February 24 Update

In This Week’s Update:

  • Helping States Navigate Healthcare Financialization
  • Medicaid Prerelease and Transition Services for Incarcerated Individuals
  • The 100 Weeks Project
  • Medicaid’s Role in Child, Youth, and Adult Mental Health
  • Potential Impact of Federal Changes on State Healthcare Programs
  • State updates: AZ, CA, CT, IL, MA, MD, MI, NC, NJ, NV, NY & OR

Helping States Navigate Healthcare Financialization
Last week, State Health and Value Strategies (SHVS) published a toolkit to support states in understanding the landscape of financial activity in the healthcare sector. The toolkit identifies opportunities to strengthen a state’s regulatory framework to protect residents from the potential harms associated with financialization. It also provides an overview of trends and a summary of the literature on the impact of financialization on the healthcare delivery system. Updates follow.

 

Medicaid Prerelease and Transition Services for Incarcerated Individuals
The Milbank Quarterly is hosting a webinar to discuss findings from a recent article on the provision of Medicaid prerelease and transition services to individuals reentering the community. Several states have extended Medicaid coverage for prerelease and transition services to people in prisons and jails through program demonstrations. These services are associated with improved recidivism, post-release employment, cost savings, and fewer overdoses. A recent Milbank Quarterly article by Sanjay Basu and colleagues looked at the size of the potentially eligible population by state, and disease rates within the population, to inform Medicaid agencies’ strategies. On Thursday, March 6, from 12 p.m. – 1 p.m. ET, the University of Chicago’s Harold Pollack will moderate a discussion with Dr. Basu and state officials from Arizona and California on the article’s findings and policy implementation strategies. As a reminder, SHVS published a tool states can use to develop demonstration requests to provide reentry services.

 

The 100 Weeks Project
Newly released CDC data from 2023 show that Black women still face a mortality rate more than three times higher than their White, Hispanic, and Asian counterparts. This disparity underscores the urgent need for action, especially since most maternal deaths happen during the postpartum period, one of the most overlooked periods of a woman’s pregnancy journey. United States of Care recently released the Journey Map, a tool that highlights the highs and lows of a Black woman’s pregnancy experience. The tool captures the lived experiences, emotions, bright spots, and critical points of failure across the 100-week journey for Black women. Understanding the challenges Black women face is essential to finding solutions and addressing the maternal mortality crisis. Recognizing racial disparities and how to solve them for specific communities is critical to building solutions that work for everyone.

 

Medicaid’s Role in Child, Youth, and Adult Mental Health
The United States is enduring a significant mental health crisis, with nearly one in three adults experiencing anxiety and depression symptoms in 2023. The problem, exacerbated by the pandemic, is particularly acute among children and youth. A new report published by the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University highlights the pivotal role Medicaid plays in child, youth, and adult mental health. By providing access to care for many people who would otherwise not be able to afford it, Medicaid is an indispensable part of the nation’s response to the mental health crisis.

 

Potential Impact of Federal Changes on State Healthcare Programs
SHVS will host a webinar on Feb. 26, from 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. ET, discussing the Medicaid and Marketplace reforms under consideration by the new administration and the 119th Congress, including adjustments to program financing, eligibility, and other policy requirements, with potential broad implications for state Medicaid and Marketplace programs. During the webinar, experts from Manatt Health will provide an overview of potential federal policy changes to Medicaid and Marketplace coverage programs, vehicles for advancing and anticipated timing of such changes, and implications for states.

