July 1 Update

In This Week’s Update:

  • New Maternal Health Funding Opportunity
  • U.S. Surgeon General Declares Firearm Violence a Public Health Crisis
  • Strategies to Achieve Equitable Healthcare and Optimal Health
  • Youth and Young Adults With Disabilities Aging Out of Medicaid, CHIP: Barriers, Inequities, and Recommendations
  • Insights on the Medicaid Unwinding From Health Center Data
  • State updates: CA, CO, DC, HI, IL, MD, MI, MT, NV, NY, OR, VA & WA

 

Strategies to Achieve Equitable Healthcare and Optimal Health 
A  new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine documents how the U.S. has made little progress in advancing healthcare equity over the past two decades, and racial and ethnic inequities remain a fundamental flaw of the nation’s healthcare system. The U.S. healthcare system is highly influenced by societal factors, and delivers different outcomes for different populations by its very design. The system’s inadequacies disproportionately affect marginalized populations, with stark racial and ethnic inequities in life expectancy, maternal and infant mortality, and many chronic diseases. The report documents evidence of numerous and pervasive inequities in U.S. healthcare.

Youth and Young Adults With Disabilities Aging Out of Medicaid, CHIP: Barriers, Inequities, and Recommendations
The transition into adulthood leaves low-income youth with disabilities at risk of losing health insurance coverage, income supports, and continuity of care. Through a two-year effort, the National Alliance to Advance Adolescent Health studied the experiences of youth and young adults with disabilities as they age out of Medicaid, CHIP, the Supplemental Security Income program, and Title V Programs for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs. The result of this research is a national report, created with guidance from a national advisory committee, which shares recommendations to address gaps and disparities for each of the public programs studied. The authors call on Congress, federal and state agencies, community-based organizations, and other stakeholders to bring attention to the report’s recommendations for ensuring continuous coverage, income stability, and care for youth and young adults with disabilities aging out of public programs.

Insights on the Medicaid Unwinding From Health Center Data
The National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) is hosting a webinar on July 15 that will share insights on the ripple effects of the end of the Medicaid continuous coverage requirement on community health centers. In 2024, NACHC, in partnership with the Geiger Gibson Program in Community Health at Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University conducted a joint survey to collect trends in changes in patient care and health center operations. From enrollment shifts to funding dynamics, this webinar will share trends, challenges, and opportunities within the health center community to help keep patients connected to Medicaid coverage.

Given the July 4th holiday next week, the State Health Update will be taking the week off and will resume July 12. Wishing you a happy and healthy fourth of July! Updates follow.

