Apr, 27, 2021

State Health Updates

COVID-19 Updates

  • California – Governor Gavin Newsom announced partnerships with nearly 200 faith-based organizations to expand the state’s vaccine outreach and equity efforts. The administration is leading an effort to provide at least 25,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses to pop-up clinics at these locations in the hardest-hit areas of the state, recognizing the important role places of worship have in helping to address their members’ COVID-19 vaccine concerns and providing educational resources.
  • Nebraska – The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services is hosting an online town hall with the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry for small business owners and business leaders throughout the state. DHHS leaders will provide an update on the virus, the variants discovered in Nebraska, and statewide vaccination efforts.
  • New Jersey – The Department of Human Services, in collaboration with Boggs Center on Developmental Disabilities at Rutgers University, produced a video that highlights considerations for individuals with disabilities at vaccine sites across New Jersey. The video is intended as a guide to help ensure vaccines are accessible to all New Jerseyans, including individuals with disabilities.
  • North Carolina – The Department of Health and Human Services announced the Bringing Summer Back get-out-the-vaccine campaign that will engage community organizations across the state to fully vaccinate as many people as possible by summer. The campaign will run during two weeks in May and two weeks in June, during which organizations across the state will rally together to promote vaccination.
  • North Dakota – Governor Doug Burgum announced he will lift North Dakota’s COVID-19 emergency declaration on April 30 as the state continues to shift the focus of its pandemic response efforts to increasing vaccination rates.          
  • Wisconsin – The Department of Health Services will begin using VaccineFinder to help people more easily locate available vaccine providers who are open to the public. The CDC launched the VaccineFinder tool in March to help people find COVID-19 vaccine in their area. Next month, the tool will replace the DHS map of COVID-19 vaccine providers that launched in February.

Other State Updates

  • Georgia 
    • The state’s Section 1115 demonstration waiver to extend full Medicaid state plan benefits to postpartum women with incomes up to 220 percent of the federal poverty level from 60 days to six months was approved by CMS. The state will also provide continuous eligibility for a woman during the entire postpartum period, ensuring continuity of coverage.
    • The Georgia Department of Community Health released the 2021 Medicaid Quality Report detailing state strategies to address health disparities, improve health outcomes, and ensure access to care.
  • Kansas – The Kansas Department of Health and Environment released its third annual report from the Kansas Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS). The 2019 PRAMS Surveillance Report provides insight from women who were interviewed in the months following the birth of their infants, about their health and experiences around the time of pregnancy.
  • Missouri – The state’s request to provide 12 months targeted SUD and mental health benefits to certain postpartum women was approved by CMS.
  • New Mexico – The state was selected by No Kid Hungry and the American Public Human Services Association to receive an innovative technology project grant. The project leverages data and improves technology to enhance the interfaces and webservices for SNAP and WIC. Ultimately the project will make it possible to bidirectionally exchange participant data to help streamline and maximize program enrollment.
  • Ohio – The Ohio Department of Medicaid announced Myers and Stauffer as its Pharmacy Pricing and Audit Consultant (PPAC). The PPAC will work with ODM to establish pharmacy prices and conduct fiscal oversight of the single pharmacy benefit manager (SPBM). PPAC oversight is designed to eliminate potential SPBM conflicts of interest, prevent prescription drug steerage, guard against other potential financial mechanisms that could increase cost, and obscure visibility into the operations of the program.
  • Tennessee – The state submitted an amendment to its 1115 waiver demonstration proposing to integrate services for members with intellectual or other developmental disabilities into the state’s existing managed care service delivery system. Additionally, the state is proposing to transition children receiving SSI benefits to managed care organizations and assign inmates of public institutions to TennCare Select. The federal public comment period will be open from April 15, 2021 through May 15, 2021.
  • Texas – CMS rescinded its approval of a 10-year extension of the Texas Medicaid Section 1115 waiver, after determining that CMS “materially erred in granting Texas’s request for an exemption from the normal public notice process under 42 C.F.R. § 431.416(g).”