State News

There exist large disparities in telehealth usage in Massachusetts, specifically by age, internet accessibility and rurality, reports Healthcare Innovation. These revelations come from a report by the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, which found that seniors, children and people who live in rural areas were less likely to use telehealth during the pandemic. Telehealth use was also lower in communities where fewer households had home internet access. The report also found that telehealth greatly enabled access to primary, chronic disease and behavioral healthcare during the pandemic, making the uneven uptake more alarming. Furthermore, lower quality experiences with telehealth were associated with gaps in broadband infrastructure, digital affordability and in the usability of technological platforms.

Oregon voters approved Measure 111, making healthcare a right under the Oregon Constitution, reports The Lund Report. The measure enshrines every Oregonian’s right to affordable and clinically appropriate healthcare and that the state balance healthcare with other needs in the state’s budget. How this affects state residents in reality will likely be determined by the Legislature and the courts.

North Carolina small businesses are facing increasing health insurance costs that are hindering their growth, reports Spectrum News 1. These revelations come from a Small Business for America’s Future survey of 109 small business owners in North Carolina. Each of the business owners had up to 500 employees, although the majority had 10 or fewer employees. According to the survey, 72 percent of respondents reported that they don’t provide employee health insurance because it is too expensive. Furthermore, 86 percent of small business owner respondents feel strongly that healthcare affordability for small business owners is an issue that lawmakers must address. According to survey authors, the key issue for these business owners is urgency around the issue – they want quick action from lawmakers.

Rhode Island is launching a new program to automatically enroll consumers determined ineligible for Medicaid into a qualified health plan on the state’s health insurance marketplace when the Public Health Emergency ends, according to NASHP. When the Medicaid continuous coverage requirement expires with the Public Health Emergency, Rhode Island will automatically enroll those who have incomes at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level in the qualified health plans at the silver level. For residents with incomes up to 250 percent who actively select marketplace coverage, Rhode Island will ease coverage transitions by paying for two months of premiums for medical and/or dental coverage. The state hopes this will reduce unnecessary coverage gaps along with higher costs associated with churn.

The city of Toledo and Lucas County, Ohio, used $1.6 million in federal funds to forgive $200 million in medical debt for their residents, reports The Blade. The Toledo City Council and Lucas County Board of Commissioners partnered with RIP Medical Debt, a charity that buys and forgives medical debt across the country, to provide relief in the community where over 41,000 residents have medical debt. RIP Medical Debt has traditionally relied upon private donations; this is the first such time that city and county resources have been devoted to relieving medical debt through the nonprofit—providing a model for other communities.

About 20 percent of North Carolina residents have medical debt in collections, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, making it the state with the fourth-highest level of unpaid medical debt. According to data from the Urban Institute, the levels of medical debt correspond to poverty levels, with many of the most impoverished counties experiencing the highest levels of medical debt. Advocates hope that by expanding Medicaid in the state, they can reduce the incidence of debt, while others point to additional legislation targeted at shielding consumers from the worst aspects of having their debt in collections.

South Dakota voters have passed Medicaid expansion, according to NBC News. The expansion allows those earning up to 138 percent of the Federal Poverty Level to receive Medicaid benefits under the Affordable Care Act, and will allow more than 40,000 people to gain access to the program, effective July 2024.

Arizona voters approved a proposition to lower the maximum interest rates on medical debt to 3 percent, reports AZ Central. The measure also limits wage garnishment and asset seizure by debt collectors for medical debt. This is the first time a statewide ballot measure has addressed medical debt.

South Dakota was rated the most expensive state for healthcare, according to Forbes. According to the report, per person South Dakota healthcare costs averaged $11,736 per year for services, such as hospital care, and the state had the sixth highest annual insurance premiums for those with individual plans on the marketplace, along with the third highest annual deductible for employer-provided insurance among those with single coverage.