Apr, 11, 2025

State Health Updates

  • Alabama – The Alabama Medicaid Agency is inviting public input on the progress of the Community Waiver Program (CWP). CWP targets persons with intellectual disabilities not currently receiving services through the current home and community-based waivers, including individuals currently on the waiting list for the existing Intellectual Disabilities or Living at Home waivers. This waiver program offers services in five enrollment groups, based on age and relative independence, each with a set of services designed particularly to serve them.
  • Arizona – Arizona requested to amend its Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System demonstration to allow the state to implement Medicaid work requirements. The state also requests to institute a lifetime limit of five years of Medicaid benefits for these adults, and imposing cost-sharing requirements to deter both the nonemergency use of emergency departments and the use of ambulance services for nonemergency transportation. State law requires that the agency submit the proposal (known as AHCCCS Works) to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services each year.
  • Arkansas 
  • Colorado
    • The Colorado Division of Insurance launched a new complaint process and form to help pharmacists and other stakeholders address concerns related to pharmacy benefit managers’ conduct that may be in violation of state law.
    • Connect for Health Colorado, the state’s official health insurance Marketplace, released its annual open enrollment report, which includes new data and information about enrollment for plan year 2025, financial assistance, growth in enrollment in rural areas, assistance available to consumers, and interactive maps.
  • Connecticut – Access Health CT, the state’s official health insurance Marketplace, and the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services announced that residents can now check a box on their state income tax return to get information about health coverage options. In 2023, the state passed legislation which provided authority for this partnership.
  • Kansas – Governor Laura Kelly signed legislation which removes administrative barriers for law enforcement agencies to provide lifesaving care to Kansans during an opioid overdose. Previously, law enforcement officers faced barriers to obtain naloxone due to a statutory requirement mandating agencies to have a medical director or licensed pharmacist.
  • Kentucky 
  • Massachusetts – The Massachusetts Health Connector, the state’s official health insurance Marketplace, is celebrating its 19th anniversary and its largest enrollment in history with more than 400,000 residents now covered. On April 12, 2006, Massachusetts enacted the landmark law that created the Health Connector, which was later used as the framework to design the Affordable Care Act.
  • Michigan
    • The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) has awarded more than $8 million to 20 organizations to build Healthy Community Zones in Chippewa and Saginaw counties and the City of Detroit to reduce racial disparities in chronic disease.
    • MDHHS is launching a student loan repayment program for nurses to assist employers in the recruitment and retention of licensed practical nurses and registered nurses. The program will provide successful applicants with up to $300,000 in tax-free funds to  repay educational debt over a period of up to four years for those working at state psychiatric facilities or up to 10 years for other eligible practice sites.
  • New Jersey
    • Department of Banking and Insurance Commissioner Justin Zimmerman testified in front of state lawmakers that the state stands to lose $500 million in federal subsidies if Congress does not extend the enhanced premium tax credits. Commissioner Zimmerman also described potential challenges the state would face as a result of proposed federal cuts to Medicaid and the recently proposed regulation impacting health insurance Marketplaces.
    • The New Jersey Department of Health announced proposed rules creating a single, integrated license for outpatient healthcare facilities. This reform will cut historical red tape and enable providers to deliver integrated primary care, mental health, and substance-use disorder treatment services.
  • New Mexico 
    • The New Mexico Health Care Authority published a fact sheet that shares high level information about who receives health coverage through Medicaid in the state by county as well as by diagnosis. The fact sheet includes several graphics illustrating the cascade effect on hospitals and New Mexicans of cutting Medicaid as well as the estimated impact of the various proposals being discussed in Congress, including reductions in federal matching funds, dropping continuous coverage for children through age six, per capita caps, and work requirements. 
    • Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed Senate Bill (SB) 376 into law, lowering state employee healthcare costs. Under SB 376, the state’s contribution to employee health insurance premiums will increase, significantly lowering costs for workers. The law also eliminates the state health benefits program’s budget shortfall and is expected to save millions of dollars in general funds in state fiscal year 2026.
  • New York – Governor Kathy Hochul announced the award of 18 grants to expand resiliency and suicide prevention efforts among military veterans and uniformed personnel, including law enforcement, firefighters, emergency medical service personnel, correction officers and emergency dispatchers.
  • North Carolina  
  • North Dakota – North Dakota Health and Human Services hosted Parent and Caregiver Peer Support Training, equipping participants with the skills to provide peer support to parents and caregivers of children with behavioral health needs. This initiative, supported by North Dakota’s System of Care grant, aims to strengthen resources for families navigating behavioral health challenges. 
  • Oklahoma – The Oklahoma Health Care Authority has modeled the impact of proposals put forth by Congressional leadership on the Medicaid program. The efforts assessed include impacts on the reductions in federal matching funds, restrictions on existing healthcare funding streams, and changes in Medicaid eligibility rules.
  • Oregon 
    • Oregon submitted a request to extend its Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Medicaid section 1115(a) demonstration. Under the demonstration extension, the state intends to continue to the SUD program and seeks new authority to provide contingency management incentives as a medical intervention to any eligible individuals. Contingency management is designed to motivate individuals in recovery by offering incentives for meeting treatment goals.
    • The Oregon Health Authority released the final issue of Keep Covered, a newsletter on the Medicaid unwinding. The final issue highlights that approximately 83% of Oregon Health Plan membres kept OHP or other medical benefits, and renewal outcomes were largely consistent among Race, Ethnicity, and Language, Disability (REALD) and Gender Identity groups, and renewal rates for age- and disability-based Medicaid and Medicare Savings Programs exceeded the overall average.
  • Vermont – The Department of Vermont Health Access released new figures on Marketplace open enrollment for 2025 which showed over 32,000 Vermonters, or an 11% increase, representing historically high enrollment for Vermont Health Connect, the state’s official health insurance Marketplace. The Department highlighted that 95% of enrollees this year were eligible for a higher level of coverage at a lower premium due to the enhanced federal subsidies, and if those subsidies do not continue, Vermonters may face significantly higher premiums in 2026.
  • Virginia – Virginia Medicaid is promoting the Community Doula Program for enrollees who are pregnant or have given birth in the last six months. A doula is a person who is certified to help and support pregnant and postpartum individuals through childbirth education, lactation support, referrals for health and social services, and support during labor and delivery.