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Wave of Chatbot Bills Coming Next Year State lawmakers are preparing to introduce a wave of measures in 2026 aimed at regulating AI chatbots, following the lead of California and New York, which enacted...
OH Seeks to Loosen Hourly Work Restrictions for Minors Ohio lawmakers took action this month to extend the hours minors can work in the state. On Nov. 7 they passed a bill ( SB 50 ) that would allow...
A relatively new type of government board took unprecedented action in Colorado last month when it placed an upper limit on the price of an arthritis and autoimmune disease medication. The state’s...
STATE NET® THOUGHT LEADERSHIP SERIES How Historical Adoption Rates Hold the Key to Forecasting Future Regulatory Action Just as state legislatures vary in their bill passage rates, some state agencies...
Judge Strikes Down Part of MD Digital Ad Tax Law A federal judge struck down a provision of Maryland’s first-in-the-nation digital advertising tax law that prohibited online companies from notifying...
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The Pennsylvania legislature passed a bill (HB 1993) aimed at increasing oversight of pharmacy benefit managers. If signed by Gov. Josh Shapiro (D), the measure would prohibit PBMs from requiring patients to use a PBM-affiliated pharmacy, a practice known as “patient steering,” among other things. (PENNSYLVANIA CAPITAL-STAR, LEXISNEXIS STATE NET)
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) signed measures aimed at prohibiting what he described as insurance companies’ “predatory tactics to make an extra dime.” One of the measures, HB 5395, bans so-called “step therapy,” requiring patients to try more cost-effective treatments before more costly ones, even if recommended by their physician, as well as prohibits prior authorization for in-patient mental health treatment. The other, HB 2499. prohibits so-called “junk insurance,” policies offering only limited coverage or lacking consumer protections. (ASSOCIATED PRESS, LEXIS NEXIS STATE NET)
In the two years since the federal government provided $1 billion in seed money for the 988 National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, 10 states have adopted monthly phone line fees to fund 988 call centers, and 30 states have approved funding for core services of the program. Maryland has seen a 50% increase in the number of 988 calls and a 1,000% increase in the number of text messages since 2022. (PLURIBUS NEWS)
—Compiled by SNCJ Managing Editor KOREY CLARK
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