May, 17, 2024

State Health Updates

  • Arkansas – The Arkansas Department of Human Services announced that it is launching three new pilot programs aimed at supporting early diagnosis of mental health issues and prevention of a mental health crisis among children enrolled in Medicaid. The pilots will run through March 2025. 
  • California – Governor Gavin Newsom announced the state is accelerating the distribution of funding made available by Prop 1 to construct outpatient, inpatient and residential health facilities. Governor Newsom also announced the launch of a new website, MentalHealth.ca.gov, which will serve as a one-stop source for people in need of mental health support and includes information about the state’s ongoing behavioral health transformation. 
  • Georgia – The Georgia Department of Human Services and Georgia Public Library Service are partnering to provide self-service benefits kiosks at public libraries. The kiosks provide convenient locations for the public to access Georgia Gateway, the state’s integrated eligibility system, to review, change, or renew their benefits including Medicaid and CHIP.
  • Indiana – The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration Office of Medicaid Policy and Planning published the Monthly Medicaid Financial Report webpage to provide transparency and information about Medicaid expenditure, enrollment, and funding data. The webpage includes the first monthly Medicaid Financial Report, as well as a summary that provides context for the report and analysis, and a guide to help readers understand the data fields and definitions.
  • Minnesota – The Department of Human Services released a request for proposals seeking to provide a third round of home and community-based services provider capacity grants for rural and under-resourced communities. 
  • Nebraska – The Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Medicaid and Long-Term Care issued a request for information regarding companies interested in providing Medicaid data analytics, reporting, and processing options.
  • New Jersey – New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance Acting Commissioner Justin Zimmerman announced the department will extend a previously announced special enrollment period (SEP) to make it easier for qualified individuals who are no longer eligible for NJ FamilyCare coverage to enroll with Get Covered New Jersey. The end date of the SEP will be extended from July 31, 2024, to November 30, 2024.
  • North Carolina  
    • The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) announced that people statewide will be able to receive contraceptive services at pharmacies without a prescription, including counseling and education from a pharmacist about options for contraception and other preventive services, dispensing of contraception and connection to ongoing care if needed.
    • NCDHHS hosted a webinar to discuss the new Community and Partner Engagement Initiative with community members, partners, and leaders. NCDHHS launched the initiative earlier this year, guided by a directive from Health and Human Services Secretary Kody H. Kinsley, to address ongoing health disparities and needs within North Carolina communities. 
  • Ohio – The Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM), in partnership with the state’s Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health Center of Excellence, is helping to launch and expand access to Intensive Home-Based Treatment (IHBT). ODM authorized $10 million to support IHBT, an intensive, time-limited mental health service for youth with serious emotional disabilities and their families, provided in the home, school and community where the youth lives, with the goal of safely maintaining the youth in the least restrictive, most normative environment.
  • Texas – The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) will host free community resource festivals to spotlight local mental healthcare and substance-use prevention organizations. 
  • Vermont – Vermont submitted a request to amend its section 1115 demonstration entitled, “Global Commitment to Health.” This demonstration amendment aims to expand access to care for Vermonters with mental health conditions and substance-use disorder, provide housing and other support to promote whole-person health, and advance payment and delivery reforms.