Apr, 18, 2025

State Health Updates

  • Arizona – The Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) announced that the federal comment period is now open on its demonstration to allow the state to implement Medicaid work requirements. State law requires that the agency submit the proposal (known as AHCCCS Works) to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services each year.
  • Arkansas – Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed legislation banning pharmacy benefit managers from engaging in anti-competitive practices by simultaneously owning pharmacies.
  • California 
  • Colorado – Governor Polis and Lt. Governor Primavera are urging Colorado’s federal delegation to protect critical funding for Medicaid. A letter sent to the delegation describes how cuts could take health coverage away from hundreds of thousands of Coloradans and they will push thousands of uninsured Coloradans into medical bankruptcy, increase uncompensated care to providers, close rural hospitals, and drive up premiums and costs for all Americans.
  • Indiana – Governor Mike Braun signed a package of executive orders (EOs) with health-related initiatives to “Make Indiana Healthy Again,” including an EO that aims to reduce eligibility errors in the Medicaid program. Other EOs include initiatives to address parents’ concerns with the possible negative effects of food dyes and increase food transparency; launch a study of diet-related chronic illness; increase access to direct-to-consumer food from local Indiana farms; and establish the Governor’s Fitness Test and School Fitness Month. 
  • Iowa – The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services launched a series of virtual monthly Aging and Disability Town Halls as an opportunity for interested individuals—including community members, caregivers, and professionals—to stay informed, share insights, and hear directly from leaders and advocates in aging and disability services. 
  • Massachusetts – The Massachusetts Health Connector, the state’s official health insurance Marketplace, submitted a comment letter to CMS on its proposed Marketplace rule. The comment letter addresses key provisions of the rule that would drive up premiums, hinder enrollment, and create additional administrative burdens and cost to the Health Connector and enrollees.
  • Michigan – Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued a proclamation declaring April 11 through 17 as Black Maternal Health Week in the state, reaffirming the state’s commitment to addressing racial disparities in maternal health.
  • Minnesota – Governor Tim Walz and U.S. Representative Kelly Morrison joined state officials, doctors, and advocates to discuss the impact of proposed federal cuts to vital healthcare programs. This was the sixth in a series of statewide roundtables held to discuss the potential federal cuts to Medicaid.
  • Montana – Department of Public Health and Human Services officials are raising awareness about an increase in overdoses across the state and reminding Montanans of available recovery and treatment programs. The Behavioral Health System for Future Generations Commission invests $300 million to reform and improve Montana’s behavioral health and developmental disabilities services systems, including up to $400,000 to provide resources to respond to fentanyl and opioid overdoses. The one-time funding will be used to install Wellness Kiosks throughout the state, which will dispense and distribute fentanyl testing strips and naloxone.
  • North Carolina – The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and the Wake County Sheriff’s Office are partnering to offer additional services for defendants with mental illness whom the court has determined Incapable to Proceed (ITP) to trial. People who are deemed ITP require services to restore their ability to understand and continue trial proceedings. The program, known as NC RISE, will allow ITP criminal defendants who are not eligible to access community-based services to receive treatment within the detention center.
  • Oregon – The Oregon Health Insurance Marketplace released its annual report detailing key trends in enrollment and financial assistance. The report shows that 80% of enrollees applied for and received financial assistance, obtaining an average of $531 per month in premium tax credits to lower the cost of coverage and more than 11% of Marketplace enrollees have a monthly premium of less than $10 after applying premium tax credits.
  • Pennsylvania – Department of Human Services Secretary Dr. Val Arkoosh and Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs Secretary Dr. Latika Davis-Jones joined the first statewide PA Black Maternal Health Summit as part of Black Maternal Health Week. During the event, the secretaries hosted a listening session that will inform development of the Shapiro Administration’s Maternal Health Strategic Plan, which aims to improve healthcare access, reduce maternal mortality, and address inequities in healthcare.
  • Virginia – Governor Glenn Youngkin announced the launch of an upgraded Maternal and Child Health Dashboard and two new dashboards to monitor and provide data on maternal mortality and pregnancy-associated deaths. The data are designed to be used as a resource to establish best practices to assist mothers during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum.
  • Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, New Mexico and Oregon – Governors from five states sent a letter to Peter Nelson, Director of the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO), urging the withdrawal of the Marketplace Integrity and Affordability Proposed rule, saying the rule will cause disruption to the administration of health insurance Marketplaces and make healthcare coverage less accessible. As a reminder, SHVS hosted a webinar and published an expert perspective which review the provisions of the proposed rule.