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Missouri could extend Medicaid coverage for new mothers and their babies under bipartisan legislation debated in a Senate panel Wednesday. Members of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee heard from supporters and opponents of a plan to extend insurance coverage for low-income mothers from a current 60 days after giving birth to 12 months. (Erickson, 1/18)

The state Department of Public Health issued an “immediate jeopardy” order to a Newtown nursing home owned by Athena Health Care Systems, indicating that the state found conditions at the facility that could cause serious harm or death. (Altimari and Carlesso, 1/19)

Laguna Honda, San Francisco’s beleaguered public nursing home, is asking federal regulators to extend their moratorium on mandated transfers of the hospital’s frail patient population, which is currently due to lift on Feb. 2. (Asimov, 1/18)

The DeSantis administration is requesting a trove of information on individuals who receive gender-affirming treatments at Florida universities, furthering its practice of questioning or scaling back treatment for transgender people. In a blanket request to 12 state universities, top officials with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis are seeking data on the number of individuals who have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria or received treatment in campus clinics across Florida. It’s unclear what exactly DeSantis intends to do with the information, but his administration says it involves “governing institutional resources and protecting the public interest.” (Atterbury, 1/18)

Picking up where they left off last year, Republican lawmakers in Utah are starting their 2023 legislative session with bills targeting transgender youth. Senate Bill 16, sponsored by Sen. Mike Kennedy, R-Alpine, seeks to completely ban surgeries on minors that are part of an effort to help them present publicly as a gender different from what they were assigned at birth. The bill also blocks medical professionals from prescribing hormone treatments, such as puberty blockers, beginning in May 2023. (Schott, 1/19)

Hardline conservative lawmakers want Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to review school board guidance on transgender students saying it “is dangerous.” The Texas Freedom Caucus’ request foreshadows how Republicans are expected to target LGBTQ issues during this legislative session. (Richman, 1/18)

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced free state-paid health care for thousands of undocumented immigrant children, as Democratic leaders elsewhere in the US say they’re overwhelmed with busloads of border crossers sent North. (Young, 1/18)

A team of researchers from Nevada and Utah this week reported the detection of Candida auris in samples from a wastewater treatment plant. ... The authors say the findings highlight the potential utility of community-level wastewater surveillance for C auris, which spreads easily in healthcare settings and can cause severe and deadly infections in patients who have compromised immune systems. (Dall, 1/18)

Roughly 35,000 people signed up for a Colorado Option health insurance plan in the program’s first year, Gov. Jared Polis announced Tuesday during his State of the State speech. The figure includes approximately 25,000 people who signed up for a Colorado Option plan through the state’s Connect for Health Colorado shopping exchange. Another 10,000 people signed up through OmniSalud, a new program offering state-subsidized insurance plans to people who lack immigration documentation and are, thus, not eligible for federal subsidies available on the main Connect for Health portal. (Ingold, 1/19)

Dr. Donald Warne likes to say he doesn't incorporate traditional healing into his modern practice. He incorporates modern medicine into his traditional healing practice. To him, traditional medicine is more holistic. Warne, a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe in South Dakota, comes from a long line of traditional healers. (Nebbe and Gehr, 1/18)

Health care providers have traditionally written prescriptions for medications, for exercise, for therapy, even for relaxation for their patients. So to combat obesity and poor nutrition, why not give patients a prescription to help them eat better? (Crumpler, 1/19)