Jul, 13, 2021

State Health Updates

  • Maryland – Governor Larry Hogan announced a $72 million maternal and child health care transformation initiative aimed at improving related health disparities for Marylanders statewide. To support care transformation, Maryland’s Health Services Cost Review Commission (HSCRC) will provide $10 million in annual funding beginning July 1 for the next four years. MDH’s Public Health Services will receive $2 million annually. Maryland Medicaid will receive $8 million annually and also will be eligible to receive matching federal funds each year, bringing a combined total of $72 million to the initiative. HSCRC has designated funds for both new statewide programs and expansion of existing health care services, all of which may be sustained even after funding expires in 2025. 
  • Montana – The Department of Public Health and Human Services announced that the agency is seeking public comment on its federal application to expand mental health and substance use treatment services through the Healing and Ending Addiction through Recovery and Treatment (HEART) Initiative. The HEART Initiative is intended to address the state’s drug epidemic that is devastating communities by expanding access to mental health and substance use disorder treatment across the full spectrum of care.
  • New Hampshire – The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services announced the release of the Council on Housing Stability’s three-year Strategic Plan, which provides a roadmap to coordinate action and deploy resources to meet the housing needs of New Hampshire residents. Led by DHHS in partnership with the New Hampshire Department of Business and Economic Affairs and the Community Development Finance Authority, the plan seeks to increase housing availability by 13,500 units by 2024 to ensure that homelessness in New Hampshire is rare, brief and one-time whenever possible.
  • New York – The New York State Department of Health issued a guidance document regarding the Medicaid program’s continued coverage of telehealth services for the duration of the federal PHE. The guidance is designed to maintain the ability of Medicaid providers to use telemedicine and digital health to deliver health services for the remainder of the federal PHE and will remain in effect until the federal PHE expires or the Department of Health issues permanent Medicaid telehealth rules. 
  • North Dakota
    • The North Dakota Department of Human Services announced it selected Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota (BCBSND) to provide Medicaid Expansion managed care services across the state. The contract begins January 1, 2022 and is a four-year contract with optional extensions.
    • The North Dakota Department of Health is encouraging businesses to support workplaces earning their Infant Friendly Workplace designation. The Infant Friendly Workplace designation is awarded to employers who adopt breastfeeding support policies. These policies should include guidelines for adequate break times; a clean, private location for milk expression; and available resources for clean water and breast milk storage.
  • Oklahoma – The Oklahoma Health Care Authority is providing additional dental benefits to all adult SoonerCare members. The adult limited dental benefit will add the following benefits in addition to the current medically necessary extraction benefit: preventive care including cleanings, fluoride, and periodontal scaling; exams; x-rays; restorative care (fillings); and partial and full dentures.
  • Ohio – Governor Mike DeWine announced on July 8 that more than two dozen local drug task forces in Ohio will receive RecoveryOhio grant funding to support efforts that disrupt the drug trade and promote substance use awareness, prevention, and recovery. A total of $2 million in grants from Governor DeWine’s RecoveryOhio Law Enforcement Fund will be awarded among 27 existing drug task forces to intensify their efforts to identify high-level drug traffickers, dismantle large drug trafficking organizations, interrupt the flow of money and drugs from international cartels, and prevent the sale of illegal narcotics to those suffering from substance use disorder.
  • Washington – The Washington Health Care Authority surveyed roughly 65,000 Washington middle and high school students to ask them about COVID-19. Early results show many students reported feeling sad or depressed most days during the pandemic. But the majority of students in each grade also reported a high degree of resilience, saying they were optimistic about the future. The results of the survey offer important information to schools planning for how to best support students as they return to full-time in-person learning this fall. The survey covered a range of topics, including pandemic worries and behaviors, mental health and well-being, physical activity, and substance use.
  • Wisconsin – The Wisconsin Department of Health Services released maps and corresponding downloadable data tables that break down COVID-19 vaccinations by new geographic boundaries. The new maps allow Wisconsinites to view existing COVID-19 vaccination data by municipalities (cities, towns, and villages), zip code tabulation areas, school district boundaries, and census tracts. DHS also recently released an additional filter option for the COVID-19 Vaccines for Wisconsin Residents dashboard. Users can now select to view vaccination data for just the adult population ages 18 and older.