State News

The Nevada Governor announced the appointment of 11 members and an executive director to the Patient Protection Commission (PPC), reports The Official State of Nevada Website. The PPC, which was created by Senate Bill 544 and signed into law this past legislative session, will take a comprehensive look at the state of health care in Nevada and identify areas for improvement to ensure every Nevadan has access to affordable and quality health care. Under the direction of the Chair and Executive Director, the PPC will begin meeting in early 2020.

The South Carolina Medical Association (SCMA) has approved resolutions to support three reforms that they believe would expand the quantity and quality of healthcare in the state, according to the Heartland Institute. The reforms include working to repeal the state's Certificate of Need (CON) laws, develop ways to exempt physicians from having to sign "no compete" stipulations as a condition of employment, and amend the state's tax code to allow a limited tax deduction for doctors who work with charities to provide free care to patients. 

A partnership between Brown University, the Rhode Island Department of Health and the federally funded Advance Clinical and Translational Research (Advance-CTR) now have access to the state’s all-payer claims database (APCD).. The primary goals of the APCD partnership is to use big data to benefit residents of Rhode Island, and the nation, by figuring out how to minimize waste, improve healthcare and train the next generation of healthcare scholars to be proficient in a data-driven world — all while properly safeguarding patients’ personal information.

The New Mexico Human Services Department (NMHSD) funded a report called The Uninsured in New Mexico released by the Urban Institute that finds 187,000 New Mexicans (10.5 percent) under age 65 are uninsured. Over half of the uninsured are already eligible for coverage options available, such as Medicaid or an Exchange plan. The administration is coordinating with the health insurance exchange, beWellNM, and developing targeted outreach and enrollment efforts to reach those New Mexicans and get them covered. For those that remain uninsured or underinsured, the administration is developing options that will help more hardworking New Mexicans get health insurance that works for their family’s budget.

This year, Nevada Health Link, a website that helps people without health insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid find coverage, will now be primarily operated by a state agency instead of the federal government, reports KRNV. Because of issues early on with the Nevada Health Link website, they had to completely rely on healthcare.gov. However, the federal government started charging states to use healthcare.gov and eventually, the charges would have outweighed Nevada's budget. The shift may help cut costs for those already covered and significantly expand coverage to those who have never had health insurance before. As the only health insurance resource that provides subsidized insurance, Nevada Health Link could help more than 77,000 people receive affordable healthcare for the first time ever.

Vermont is projected to exceed its target for healthcare spending growth in 2020, indicating that the state’s reform efforts may not be working as planned, reports the VTDigger. The state has projected 4.3% growth in Vermont’s total healthcare costs next year, exceeding the 3.5% benchmark. Green Mountain Care Board officials report that higher than expected costs in the Medicare program are partly to blame. Nevertheless, further growth could trigger “corrective action” from the federal government.

Starting in early 2020, Idaho will launch a new value-based payment model that will compensate federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and other providers based on how much they improve the cost and quality of care delivered to Medicaid enrollees, reports NASHP. Idaho Medicaid plans to sign contracts to implement the model in January, with implementation beginning July 1, 2020. Both FQHCs and other types of providers have expressed interest in participating in this value-based model.

In 2018, Texas had about 54 primary care physicians per 100,000 people—one of the lowest ratios in the country, far below the national ratio of 76 per 100,000. More than a quarter of Texans live in an underserved county, according to the Texas Observer. As a result, Texans often have to travel for hours to get care, which ultimately leads to poorer outcomes and higher mortality. 

Residents of Mississippi spent nearly 17 percent of their annual wages on health insurance in 2018—the highest in the nation, according to a report from the Commonwealth Fund. Spending on premiums and deductibles outpaced wage growth in every state, with the average spending for a single person’s coverage reaching $749, states the Clarion Ledger. Mississippi’s median family income is among the lowest in the country and the percent of income residents contribute to insurance costs grew by nearly 6 percentage points since 2008. Moreover, Mississippians pay a larger share of the premium for their employer-sponsored coverage.