State News

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota announced that they will cover insulin costs next year with $0 co-pay, according to Alpha News MN. The insurance company's CEO cited the skyrocketing costs of insulin as a reason for the measure, which have risen by over 300 percent, noting that their first responsibility is to improve the health and financial stability of their members. Previously, Minnesota Medical Insurer Medica and UCare announced that they will cap insulin costs at $25 a month. 

The Nevada Department of Health and Human Services is threatening to levy roughly $20 million in fines on more than two dozen drug manufacturers that have yet to submit cost and profit reports to the state as required by a law aimed at better understanding the rising costs of treating diabetes, reports The Nevada Independent. Under the 2017 diabetes drug transparency law, the annual reports are required to include production costs, administrative expenditures, profits, financial assistance, coupons, and other information in an effort to better understand why the disease is so costly to treat. Manufacturers are also required to provide to the state additional information for drugs determined to have experienced a significant price increase, including a list of each factor that contributed to the increase and the percentage of the total increase attributable to each factor.

A recent report by the University of Minnesota's State Health Access Data Assistance Center (SHADAC) found that more Iowans who get their insurance through their employer are on high deductible plans, reports Iowa Public Radio. The annual report studies trends in employer-sponsored insurance. It found the number of Iowans on a high-deductible plan jumped significantly from 50 percent in 2017 to 57 percent last year. The majority of Iowans – nearly 60 percent – get their insurance through employers. 

During the 2019 legislative session, New Mexico enacted SB337, which takes effect in January 2020 and will protect New Mexico residents (who have state-regulated health plans) from surprise balance billing, reports Healthinsurance.org. Under the state’s new law, patients cannot be charged more than their regular in-network cost-sharing obligations (copays, deductible, coinsurance, up to the maximum out-of-pocket level for their plan) if they receive emergency care at an out-of-network facility or receive non-emergency care from an out-of-network provider at an in-network facility, as long as the patient either had “no ability or opportunity” to receive the care from an in-network provider instead. This includes situations in which there is no in-network provider available.

The Governor of Wisconsin, through an executive order, created a task force focused on reducing prescription drug prices in Wisconsin, according to WEAU News. The Governor's Task Force on Reducing Prescription Drug Prices is charged with gathering and analyzing data on development, pricing, distribution and purchasing of prescription drugs, analyzing other states' strategies in reducing prescription drug prices and identifying opportunities to work with other states and the federal government. The Task force is also charges with making recommendations for reducing prescription drug prices in Wisconsin. 

More than 110 rural hospitals have closed nationwide since 2010, with profound consequences for the communities they served, according to Kaiser Health News. In Fort Scott, Kansas, ambulances responded to more than 80 calls for service and drove more than 1,300 miles for patients to get care in other communities during an 18-day period when the local emergency department was closed. In addition to delaying treatment for patients needing emergency care, the travel time prevented the crews from serving local needs and caused emergency vehicles to wear out faster. Increased reliance on air ambulances also causes problems for rural communities–though they can transport patients quickly, the dispatch system is not coordinated in many states and regions across the country. Moreover, many air ambulance companies do not participate in insurance networks, which can cost patients dearly.

Seattle’s City Council adopted the Sweetened Beverage Tax in June 2017 to improve the health of the city’s residents, and address persistent health and education inequities, reports The Seattle Times. Evidence to-date shows the tax is funding programs that increase healthy food access, support child health and aid in early learning. However, its impact on reducing sales of sugary beverages is currently unknown. Nevertheless, evaluations of similar taxes imposed in Berkeley and Philadelphia revealed that sales of taxed beverages dropped substantially — by 9.6% and 38%, respectively. 

Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center has filed more than 1,100 lawsuits for unpaid bills in a rural corner of Southeast Missouri, where emergency medical care has become a standoff between hospitals and patients, according to The Washington Post. Three nearby hospitals closed for financial reasons in the past few years, leaving Poplar Bluff Regional as the last full-service hospital to care for five rural counties, treating more than 50,000 patients each year. As a result, the hospitals’ uncompensated care costs have risen from about $60 million to $84 million. Community residents are similarly at-risk of financial ruin. Over 35 percent have unpaid medical debt on their credit report, about double the national rate. The resulting lawsuits have become so routine that some people derisively refer to it as the “follow-up appointment.” 

California is facing a growing shortage of primary care physicians, according to Cal Matters. By 2030, the state could be short as many as 10,000 primary care professionals, including nurse practitioners and physician assistants. Some areas—the Central Valley, Central Coast and Southern Border region—will be hit especially hard. So too will be remote rural and inner-city residents, communities of color, the elderly, people with mental illness or addiction and those without health coverage. This could result in longer wait times and travel distances for doctor visits, as well as a reduction in preventative care and care for chronic conditions.