Sep, 06, 2024

State Health Updates

  • Arkansas – The Strategic Committee for Maternal Health published a report outlining recommended new policies, programs, and approaches aimed at improving health outcomes for pregnant people, new parents, and babies. Stakeholders representing organizations across the state informed the recommendations contained in the report.
  • California – Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled a new slate of accountability tools on mentalhealth.ca.gov to track progress on the implementation of Proposition 1 and other mental health and substance-use initiatives. The website now features visual thermometers that will be updated to show how many treatment slots are being built for outpatient visits, residential beds for inpatient treatment, permanent supportive housing units, and housing units for veterans. The website also features new maps that show which counties have started Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment Court, a program aimed at helping Californians with psychosis and schizophrenia.
  • Colorado – The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Treasury announced that the Colorado Division of Insurance will receive $361 million in pass-through funding for its reinsurance and Colorado Option programs under section 1332 of the Affordable Care Act. The funding is an increase from the $245 million the state received in pass-through in 2023.
  • District of Columbia – The District of Columbia is canceling nearly $42 million in medical debt for over 62,500 residents. Approximately $26 million of the total debt relief will go to 36,000 residents who make $25,000 or less per year, and 80% of the recipients live in D.C. zip codes that are majority Black or Latino/a. The initiative leverages year-end surplus funds from the fiscal year 2023 budget, of which the District appropriated $900,000 to partner with a non-profit organization for this work. SHVS has updated our expert perspective that includes an interactive map tracking state efforts to eliminate medical debt.
  • Illinois – CMS granted approval to Illinois to operate as a State-Based Marketplace on the Federal Platform (SBM-FP) for the plan year 2025 open enrollment period.
  • Massachusetts – Governor Maura Healey signed comprehensive maternal health legislation to expand physical and mental healthcare for pregnant individuals. The legislation will require MassHealth to cover doula services up to 12 months postpartum; mandates coverage for postpartum depression screenings; creates a new grant program to address mental and behavioral health or substance-use disorders for perinatal individuals; and establishes a task force to report on maternal health access and birthing safety, among other initiatives.
  • New York
  • Oregon – The Oregon Division of Financial Regulation finalized the rate decisions for 2025 health insurance for the individual and small group markets. Oregonians will see an average rate increase of 8.3% in the individual market and a 12.2% increase in the small group markets.
  • Rhode Island – The Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner announced the approved rates for health insurance premiums for 2025. The approved weighted average rate changes are 7.8% for the individual market, 12.4% for the small group market, and 11.2% for the large group market.
  • Wyoming – The Wyoming Department of Health announced improvements to the state’s 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. When individuals call or text 988 from a 307 area code number they are now sent first to a Wyoming-based center. Previously, texts were routed to national resources.