State News

Health care spending for Minnesota businesses and their workers jumped 9.6% last year - nearly triple the national growth rate. According to the Star Tribune, Minnesota was an early user of strategies such as moving workers to high-deductible health plans and enticing them to pick cheaper generic prescription drugs. The Minnesota Health Action Group reported the results of it's annual survey of employers regarding workplace benefits. The survey showed that for the first time, the number of businesses offering high-deductible plans exceeded those offering classic preferred provider plans and that cost-sharing by workers increased by 3 percentage points from last year. 

Missouri and Kansas have joined 41 other states and Puerto Rico in a lawsuit accusing generic drug makers of conspiring to manipulate and drive up prices for more than 100 generic drugs, reports KCUR. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Connecticut, alleges that generic drug giant Teva Pharmaceuticals significantly raised prices on more than 100 generic drugs beginning in July 2013 and colluded with competing companies to carve up markets and raise prices on at least 86 of those drugs. Missouri’s Attorney General called the alleged conspiracy “one of the most damaging and far-reaching price fixing schemes in modern history, with certain companies inflating prices by nearly 1,000%.”

Missouri and Kansas have joined 41 other states and Puerto Rico in a lawsuit accusing generic drug makers of conspiring to manipulate and drive up prices for more than 100 generic drugs, reports KCUR. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Connecticut, alleges that generic drug giant Teva Pharmaceuticals significantly raised prices on more than 100 generic drugs beginning in July 2013 and colluded with competing companies to carve up markets and raise prices on at least 86 of those drugs. Missouri’s Attorney General called the alleged conspiracy “one of the most damaging and far-reaching price fixing schemes in modern history, with certain companies inflating prices by nearly 1,000%.”

Maryland’s Governor is expected to sign the Maryland Easy Enrollment Health Insurance Program (MEEHP), which will use income tax filing as an immediate onramp to health coverage. An uninsured tax filer will be able to check a box on their state income tax return asking the Maryland health insurance exchange to determine their eligibility for free or low-cost insurance and have relevant information from their tax return sent to the exchange, according to Health Affairs. It is expected that this new enrollment system will go into effect in January 2020, when returns are filed for tax year 2019, but implementation may be delayed to January 2021 if the state tax agency finds the original timeline infeasible. 

Montefiore Health Systems worked with a startup, Valera Health, using a HIPAA-compliant app to better engage patients and give them more context about their care. According to MedCity News, Montefiore began working with Valera Health after receiving a grant from the CMS Innovation Center to develop a financially sustainable way to integrate behavioral care and primary care. Montefiore began using the Valera app during a pilot study that began in July 2016, which found that patients using the app missed fewer appointments, connected more frequently with their care teams than with phone calls, and experienced significant improvement in depression and anxiety scores, as well as remission rates. 

Six Minnesota diabetes activists traveled to Canada to purchase $1,265 worth of insulin that would have cost them $12,400 in the U.S. According to the Star Tribune, insulin prices in the U.S. doubled between 2012 and 2016, with cases of insulin rationing becoming more common. The high price of insulin reflects many factors, including patent protections that keep competitors out of the market. 

A new Washington law will direct money to tribal healthcare systems and create a council focused on improving health outcomes for members of Washington’s 29 tribes, reports The Seattle Times. The program will dedicate $3-$5 million in the first year (and potentially more in subsequent years) to implement an Indian Health Improvement Advisory Plan, designed by the Governor’s Indian Health Advisory Council. The council, also established by the law, will include a representative from every tribe in the state, CEOs of the state’s two Urban Indian Health Boards, legislators from both parties and a representative from the governor’s office.

Montana’s Governor has signed a package of healthcare bills, including the reauthorization of Medicaid expansion and a program to lower insurance premiums on the individual market.  Other legislation was aimed at lowering prescription drug prices and increasing access to medical, mental health and substance use treatment in rural and American Indian communities, according to the Governor’s Office. Other legislation would protect federally qualified health centers from discrimination in prescription drug pricing, hold accountable pharmacy benefit managers by applying protections to their billing practices and preventing surprise fees, and prohibit pharmacy benefit managers from requiring pharmacies to charge consumers more in copayments than it costs to make a drug. 

In partnership with the Northeast Business Group on Health and their hospital rating site ExpectNY, Yelp recently announced that they will begin displaying maternity care measures on more than 50 hospital pages across New York City and Long Island where babies are delivered. According to AboutHealthTransparency.org, Yelp will display C-section Rates (NTSV), Breastfeeding Rates, Episiotomy Rates, and Vaginal Birth After C-section (VBAC) Rates on the Yelp pages for hospitals in these two cities that provide maternity care.