State News

Six of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties are now classified as “maternal health deserts,” which presents concerns about maternal mortality rates for Black women, reports the Pennsylvania Capital-Star. These insights come from a March of Dimes, Nowhere to Go: Maternity Care Deserts Across the U.S. 2022 Report, which found that six counties had no hospitals providing obstetric care, no birth centers, no OB/GYN and no certified nurse midwives, affecting more than 105,000 women age 18-44. Notably, the state’s overall maternal mortality rate is 82 deaths per 100,000 live births, but the rate for Black residents is 163 deaths per 100,000 live births.

Advocates estimate that New York state could be overpaying by $1 billion for healthcare amid an increasing disparity in hospital costs, depending on where a person receives treatment, reports Spectrum News 1. As a result, some state lawmakers are working to find out just how much the state may be overpaying, due to the wildly fluctuating costs between hospitals and insurance plans. Specifically, lawmakers are asking for data to evaluate the cost of 1.2 million state workers enrolled in the New York State Health Insurance Program. The lawmakers addressed the Civil Service Department, trying to determine which hospital systems are overcharging for standard procedures.

People of color shoulder most of the medical debt throughout Knoxville, Tennessee, explains Kaiser Health News. Systemic racism and a history of segregation in areas such as East Knoxville have manifested in significantly worse health outcomes and higher rates of medical debt in communities of color; for example, more than 30 percent of the residents in the communities surveyed have a medical bill on their credit record, compared to fewer than 10 percent in white suburbs. Many of the gains in health insurance coverage due to the Affordable Care Act have remained out of reach in Knoxville.

The Pennsylvania legislature has passed a law intended to simplify how healthcare providers work with insurers, according to WSKG. The law bars prior authorization for most emergency department services. Insurers must state what they will authorize, and when insurers deny something, they must give written notice which patients can then appeal.

Montana’s reference-based pricing in their public employee health plan, which effectively set prices for all services across the state, has saved the state millions since implementation six years prior. Notwithstanding  its success, Montana legislators have announced that they are shifting to a new strategy, reports Stat News. The new model will allow private insurers to administer the public employee health plan beginning next year. Opponents of the strategy allege that the contract was awarded through an illegal bidding process and that it could cause healthcare costs to rise for Montanans.

Across North Carolina, an estimated 4 million residents don’t have access to reliable broadband service, reports NC Health News, which hinders their ability to access telemedicine. This issue particularly affects rural residents, many of whom live in communities that tend to suffer most from a low supply of health professionals. Although telehealth is often promoted as the solution to increasing access to healthcare, rural residents of North Carolina without reliable internet are often left behind, stymying attempts to improve access, equity and outcomes. In addition, Census data shows that roughly a quarter of people in Western North Carolina’s rural counties are 65 or older–one of the main goals of the state’s Office of Rural Health is to ensure digital literacy and internet connectivity for this population.

Leaders in Illinois are working to eliminate racial healthcare disparities through a new program and cultural bias training, reports the State Journal-Register. The Illinois Department of Public Health has awarded grants totaling $3.7 million to organizations working to address health inequities, many of which were brough to the forefront by the COVID-19 pandemic. Beyond improving access to vaccines, some hospitals have adopted cultural bias training and equity, diversity and inclusion teams to help individuals better navigate the healthcare environment and work to reverse disparities. Hospitals and community groups within the state acknowledge that cultural and language barriers must be addressed to better serve their patients and ensure equitable access to care, and hope that these efforts will be led by those involved in their communities.

Nearly four in five Connecticut residents are concerned about healthcare affordability, reports the Connecticut Mirror. In addition to this statistic, the survey also demonstrated that, among those surveyed, the issue of affordability extends across the political aisle—68 percent of Republicans, 75 percent of Democrats and 67 percent of residents who identified as neither party agreed the healthcare system needed change.

The average health insurance premium for small business will fall by 0.8 percent from 2022 to 2023, the first such reduction since 2001, according to Health Affairs Forefront. The state has taken several steps to reduce costs, including a 1332 State Innovation Waiver to merge the individual and small group market and extend reinsurance to small businesses purchasing through the merged market.