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Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's proposal to cut money from a state grant program to community mental health and substance abuse providers is prompting an outcry from advocates and families of Newtown massacre victims in Connecticut, who warn patients will suffer from a lack of services. The governor's plan reduces the grant funding by $25.5 million in the next fiscal year, according to an analysis by the Connecticut Community Providers Association, a collection of nonprofits that provide various treatment and prevention programs. The grants have helped those agencies pay for uninsured clients and cover the gap between the state's reimbursement for Medicaid patients and the actual cost of mental health services. (Haigh, 4/19)

Georgia ranks 37th among states in per capita spending on public health, according to a newly released report. (Miller, 4/17)

California's Constitution spells out the right to a free public education, and lawmakers have fortified that guarantee over the years by safeguarding students against discrimination and inequality in the classroom. But now a debate over that protected access to an education has surfaced in the most contentious legislative battle in Sacramento this year: Does one student's right to an education trump another student's right to stay healthy? (Seipel, 4/18)

Attorney General Maura Healey is demanding that companies selling naloxone in Massachusetts explain why the cost of the drug, which is used to reverse heroin overdoses, has skyrocketed since former governor Deval Patrick declared a public health emergency a year ago. (MacQuarrie, 4/20)

Worried that lawmakers may not act, advocates for medical marijuana could take their campaign to Nebraska voters next year, and a new state law could make their job easier. Supporters said they've started gathering signatures to place the issue on the November 2016 ballot. Despite significant hurdles, activists from the Omaha chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws said the new petitioning law will make a difference. (Schulte, 4/19)

Two psychiatrists at Terrell State Hospital resigned this week after being told they would face disciplinary action for accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars from a pharmaceutical company to promote the drug Seroquel, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. (McCrimmon, 4/17)

Lt. Col. Chad Gallagher was T. J. Moore’s squadron leader when the 19-year-old recruit arrived for basic training last spring at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. He was watching at the quarter-mile track nine days later when Mr. Moore, on an easy mile-and-a-half test run, collapsed at the finish line and was rushed to a hospital. (LaFraniere, 4/19)

Dare County tackles a shortage of substance abuse and mental health services. (Sisk, 4/20)

A measure before Illinois lawmakers would require Roman Catholic hospitals to tell patients they can go elsewhere for birth control, certain medical procedures and other health care choices that violate church teachings. The proposal would amend the state's Health Care Right of Conscience Act, which generally allows workers and institutions to deny services for religious and ethical reasons. And while it would apply to all hospitals in Illinois, it's particularly relevant for Catholic hospitals, which handle more than 1 in 4 admissions statewide. (Pashman, 4/17)

New drugs are proving exceptionally effective at treating hepatitis C, but their jaw-dropping price tags are making it difficult for prison officials to decide when to treat inmates and how to pay for their care. In fact, a new study by Brown University — which was based on research conducted in Rhode Island at the Adult Correctional Institutions — finds that it would cost double the prison's entire health budget to treat all of its chronically ill inmates. (Salit, 4/20)

Five years after U.S. Sen. Mark Warner’s mother died of Alzheimer’s, he is still haunted by what he might have done differently for her — if only he had known her wishes. When the disease first took hold of Marjorie Warner in about 2000, her son was already a wealthy, self-made businessman, on his way to being elected Virginia’s governor the following year. He prided himself on being a take-charge executive who could solve tough problems. (Bartel, 4/18)

In most states, mentally ill people deemed incompetent to stand trial, like Ms. Roberts’s son, are transferred to a state hospital, where they are given limited treatment that may include medication and therapy. The goal is to bring their mental state to a point where they can be taught about the legal system and their rights, so they eventually can be tried—a process known as restoration. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled it is unconstitutional to try a person who fails to grasp the consequences of the proceedings against him and is unable to participate in his own defense. (Palazzolo, 4/19)