream Behavioral Center, the county's mental-health provider, to divert offenders with mental-health problems from the start to therapeutic options rather than the county jail. (Ruiter, 11/16)

Georgia Moore was diagnosed with leukemia the day after her 10th birthday. The fourth-grader began an intense chemotherapy regimen, which left her immune system vulnerable and kept her from attending her small, private Montessori school here. But her younger sister Ivy was in kindergarten at the same school, where a handful of families opted out of vaccinating their children. That meant 6-year-old Ivy might bring home germs that could pose a risk to Georgia. (Casey, 11/16)

Kylie’s [Orr] surgery was performed this year in Florida by Dr. Christopher Iobst, who has since become director of a new Center for Limb Lengthening and Reconstruction at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. The center opened about a month ago and will focus on repairing limb deformities and correcting limb-length discrepancies. Unlike most of Nationwide’s programs, it will offer consultations to adults as well as children. (Viviano, 11/16)

The Conservation Law Foundation is suing the Pease Development Authority over water contamination issues at the former Pease Air Force base in Portsmouth. The Conservation Law Foundation says the Pease Development Authority failed to seek required federal storm water runoff permits from the Environmental Protection Agency. (Moon, 11/15)