State updates: CA, CO, DC, HI, IL, MD, MI, MT, NV, NY, OR, VA & WA

  • California – Governor Gavin Newsom announced that CalRx-branded over-the-counter (OTC) naloxone spray is now available for free to eligible organizations through the Naloxone Distribution Project. This follows the state’s contract with Amneal Pharmaceuticals to purchase an OTC naloxone nasal spray product through CalRx’s Naloxone Access Initiative at a significantly lower price.
  • Colorado – The Colorado Division of Insurance has extended the enrollment window for people who are no longer eligible for Medicaid coverage due to unwinding. The deadline is now November 30, 2024 to enroll in health insurance through the Marketplace, extended from the previous deadline of July 31.
  • District of Columbia – The District of Columbia submitted a demonstration renewal request for the D.C. Behavioral Health Transformation that would include implementing new Medicaid services for justice-involved individuals up to 90-days pre-release and health-related social needs services, specifically housing supports, and nutrition supports.
  • Hawai’i – Governor Josh Green signed into law 22 bills related to the state’s healthcare system and workforce. The bills signed into law include: SB 3139, which creates a crisis intervention and diversion services program aimed at steering individuals with mental health and substance-use disorders away from the criminal justice system and toward appropriate healthcare services; and SB 3094, which establishes a temporary peer support specialist working group within the Office of Wellness and Resilience to enhance the role and effectiveness of peer support specialists in Hawaiʻi.
  • Illinois – Governor J.B. Pritzker signed SB1, creating the Department of Early Childhood. The new state agency will focus exclusively on early childhood programs and services for young children, improving equity and accessibility for families and caregivers. With this new agency, early childhood programs will be unified to improve ease and availability for families and providers seeking state resources, including home visiting programs and Early Intervention services.
  • Maryland – The Maryland Department of Health announced a request for applications (RFA) for Maryland’s Opioid Restitution Fund. The focus of the RFA is to support programs that address the misuse of opioid products and to treat opioid use or related disorders. Maryland’s Opioid Restitution Fund was created in 2019 to receive all funds awarded to the state through legal settlements with prescription opioid manufacturers and distributors. Maryland is set to receive up to $500 million from prescription opioid-related legal settlements; the funds will be distributed through the state’s Opioid Restitution Fund over the next 18 years.
  • Michigan
    • The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and Michigan State Police are reminding Michigan families about the availability of free gun locks at MDHHS county offices and some local health departments. Cable-style gun locks from Project ChildSafe are being offered as part of an effort to protect children from unsecured firearms and 75,000 gun locks are available while supplies last.
    • MDHHS announced it renewed Medicaid coverage for an additional 141,992 people whose eligibility was up for renewal in May. Since MDHHS began Medicaid eligibility redeterminations a year ago, more than 1.8 million enrollees have renewed their insurance coverage.
  • Montana – Governor Greg Gianforte announced a $15.8 million investment in one-time grants to increase bed capacity for community-based residential providers offering behavioral healthcare or developmental disability services to Montanans. The investment represents the next allocation of $300 million in funding secured by the governor last year to reform and improve Montana’s behavioral health and developmental disabilities services systems.
  • Nevada – CMS approved a new five-year section 1115 demonstration, “Whole Mouth Whole Body Connection for Adults with Diabetes.” Through this demonstration, Nevada will have the authority to offer a limited dental benefit to non-pregnant diabetic adults (21 through 64 years of age) enrolled in Medicaid, through a network of Federally Qualified Health Centers and participating Tribal Health Centers. The limited dental benefit package will include diagnostic and preventative, restorative, endodontic, and periodontic dental services.
  • New York – Governor Kathy Hochul announced the release of the state’s Extreme Heat Action Plan. The plan prioritizes equity in adaptation to extreme heat by advancing solutions that provide technical assistance to local communities, scaling implementation of nature-based solutions to address inequities, and reduce the urban heat island effect and enhancing equitable access to cooling at home and in public spaces.
  • Oregon – An Oregon Health Authority (OHA) study of the state’s behavioral health continuum of care confirmed gaps in behavioral health treatment beds across Oregon and detailed a financial path to expanding capacity. The Behavioral Health Residential + Facility Study found that Oregon needs up to 3,700 adult mental health and substance-use treatment beds to close existing gaps and meet future service projections. The findings are part of an assessment that Governor Tina Kotek directed OHA to commission last year.
  • Virginia – The Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) announced that as of June 12th, 2024, 94.33% of all unwinding redeterminations have been completed, or 2,043,616 members out of the 2,116,381 member cohort identified prior to the start of unwinding. DMAS will continue to update the state’s unwinding dashboard on a weekly basis until the state has reached a certain completion percentage of redeterminations.
  • Washington – The Washington Health Care Authority announced that the enrollment limit for Apple Health Expansion has been met for individuals ages 19 through 64. Apple Health Expansion is a new program designed to provide full-scope healthcare coverage to people age 19 or older with certain immigration statuses; eligible clients include those who do not qualify for other Apple Health programs based on their immigration status. Applications for individuals age 65 and older are still being accepted. SHVS is tracking state-funded affordable health coverage programs for non-citizens here.
  • CMS Awards School-Based Services Grants to 18 States – 18 states (AK, DE, KS, KY, MD, MA, MN, NV, NH, NC, OK, OR, PA, RI, VT, WA, WV, WI) will receive grants for the Implementation, Enhancement, and Expansion of Medicaid and CHIP School-Based Services. The states will use these funds to support their efforts to connect millions more children to critical healthcare services, especially mental health services, at school. Made possible by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the states will each receive up to $2.5 million over 3 years.