CA Joins NJ in Requiring Employers to Share Cost of Employees’ Medicaid Coverage California enacted a bill ( SB 177 ) directing the state’s Department of Finance to come up with options for employers with at least 250 workers enrolled in Medi-Cal...
LA Lifts Ban on Obesity Treatment Via Telehealth Last month Louisiana enacted a bill ( SB 30 ) that will allow the prescription of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy and Zepbound via telehealth. For years, doctors in the state had been prohibited from...
Growing List of States Restricting AI Chatbot Therapy Colorado ( HB 1195 ), Maine ( LD 2082 ) and Tennessee ( SB 1580 ) enacted laws this year banning artificial intelligence chatbots from providing therapy. Illinois, Nevada and Utah passed first-in-the-nation...
AK Legislature Passes Bill to Expand Pharmacists’ Prescribing Authority On the final day of Alaska’s regular session, state lawmakers passed a bill ( HB 195 ) that would allow pharmacists to write prescriptions for basic ailments like the flu, strep...
VA Enacts Host of Healthcare Affordability Bills Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) signed a slate of bills aimed at reducing the cost of healthcare. HB 625 and SB 161 will let residents choose insurance plans with flat rates for copays for prescription drugs...
PA House Committee Approves AI in Healthcare Bill The Pennsylvania House Communications and Technology Committee advanced an amended version of a bill ( HB 1925 ) that would require healthcare facilities and insurers to notify patients when AI is used in decision...
For about two decades now, states have tried to make employers—especially large ones—pay when their workers rely on public health coverage. In 2006, Vermont enacted a Health Care Fund contribution assessment that required employers to pay quarterly...
Trump Administration Expands Medicaid Fraud Scrutiny to All 50 States In an effort to fight fraud, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is requiring all 50 states to submit plans for revalidating their Medicaid providers. CMS had already requested information...
State and Federal Funding Flowing for Ibogaine Research President Donald Trump signed an executive order providing up to $50 million in federal funding for states to conduct research on ibogaine, a psychedelic drug that hasn’t received FDA approval for...
KS Lawmakers Pass PBM Bill A bill aimed at tightening regulations on PBMs ( SB 360 ), but which appeared unlikely to move forward this session, was inserted into another bill ( SB 20 ) during a conference committee hearing and passed by the House and Senate....
VT Bill Addresses Privacy of AI in Healthcare The Vermont House passed a bill ( HB 814 ) to bolster privacy protections around the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare. The bill would establish “neurological rights” to protect individuals’...
NJ Gov Wants Big Employers to Help Cover Cost of Medicaid New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D) unveiled a state budget plan that proposes generating $145 million in funding for Medicaid by requiring large employers to pay up to $725 a year for each employee covered...
VA Lawmakers Okay Prescription Drug Affordability Board Virginia lawmakers have passed legislation ( SB 271 / HB 483 ) that would create a prescription drug affordability board to review drug prices and set limits on how much state-regulated health plans can...
MS House Passes PBM Reform Bill Mississippi’s House of Representatives passed a bill ( HB 1665 ) that would prohibit pharmacy benefit managers from employing clawbacks when patients’ copayments exceed the actual cost of their drugs. The bill would...
States Easing Up on Certificate of Need Laws Over a dozen states have introduced or are considering legislation this year to scale back their certificate of need (CON) laws requiring healthcare providers to obtain government approval before building or expanding...