HEALTHCARE SYSTEM REFORM
Spotlight on State: New Hampshire
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor April 12, 2021
This is part of a series of summaries that highlight notable legislation and initiatives in health policy and reform of all 50 states. Check back on The Source as we roll out additional states each week. See New Hampshire page. The state of New Hampshire is a trailblazer that is highly active in considering innovative cost containment solutions and expanding price transparency initiatives. New Hampshire created one of the nation’s first all-payer claims databases (“APCD”) in 2003 to collect and disseminate healthcare price information, leading the way for many other …
Continue Reading Download PDF
Spotlight on State: North Dakota
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor April 8, 2021
This is part of a series of summaries that highlight notable legislation and initiatives in health policy and reform of all 50 states. Check back on The Source as we roll out additional states each week. See North Dakota page. North Dakota is one of the few states that bans most-favored nation clauses in provider contracts. It is also one of the even fewer states that prohibits most noncompete agreements, by making them generally unenforceable. Specifically, state law provides that a contract by which anyone is restrained from exercising a …
Continue Reading Download PDF
Spotlight on State: South Dakota
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor March 25, 2021
This is part of a series of summaries that highlight notable legislation and initiatives in health policy and reform of all 50 states. Check back on The Source as we roll out additional states each week. See South Dakota page. South Dakota has been active in regulating prescription drug pricing and transparency. The state enacted a law to prohibit pharmacy benefit managers from prohibiting or penalizing a pharmacist for providing cost-sharing information on the amount a covered individual may pay for a particular prescription drug. The legislature also passed legislation …
Continue Reading Download PDF
2021 California Healthcare Bills Part 1: Healthcare Market and System Reform Proposals Lead the Way
Mallory Warner, Health Policy Research Fellow March 15, 2021
February 19th was the deadline for California legislators to introduce their proposed bills this session. In a two-part series, we highlight some of the notable healthcare bills on the table in 2021. In this post, we focus on a few ambitious reform efforts to the healthcare market and delivery system. Next month, we’ll turn our attention to proposed bills that aim to regulate the prescription drug market and bills that promote price and quality transparency. Healthcare system reform measures are those that change the structure of health care in a …
Continue Reading Download PDF
Spotlight on State: Washington
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor March 10, 2021
This is part of a series of summaries that highlight notable legislation and initiatives in health policy and reform of all 50 states. Check back on The Source as we roll out additional states each week. See Washington page. Washington is a leader in state initiatives for healthcare price and competition and enacted several market reform initiatives in recent sessions. In 2019, it became the first state to enact legislation to implement a public option health insurance plan to bring its residents a step closer to universal health care. Washington …
Continue Reading Download PDF
Spotlight on State: Georgia
Alex Montague, Health Policy Researcher March 8, 2021
This is part of a series of summaries that highlight notable legislation and initiatives in health policy and reform of all 50 states. Check back on The Source as we roll out additional states each week. See Georgia page. Georgia has made significant strides in legislative efforts to promote healthcare price transparency in recent sessions. The state enacted legislation in 2020 that lays the groundwork for an all-payer claims database (APCD). The law establishes an APCD advisory committee, funding for the APCD, design criteria, operation, and noncompliance penalties. The legislature …
Continue Reading Download PDF
The Source Roundup: March 2021 Edition
Alex Montague, Health Policy Researcher March 1, 2021
Happy March! This month’s roundup focuses on health policy pieces and reports that examine 1) the future of value-based care, 2) the efficacy of various policy options to address healthcare prices, including increasing price transparency and market competition, 3) comparisons of brand-name drug prices, and 4) the impact of the Affordable Care Act on uninsured young adults. Valued-Based Reform In a white paper published this past month, The Future of Value-Based Payment: A Road Map to 2030, researchers from the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics at the University …
Continue Reading Download PDF
Spotlight on State: South Carolina
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor February 12, 2021
This is part of a series of summaries that highlight notable legislation and initiatives in health policy and reform of all 50 states. Check back on The Source as we roll out additional states each week. See South Carolina page. While South Carolina law does not mandate an all-payer claims database (APCD), the Division of Medicaid Policy Research at the University of South Carolina Institute for Families in Society maintains a private database of voluntary claims submissions. The South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (SCDHHS), which operates the …
Continue Reading Download PDF
Spotlight on State: Maine
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor February 4, 2021
This is part of a series of summaries that highlight notable legislation and initiatives in health policy and reform of all 50 states. Check back on The Source as we roll out additional states each week. See Maine page. Maine is a state that actively promotes healthcare price transparency. The Maine Health Data Organization (MHDO), an independent executive agency that the legislature established in 1996, operates the state’s all-payer claims database (APCD). The MHDO has collected health insurance claims information since 2003 and currently shares claims from commercial insurance carriers, …
Continue Reading Download PDF
The Source Roundup: February 2021 Edition
Alex Montague, Health Policy Researcher February 1, 2021
With the inauguration of a new administration in the White House, discussions ramped up on the future of health care and new legislative and regulatory possibilities. This month’s Roundup begins with three articles that look at ways to strengthen the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as well as the potential for more significant health reform through the implementation of a public option. On the price transparency front, we cover a report that looks at the effect of New Jersey’s final-offer arbitration system for resolving surprise billing disputes and the new price …
Continue Reading Download PDF