State News

A new report finds the ConnectorCare pilot expansion enabled access to lower-cost health
insurance to over 51,000 Massachusetts residents and many new participants benefit from the
program’s financial protections, according to the Massachusetts Health Connector. The pilot
expansion is available to residents for calendar years 2024 and 2025 and lifted income eligibility
limits to the program from 300 percent to 500 percent of the federal poverty level. The report
details an increase in member cost savings and member utilization of their coverage.

Connecticut is expanding a program that subsidizes health care costs for paraeducators, reports
WSHU. The program was signed into law last year and initially funded with $5 million as part of
the 2023-2024 budget. With an additional $10 million allocated, the program aims to support
more educators, addressing the financial burden of health care costs and helping to mitigate the
state's paraeducator shortage. This expansion is part of broader efforts to attract and retain
essential educational staff.

An Oregon policy capping maximum hospital payments appeared to reduce patients’ out-of-
pocket spending, though its state health plan’s savings were fettered by a resulting increase in
utilization, reports Fierce Healthcare. Starting in October 2019, a state law applying to 24 of
Oregon’s largest hospitals and members of the Oregon State Employee plan began restricting
in-network hospital prices to 200 percent of Medicare and out-of-network prices at 185 percent.
Researchers found that plan members’ average out-of-pocket spending per outpatient
procedure dropped by 9.5 percent compared to control during the 27-month post-
implementation study period, and a 4.8 percent increase in outpatient procedures per enrollee
per year. the researchers estimated $1.8 million in out-of-pocket savings for the plan members
associated with 27 months of the price cap policy (or about $800,000 annually). The increase in
utilization led to lost plan savings of $10.3 million over 27 months ($4.6 million annually)—
though, even with the service use increases, the price cap generated tens of millions in annual
plan savings.

A study finds that Hispanic or Latinx, Black, American Indian, and Alaska Native residents, had
on average less access to screening services and died earlier from colorectal cancer compared
to white residents in Washington State, reports WSU Insider. The study looked at more than
7,000 residents who died of colorectal cancer between 2011 and 2018. More than twice as
many white residents lived within 6.2 miles of screening services compared to non-white
patients, and distance impacted the groups differently – while White residents died an average
of 1.6 years earlier if they lived far from services, non-white residents died 6.9 years earlier on
average if they lived far from services. These disparities compound to produce an eight-year life
expectancy gap between non-white residents who lived far from screening services and white
residents who lived closer.

A health system performance scorecard shows consistent health disparities for Native
Americans in Washington State compared to white residents, reports Oregon Public
Broadcasting. The report from The Commonwealth Fund found that American Indian/Alaska
Native people experienced the lowest health system performance in the state. A separate
regional dataset shows higher rates of death before 75 from preventable and treatable causes,
and higher rates of death from diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and opioid-related issues.
Nearly 20 percent of Native Americans and Alaska Natives in Washington lack supplemental
insurance beyond the Indian Health Service, which is chronically underfunded.

New Jersey will forgive $100 million in medical debt for nearly 50,000 residents, reports
Healthcare Dive. This initiative will erase debts owed to Prime Healthcare hospitals and other
providers, alleviating financial strain on low-income residents. The state will erase debt from
nearly 18,000 New Jersey residents with outstanding medical bills from Prime Healthcare
hospitals, and another 32,000 New Jerseyans with debt owed to other providers through the
secondary debt market, largely collections agencies. Patients who qualify have incomes up to
four times the federal poverty level or have medical debts that equal 5 percent or more of their
annual income.

A recent poll by the Missouri Foundation for Health highlights widespread concern among
Missourians about health care costs, access, and substance abuse issues reports KRCU.
Sheldon Weisgrau, MFH vice president for health policy and advocacy, said the poll
underscores the critical importance of addressing health care affordability and highlights the
importance of encouraging elected officials to prioritize these concerns in policy decisions,
especially during this election year.

New Jersey will forgive $100 million in medical debt for nearly 50,000 residents, reports
Healthcare Dive. This initiative will erase debts owed to Prime Healthcare hospitals and other
providers, alleviating financial strain on low-income residents. The state will erase debt from
nearly 18,000 New Jersey residents with outstanding medical bills from Prime Healthcare
hospitals, and another 32,000 New Jerseyans with debt owed to other providers through the
secondary debt market, largely collections agencies. Patients who qualify have incomes up to
four times the federal poverty level or have medical debts that equal 5 percent or more of their
annual income.

Oklahoma's health care workforce has grown, but significant disparities in access to care persist
for minority communities, reports The Oklahoman. The Oklahoma State Department of Health
reported maternal mortality rates were almost twice as high for non-Hispanic Black women and
non-Hispanic Native American women in the state than white women, at 49.4 and 44.4
compared to 23.2 per 100,000 births, respectively. Efforts to address these disparities are
ongoing, with community leaders emphasizing the need for targeted health care improvements
in underserved areas.