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Texas health officials have asked an appeals court for permission to proceed with cutting payments to a therapy program for children with disabilities — the latest development in an ongoing lawsuit over the budget state lawmakers crafted this year. (Walters, 10/28)

California risks losing billions in health care dollars if the state and federal governments can’t agree this week on a plan to fund reforms of the Medicaid program, hospital officials and experts said. Public hospitals throughout the state are counting on the $7.25 billion in state and federal funds to treat large numbers of low-income and uninsured patients. The plan, known as a Medicaid waiver, also would allow the state to continue improving the efficiency, safety and quality of its Medicaid program, called Medi-Cal. (Gorman, 10/29)

Attorneys representing four children with serious heart conditions have challenged a move by the Florida Department of Health to repeal cardiac-care standards related to a program that provides specialized services to children. The Department of Health has pursued the repeal despite strong opposition from pediatric cardiologists associated with the Children's Medical Services program. Some of those doctors have warned that lowering the program's cardiac standards could have dire consequences. (Menzel, 10/28)

Florida’s emergency room doctors say they’re seeing patients delay health care—even if they have insurance—according to the results of a survey published by the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP). “Patients with health insurance were delaying health care decisions—and delayed medical care—because of their fear of high out-of-pocket expenses, high deductibles or high co-insurance,“ says Dr. Andrew Bern, a South Florida emergency physician and a spokesperson for ACEP. (10/28)

Ardina, is a health-care membership company providing 24/7 telemedicine support with licensed physicians, plus discounts on out-of-pocket health-care expenses such as prescriptions and dental services. It’s not a health-care plan; it’s a supplement to health-care plans. After Young launched Ardina last month, he likened it to a AAA auto-club membership. (Feran, 10/29)

More than 67,000 Florida children gained health insurance coverage last year with the full implementation of the Affordable Care Act, according to a report released Wednesday by Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute. And yet Florida remained near the bottom of the states in covering kids, with nearly 378,000 children still uninsured. In sheer numbers, the report said, Florida ranked 49th, behind only Texas and California. (Gentry, 10/28)

Telemedicine has been praised as a cost-effective way to link doctors and patients, enabling physicians to monitor their medical conditions and consult with specialists in a way that overcomes time and distance. But despite a half-century of technological advances, the ready availability of interactive devices, and the full-throated encouragement of the Obama administration, advocates say telemedicine has failed to reach its full potential, due largely to policies in some states that make it difficult to practice, and pay for, such care. (Ollove, 10/28)

New York state will require physicians to complete an educational course before they can authorize medical marijuana for patients — a condition generally not applied to new drugs or seen in other states with existing medical pot programs. (10/28)

A federal judge on Wednesday ordered Alabama to restore Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood, money the state tried to cut off in the wake of undercover videos shot by abortion opponents. U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson issued an order that temporarily bars Alabama from cutting off Medicaid contracts with the group's clinics in Alabama. Planned Parenthood Southeast and a Medicaid recipient filed suit in August, days after Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley announced he was ending the Medicaid agreements with the two clinics. (Chandler, 10/29)

The Obama administration has warned state officials that pushing Planned Parenthood out of the state’s Medicaid program could put Texas at odds with federal law. Officials with the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services contacted the state Medicaid director on Tuesday to give notice that removing Planned Parenthood from the program "may be in conflict with federal law" because poor women who obtain family planning services through Medicaid would be limited from receiving health care from the qualified provider of their choice. (Ura, 10/28)