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Pregnant women using New York’s health exchange no longer have to wait for certain open enrollment periods to qualify for health insurance. Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the bill into law Tuesday making New York the first state in the country to allow pregnancy to act as a “qualifying event” for health care on the state health exchange. The legislation passed one vote shy of unanimous in both houses. (Pasquantonio, 12/23)

California insurers have been awarded $9.3 million in tax credits for making more than $46.6 million in capital investments for underserved communities, the California Department of Insurance announced. The program, the California Organized Investment Network (COIN) Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) tax credit, aims to create jobs, build affordable housing and fund other community development projects. (Vesely, 12/23)

Federal health officials say nearly 376,000 Virginians have signed up for 2016 coverage under the Affordable Care Act. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says 375,891 Virginia residents signed up or renewed coverage on the federal marketplace from Nov. 1 through Dec. 19. Nationally, more than 8.2 million people enrolled in Virginia and the 37 other states that are using the HealthCare.gov website and call center. (12/24)

Small businesses in New Hampshire are facing a lot of questions as the federal health insurance marketplace and its evolving rollout enters its fourth year, but it still offers opportunities for cost savings, which is why their participation through the federal online marketplace has increased 15-fold. (Brooks, 12/23)

Nearly half the rape kits in evidence at the Grand Rapids Police Department, dating back 15 years, were not submitted to the state police for DNA testing, according to documents obtained by 24 Hour News 8. But police say that doesn’t mean rapists are walking free. This fall, at the request of the state Attorney General’s Office, Grand Rapids police sorted through the 403 rape kits still in evidence and found that 199 had gone untested, documents show. (Kolker, 12/23)

Lawyers representing 11,000 mentally ill inmates in Illinois prisons have reached a settlement with the state in a long-running class-action lawsuit that alleged inadequate treatment amounted to "cruel and unusual punishment," a deal both sides heralded on Wednesday. Among a long list of provisions, the agreement calls for the Illinois Department of Corrections to build four new treatment units, including at Logan, Pontiac, and Dixon prisons, at a cost of $40 million. Hiring new staff members is expected to reach another $40 million a year. (Tarm, 12/23)

The first grader was shuffling through his school papers when he stumbled across it: the test he had been taking last month when he got so angry that he had punched another student in the face. (Rosenthal, 12/23)

For two straight years, Christie Padilla tried unsuccessfully to get healthcare for her daughter. In each instance, she said, coverage was denied. “It was an absolute feeling of helplessness,” explained Padilla, “We weren’t seen because information had been entered incorrectly.” Padilla, president of the Kent Education Association teachers union, said she is one of 238 teachers who encountered the same issue this school year. (Langler, 12/23)

For the first time in its 45-year history, the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria will begin admitting first-year medical students in 2017, growth projected to pump $6 million into the local economy over the next two years. UICOMP Regional Dean Dr. Sara Rusch said the shift from a three-year to a four-year medical school would “revolutionize” Peoria’s medical community, adding that it’s “possibly the single most important expansion” since the medical school opened. (Adams, 12/22)

A Pasadena man whose critical, life-threatening illness led to a lawsuit challenging a 1999 Texas law that grants hospital ethics committees power to withdraw life-sustaining treatment in hopeless cases died Wednesday at Houston Methodist Hospital. Chris Dunn, 46, was admitted to the Texas Medical Center hospital in early October after a diagnostic scan at a Pasadena hospital revealed a mass on his pancreas. In mid-November, Dunn's family was apprised that the hospital had done all it could do and that, unless another facility could be found to treat him, life-sustaining care would be discontinued. A legal challenge to the Texas Health and Safety Code led to continuation of such care, which Dunn was receiving at the time of his death. (Turner, 12/23)

The U.S. Attorney’s Office says an outpatient physical therapy practice has reached a $710,000 settlement to resolve claims that it billed Medicare for services performed without required supervision. Old Towne Physical Therapy LP, which owns three clinics in Delaware, reached the settlement with the U.S. to resolve allegations of health care fraud under the False Claims Act, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney. (12/23)

When New Hampshire legalized medical marijuana in July 2013, no one expected the program to be up and running overnight. Two and a half years later, however, none of the dispensaries envisioned under the new law are open, and the only patient who has received medical marijuana had to file a lawsuit for the right to travel out of state to get it. So what’s taken so long? One reason is money. John Martin, licensing chief for the Department of Health and Human Services, says it was a challenge to launch a new program from scratch without additional resources. (McDermott, 12/23)