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CT Senate Passes Sweeping Consumer Protection Bill The Connecticut Senate passed an expansive consumer protection bill ( SB 5 ). Among other things, the measure would require service providers such as...
Social Media Warning Label Legislation Catching on in States Although Congress hasn’t responded to former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy’s call last June to take up legislation requiring...
OR Lawmakers Pass Age Discrimination Bill Oregon’s legislature passed a bill ( HB 3187 ) that would prohibit an employer from requesting an applicant’s age, date of birth or date of graduation...
WI Assembly Passes Multiple Healthcare Bills Wisconsin’s Assembly passed multiple healthcare-related bills with broad bipartisan support. One ( AB 43 ) would allow pharmacists to prescribe birth...
A nightmare may be coming to life for social media companies in Minnesota. There, Democrats in the state Legislature have embraced a pioneering bill, SB 3197 , which seeks to levy the nation’s...
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With over 1 in 5 U.S. adults and youths (13-18 years old) experiencing mental illness and cost keeping many of them from being able to access mental healthcare, state lawmakers are trying various approaches to make that care more affordable. Last year Georgia (HB 1013) and Massachusetts (SB 3097) stepped up oversight of federal mental health parity requirements. Louisiana (HB 278), Massachusetts (SB 3097), New Jersey (AB 2008) and Wyoming (HB 140) enacted measures in 2022 or 2023 requiring health insurers to cover more behavioral health services. And Georgia (SB 566), Washington (HB 1688), California (AB 988) and Connecticut (HB 5001) enacted legislation last year applying surprise billing protections to mental health emergencies. (NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF STATE LEGISLATURES)
With demand for weight loss drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy surging, insurers are refusing to cover the medications, which can retail for $900 or more per month. As a result, some pharmacies have started offering unauthorized generic versions of Ozempic. (KAISER HEALTH NEWS, WALL STREET JOURNAL, NEW YORK TIMES)
Walgreens agreed to pay San Francisco $230 million to settle the city’s claim against it for contributing to the city’s opioid epidemic. Last year a federal judge found the pharmacy chain liable for failing to do proper screenings. Between 2006 and 2014, there were 163,645,704 opioid pills distributed in San Francisco County, enough to provide each resident 22 pills per year. (FIERCE HEALTHCARE)
A proposed class action suit has been filed against Aetna, alleging the insurer’s inadequate security measures enabled a Russian ransomware group to obtain access to sensitive personal data in an attack earlier this year. That attack targeted multiple healthcare providers and more than 3 million of their customers. (LAW360®)
—Compiled by SNCJ Managing Editor KOREY CLARK
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