State News

The New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance published a report of a study focused on New Jersey’s provision of additional financial relief for consumers through state‐sponsored premium subsidies that are in addition to the premium and cost‐sharing subsidies currently provided under the Affordable Care Act. The study found that, overall, introducing state-sponsored premium subsidies will make health insurance coverage purchased through Get Covered New Jersey more affordable for those eligible. Based on prior enrollment results, approximately 8 in 10 consumers purchasing coverage on Get Covered New Jersey are expected to qualify for assistance. 

A new report from the University of Alabama’s Education Policy Center found that physical access to healthcare is a luxury that Black Belt communities don’t enjoy, reports the Alabama Political Reporter. The Education Policy Center defines the Black Belt of Alabama as comprising of 24 counties. Of those, 17 have fewer than the statewide average of 3.9 hospital beds per 1,000 people, according to the report. Indeed, four of the Black Belt counties have no hospitals, with some hospitals over an hour away. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, access to healthcare for rural residents was tenuous. Researchers note that hospitals in states that chose to expand Medicaid were 84 percent less likely to close, because the increased coverage for poorer rural residents encouraged care access and boosted revenue for hospitals that care for high numbers of uninsured residents.  

The Latino Impact Plan examines inequities and barriers within the Rhode Island Latinx community across three issue areas: economic equity, health and education, with an additional emphasis on the impact of the pandemic, according to a press release from the Latino Policy Institute. The plan surfaces healthcare access and insurance coverage disparities and highlights how holistic care serves a critical role in communities. The report made several recommendations to address inequities, including healthcare coverage for all children and inclusive statewide communications and engagement. 

A new report commissioned by the California Future Health Workforce Commission assesses financial support offered to Californians training to become non-physician providers and the data collected on these efforts to help overcome barriers to meeting workforce needs across the state. Recommendations include expanding state-level opportunities for financing educational debt for primary care non-physician providers and making primary care more appealing to offset trends toward specialization.

The Washington State Health Care Authority, governor’s office, state medical association and insurance companies signed a memorandum of understanding committing to improve primary care and develop a new payment model in Washington state, according to a press release. The goals of the initiative are to: increase primary care expenditures while decreasing total health spending; align payment and incentives across payers; align quality metrics across both payers and providers; promote and incentivize integrated, whole-person and team-based primary care, physical and behavioral healthcare and preventive services; improve provider capacity and access; and work with interested public and private employers to spread and scale the model throughout the state.

Fewer infants died in South Carolina last year, but data published by the state’s Department of Health and Environmental Control shows that all improvement was observed exclusively among white babies, reports the Post and Courier. This data highlights the widening and significant racial gap between white and Black infant deaths. In 2019, Black infants born in South Carolina were nearly three times as likely as white babies to die before their first birthday. Infant mortality has long been considered an important metric in evaluating broader public health. A variety of factors contribute to these statistics, including a mother’s preexisting conditions, access to prenatal care and more.

The transition from hospital fee-for-service to a population-based revenue system in Maryland is proceeding successfully, according to a Health Affairs Blog. The state’s Medicare savings performance in 2019 was the best since hospital global budgets were implemented in 2014. COVID-19 has provided an unforeseen stress test, which the state responded to with swift collaboration and communication with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, hospitals and other stakeholders, to ensure they could fulfill the promise of guaranteed level of revenue without dramatically increasing prices for payers, employers and consumers. COVID-19 has shown the weaknesses of the fee-for-service payment model, while Maryland’s Total Cost of Care model has allowed hospitals to fare relatively well during the pandemic.

Fees levied on insurers and patients for health services provided in hospital-owned facilities in Connecticut totaled $437.2 million last year, reaching their highest level since the state began tracking the charges in 2015, according to the Harford Business Journal. The increased revenue generated from the fees was partially driven by an 11.4 percent increase in the number of patient visits subject to a facility fee, with digestive-system and cardiovascular procedures generating more fee revenue than other service categories across the state. The average facility fee was $147 for visits billed to Medicaid, $213 for visits billed to Medicare and $426 for visits billed to commercial insurers. It is not clear what portion of the facility fees commercially insured patients ended up paying, compared to their insurer.

Starting in December 2020, low-income immigrants age 65 and older in Illinois will be eligible for Medicaid-like coverage, regardless of immigration status, reports the Chicago Tribune. Initially, between 400 and 2,000 people are expected to sign up for the program, which was part of the state budget passed earlier this year. An unpublished study by Rush University Medical Center shows the 75 to 85 age group without legal immigration status should increase elevenfold in the next 10 years. Currently, undocumented older adults are being served by a patchwork of organizations that are having to make exceptions to find solutions to help patients that would otherwise go without needed services. Advocates hope this program will provide preventive care benefits and provide a safety net that is currently inaccessible to this population.