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California Opens Electronic Prescription Drug Monitoring Program

On September 15, California Attorney General Edmund Brown, Jr., announced that the state is launching a Web-based database for doctors, pharmacists, and law enforcement officials to track prescriptions for schedule II, III, and IV drugs for suspicious and illegal behavior. The new site, funded through state funds and a $1.1 million Federal grant, replaces a paper-based system with the Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System, containing more than 100 million entries of controlled substance prescriptions.

North Carolina’s Governor Announces Federal Grant To Fund Health Care Access Pilot

On September 14, Governor Beverly Perdue’s (D) office announced that North Carolina will receive a $17 million 5-year State Health Access grant from HHS to support a new pilot program to provide health care to 1,500 low-income working parents with family incomes at or below 125 percent of the Federal poverty level. North Carolina is 1 of 13 states to receive a State Health Access grant.

State Legislators Say Michigan Likely To Forfeit Additional SCHIP Funds

Facing a $2.8 billion deficit for the fiscal year beginning October 1, state legislators say the Michigan Legislature is unlikely to allocate the $33 million needed to draw down $100 million in supplemental Federal State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) funding approved when President Obama reauthorized SCHIP in February (Financing News Pulse, February 6 edition).

Washington Begins Eligibility Audit for Employee Health Care Plan

Following the recommendation of the State Auditor’s Office, the Washington Health Care Authority sent letters to 330,000 individuals currently enrolled in the state’s public employee health benefits program requiring them to prove eligibility by November 30 or lose coverage. The move is designed to eliminate ineligible dependents from the state’s program.

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