State updates: AZ, CA, CT, IL, MD, MA, MI, NV, NJ, NY, NC, & OR

  • Arizona – The Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) is seeking public input on a proposal to institute work reporting requirements as a condition of coverage. State law requires that the agency submit the proposal (known as AHCCCS Works) to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services by March 30 of each year.
  • California
    • The Department of Health Care Services, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and California Correctional Health Care Services announced the expansion of the Justice-Involved Reentry Initiative to prisons statewide. The initiative allows eligible incarcerated individuals to enroll in Medi-Cal and receive a targeted set of services during the 90 days prior to their release.
    • Covered California, the state’s official health insurance Marketplace, announced that 345,711 Californians newly selected a plan for 2025 during open enrollment, bringing overall enrollment to a record-high of nearly two million consumers.
      Connecticut – Access Health CT, the state’s official health insurance Marketplace, announced its new BusinessPlus platform to help Connecticut business owners manage health benefits more efficiently. BusinessPlus provides access to Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements (ICHRAs) and will launch this summer.
  •  Illinois
    • Governor J.B. Pritzker announced the state’s second round of medical debt cancellations, made possible through the Medical Debt Relief Pilot Program established last year. Over 100,000 Illinoisans have now seen their medical debt automatically erased, using $900,000 to eliminate over $128 million. As a reminder, SHVS published an expert perspective and a Health Affairs Forefront article which track state medical debt cancellation initiatives, as well as state efforts to prevent the inclusion of medical debt on credit reports.
    • Governor Pritzker issued an executive order to combine the Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS) Division of Mental Health and the Division of Substance Use Prevention and Recovery to create the Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery. The new division, which aims to address an overlap in patients who receive services from both divisions, remains part of DHS.
  • Maryland
    • Governor Wes Moore announced that the number of fatal overdoses in Maryland decreased dramatically in 2024. According to preliminary data from Maryland’s Overdo​se Data Dashboard, there were 1,553 fatal overdoses reported in Maryland last year—a 38% decrease than the 2,511 fatal overdoses reported in 2023. However, health department officials note that disparities in overdose are still present among minoritized communities in Maryland, and that work must continue to ensure all communities are connected to care.
    • The Maryland Department of Health announced a new online application for all behavioral health licenses, effective February 10, 2025. The new system will replace the paper-based application process, making it easier for providers to apply and stay in compliance.
  • Massachusetts – The Healey-Driscoll Administration announced it is awarding $10 million to 37 community-based organizations that provide housing and nutrition support services across the state. The funds are intended to help awardees expand and enhance technology and operations to work effectively with MassHealth Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) in order to provide health-related social needs services to members. ACOs are groups of doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare providers that coordinate high-quality care for MassHealth members.
  • Michigan
    • To help individuals seeking substance-use disorder treatment (SUD) services, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) launched a SUD mapping tool. Providers can be searched by ZIP code, city or county, as well as types of services needed including inpatient, outpatient and medication-assisted treatment, and whether the provider accepts Medicaid.
    • As the state recognizes the one-year anniversary of Michigan’s secure storage law going into effect, MDHHS announced that more than 56,800 free gun locks have been distributed. For more information on gun violence prevention, check out the episode of Heather Howard’s podcast, the Princeton Pulse, which discusses a public health approach focused on firearm safety and injury prevention.
  •  Nevada – The Nevada Department of Health and Human Services sent a written response to the state senate regarding federal legislation impacting Nevada’s state budget and healthcare coverage. The letter, which was written in response to a legislative request, provides estimates about the impact of federal proposals to change the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP), set per capita caps, and changes to provider taxes.
  • New Jersey – Governor Phil Murphy and Department of Banking and Insurance Commissioner Justin Zimmerman announced that Get Covered New Jersey, the state’s official health insurance Marketplace, hit an all-time record enrollment with more than a half a million residents signed up for 2025 health coverage. This represents nearly a 30% increase compared to last year’s open enrollment period.
  • New York – Governor Kathy Hochul announced increased funding for United Way of New York City to support the expansion of Choose Healthy Life, a program dedicated to increasing access to health services in underserved communities through the Black church. The expanded initiative will add 10 Choose Healthy Life–funded churches in New York state to the 20 existing churches in New York City.
  • North Carolina – As part of its Direct Support Professional Workforce Plan, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services announced $3 million to recruit and retain direct support professionals. This workforce is critical in helping people with intellectual and developmental disabilities live, work, and thrive in communities of their choice. They provide a wide range of supports from daily tasks like bathing, eating, and taking medications to connecting people with community resources and opportunities.
  • Oregon – The Oregon Health Authority is launching a six-month pilot program in partnership with the Oregon Public Health Institute and the Public Health Institute Bridge Center to improve the accessibility and uptake of addiction care in emergency care settings. The program will train emergency responders to provide medication assisted treatment for opioid-use disorder in the field, before transporting them to the hospital to bridge them to ongoing care. It will also equip emergency departments in these counties with the training and support to implement and improve 24/7 addiction services.