State News

The Ohio Department of Health has released a 2020-2022 State Health Improvement Plan, according to the Health Policy Institute of Ohio. Agency strategies focus on four broad categories: community conditions; health behaviors; access to care; and mental health and addiction. For example, strategies aimed at improving local access to healthcare providers focus on creating comprehensive and coordinated primary care, a culturally competent workforce in underserved communities and telehealth.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has been awarded $1.5 million to support and expand the Hope4NC program, which connects North Carolinians to mental health supports that help them cope and build resilience during times of crisis. Historically marginalized populations in the state have been hit hardest by the COVID-19 crisis; the Hope4NC program is being intentionally designed to provide essential supports and better links to care for people in these communities. The Hope4NC was repurposed at the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis from it's original state to support behavioral health needs following natural disasters. 

Georgia has passed legislation to end the practice of balance billing, according to the Cherokee Tribune & Ledger-News. The new law requires insurers to cover emergency services a patient receives whether or not the provider participates in the patient’s insurance coverage network.

Expanding Medicaid to cover adults with low incomes would build on the program’s successes and save hundreds of lives every year, according to a report from Alabama Arise. Though more than a million people – mostly children, seniors and those with disabilities – benefit from Alabama Medicaid, 340,000 uninsured and underinsured Alabamians who could gain coverage under Medicaid expansion remain. Expansion would particularly benefit the 65,000 rural Alabamians caught in the health coverage gap, as their rural hospital network is fraying from a lack of healthcare funding and had been significantly impacted by caring for uninsured or underinsured rural populations.

Understanding how prescription drug prices are set will allow both patients and states to make more informed decisions about whether prices are excessive, as well as introduce some rationality and evidence into the healthcare system, according to a new report from the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy. During the 2020 legislative session, West Virginia passed a drug transparency law requiring manufacturers to report prices, and research and development costs and justify price increases. In addition, all health plan insurers in the state are required to report the 25 most frequently prescribed prescription drugs, the percent increase in annual net spending for prescription drugs, and the percent increase in premiums that were attributable to prescription drugs. Authors note that the state could consider expanding the law to include pharmacy benefit managers and appointing a prescription drug affordability board with the power to regulate drug prices.   

Utah is implementing an insulin cost savings program that will allow every Utahn to purchase insulin at a 60 percent discount through the state Public Employee Health Plan (PEHP), according to KUTV. PEHP will purchase insulin at a higher rate, but Utahns will only have to pay the wholesale cost—about a 60 percent discount. The law also caps health insurance copays for insulin at $30 for a 30-day supply. Additionally, this law enables pharmacists to dispense a 90-day supply of insulin on an emergency basis for patients having difficulties with their prescription.

Oregon legislators have released a new framework, developed by the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, to help state agencies increase attention on equity and racial justice in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to My Oregon News. COVID has surfaced long-standing health inequities that have caused higher rates of chronic health problems within communities of color compared to white communities. The core elements of the framework include a commitment to: using inclusive communications; forming community-informed policy and partnerships; ensuring safety for communities by protecting against discrimination, racism, xenophobia, violence and hate crimes; collecting, analyzing and reporting data in a culturally- and linguistically-responsive way; and making investments in community resilience

Systems for Action hosted a webinar to present emerging evidence on the use of global budgets and multi-sector teams to align health and social service systems, increase access to needed services, control healthcare costs and create more equitable health outcomes in Vermont. This effort is part of Vermont’s Blueprint for Health initiative, which is among the most ambitious statewide health financing reforms underway in the U.S.

Around 30 percent of physician practices in Massachusetts have been considering closing down, according to a preliminary report by the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission and the Massachusetts Chapter of the American College of Physicians. Medical and procedural specialist groups were the most likely to consider closing their practice at 42 percent, while around 20 percent of primary care and behavioral health physician groups were weighing closure, Modern Healthcare reports.