Kansas will likely become the 37th state — 38th if you count D.C. — to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.
Driving the news: The state's Democratic governor and Republican Senate leader announced a deal yesterday to expand the program, though it still needs to get through the state legislature.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom wants the state to become the first to create its own generic drug label, an attempt to create more competition and bring down prices.
The big picture: California already has enacted insurance reforms that could be a model for the federal government, and is now doing the same on drug prices.
Some doctors are treating patients and then waiting to be paid through those patients' personal-injury lawsuits, which can be much more lucrative than billing through insurance, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Between the lines: These "lien doctors" have been around for years, but recent legal and policy changes have led to the practice becoming more common, including in California, Florida, Colorado, Texas and Georgia.
Providing close follow-up care from a team of clinical and social workers to the sickest, most vulnerable patients does not reduce hospital readmissions, a new study in the New England Journal of Medicine concludes.
Why it matters: Many doctors and scholars viewed this approach as a promising way to improve care and save money, but it doesn't appear to do either.
