TheRepublic.com - Health issues News

Mass. proposes fees for medical marijuana program

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:02:40 -0400

BOSTON - Medical marijuana dispensaries in Massachusetts would be required to pay a yearly registration fee of $50,000 and most patients would pay $50 annually to the state to remain in the program under a fee structure proposed Friday by state health officials.

9th Circuit panel rules 2011 raids constitutional

Fri, 24 May 2013 15:02:31 -0400

HELENA, Montana - A panel of appellate judges has upheld as constitutional the 2011 federal raids on Montana medical marijuana businesses, warehouses and homes that pot providers claimed violated their right to operate under state law.

LePage signs Maine organ donation checkoff bill

Fri, 24 May 2013 13:21:16 -0400

AUGUSTA, Maine - A bill to bolster awareness of organ donations has been signed into law by Maine Gov. Paul LePage.

Police bust S. Ore. medical marijuana dispensaries

Fri, 24 May 2013 13:05:07 -0400

MEDFORD, Oregon - Police have arrested four people in raids on medical marijuana dispensaries in Southern Oregon.

Some unions now angry about health care overhaul

Fri, 24 May 2013 12:44:17 -0400

WASHINGTON - Some labor unions that enthusiastically backed President Barack Obama's health care overhaul are now frustrated and angry, fearful that it will jeopardize benefits for millions of their members.

Kenya's mental hospital drugs, confines patients

Fri, 24 May 2013 11:31:42 -0400

NAIROBI, Kenya - Patients at Kenya's only psychiatric hospital are often confined and immobilized using drugs that put them in a comatose-like state, factors that may have led to the recent escape of 40 male patients, an advocacy group said Friday.

Health reform plans, pricing released in Calif.

Thu, 23 May 2013 19:46:20 -0400

SACRAMENTO, California - Californians are finally getting to see what "Obamacare" means for them.

Hobby Lobby tests birth-control coverage mandate

Thu, 23 May 2013 19:23:14 -0400

DENVER - In the most prominent challenge of its kind, Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. asked a federal appeals court Thursday for an exemption from part of the federal health care law that requires it to offer employees health coverage that includes access to the morning-after pill.

Family hopes billboard helps find kidney donor

Thu, 23 May 2013 19:22:06 -0400

HARTLAND TOWNSHIP, Michigan - A Michigan family hopes an electronic billboard along Interstate 75 will help find a kidney donor.

Medical marijuana issue clears Ohio ballot board

Thu, 23 May 2013 18:59:03 -0400

COLUMBUS, Ohio - A proposed constitutional amendment legalizing medical marijuana and certain uses of hemp has cleared Ohio's ballot board.

Ill. Senate approves health-coverage exchange plan

Thu, 23 May 2013 18:55:36 -0400

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois - The Illinois Senate agreed Thursday to create a state-governed "health insurance exchange" where individuals and small businesses could shop for coverage as required by President Barack Obama's health law.

NH Senate passes bill legalizing medical marijuana

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:04:43 -0400

CONCORD, New Hampshire - New Hampshire soon could join 18 other states and the District of Columbia in allowing seriously ill people to use marijuana in their medical treatment.

Medical marijuana bill clears Senate Finance panel

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:37:07 -0400

CARSON CITY, Nevada - A bill authorizing medical marijuana dispensaries in Nevada cleared a key Senate committee Thursday, more than a decade after voters legalized medical marijuana.

Vote on pot shops could end lingering LA issue

Wed, 22 May 2013 19:40:15 -0400

LOS ANGELES - Voters approved a law limiting the number of medical pot shops in Los Angeles after politicians failed for years to corral the blossoming industry.

After steady heckling, Perry meets with protesters

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:56:16 -0400

AUSTIN, Texas - Hecklers demanding that Texas expand the Medicaid program under the White House-backed health care law repeatedly interrupted a speech by Gov. Rick Perry on Wednesday, then descended on his office for a meeting to keep pressing their case.

Ky. needs more doctors ahead of Medicaid expansion

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:16:51 -0400

FRANKFORT, Kentucky - The planned expansion of Kentucky's Medicaid program coupled with a push to help the uninsured obtain health coverage could exacerbate the state's shortage of physicians, according to a report released Wednesday.

Beaumont votes to ban medical marijuana shops

Wed, 22 May 2013 10:02:05 -0400

BEAUMONT, California - A Riverside County city has become the latest to try banning medical marijuana dispensaries in the wake of a state Supreme Court ruling permitting prohibition.

Legislation targets new Planned Parenthood clinic

Tue, 21 May 2013 21:17:19 -0400

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana - Lawmakers are looking for ways to create roadblocks for Planned Parenthood's construction of a new facility in New Orleans that would provide abortions in addition to other health care services for women.

Feds take over Calif. high-risk insurance program

Tue, 21 May 2013 20:10:13 -0400

SACRAMENTO, California - About 17,000 Californians with serious medical problems will be moved from a state-run stopgap health insurance program to a federal plan starting in July, ensuring they will have no break in medical coverage until the national health care reforms kick in next year, state officials announced this week.

House overwhelmingly refuses to expand Medicaid

Tue, 21 May 2013 19:43:59 -0400

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana - The Louisiana House overwhelmingly refused Tuesday to provide government-subsidized health insurance to thousands of people with the Medicaid dollars available under the federal Affordable Care Act, in a vote that appears to shelve the issue for the legislative session.

Driver who uses medical marijuana wins appeal

Tue, 21 May 2013 19:20:52 -0400

LANSING, Michigan - The Michigan Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that medical marijuana users aren't automatically breaking the law if they're caught driving after using the drug.

Oberweis defends his vote for medical marijuana

Tue, 21 May 2013 04:09:16 -0400

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois - Illinois state Sen. Jim Oberweis says he broke ranks with most fellow Republicans and voted to legalize medical marijuana because it might help people in pain.

Senate OKs regulations for medicinal marijuana

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:51:46 -0400

SACRAMENTO, California - California would take steps to regulate the sale of medical marijuana under a bill approved Monday by the state Senate, restricting cannabis dispensaries that federal prosecutors say have grown out of control.

Illinois governor reviewing medical marijuana bill

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:17:38 -0400

CHICAGO - Gov. Pat Quinn says he's reviewing a bill that would legalize the medical use of marijuana.

Illinois Senate approves medical marijuana bill

Fri, 17 May 2013 19:34:10 -0400

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois - Illinois lawmakers agreed to legalize the use of medical marijuana on Friday under a plan that's being billed as the strictest in the nation among states that have authorized the drug's medicinal use, though it was unclear whether the Democratic governor plans to sign it.