State News

Illinois has passed legislation creating a health equity review board to evaluate health outcomes
and identify disparities, reports WAND News. Starting January 1, 2025, the board will review
and reports data on illnesses, treatments, and causes of death by income, race, ethnicity,
sexual orientation, gender identity, and language.

Hospitals face new penalties if they fail to notify Minnesotans of closures or substantial changes
that can reduce local access to care, reports the Minnesota Star Tribune. Under the updated
law, Minnesota hospitals must now notify the public six months before closing or reducing
services or face fines up to $60,000. This law aims to protect local access to care, especially in
rural areas. Public hearings will be held to allow community input on hospital changes, although
the state cannot prevent the closures.

Latinos in Delaware face significant barriers to accessing dental care, reports Delaware Online.
The obstacles are exacerbated by economic and immigration-related challenges. With over 36
percent of Hispanic adults in Delaware uninsured, regular preventative oral care is often out of
reach. The situation is particularly dire for undocumented residents, who are only eligible for
Medicaid in emergencies, further limiting their access to essential oral health services. Even
with dental insurance, health care deductibles and copays are costly, but the lack of coverage
leads to significant barriers to care for Latinos and immigrants.

Indiana’s Department of Insurance has launched the state’s public facing All-Payer Claims
Database (APCD), reports WIMS Radio. The interactive tool allows consumers to shop for
health care services by comparing price and quality of care across the state, with average out-
of-pocket price available by insurance plan, procedure, and specific provider. The APCD is also
intended to provide valuable insight into health care costs, quality, and utilization patterns
available to employers, researchers, and policy makers. Employers can use this data to
strengthen their decision making about benefit design and network optimization for employees.

High health care costs continue to hit Coloradans hard, with two in three respondents to a new
survey saying they delayed or went without health care due to cost in the last 12 months,
reports CPR News. The issue is even more pressing for low-income respondents and those with
disabilities, who reported even higher rates of delays and foregone care. Across the board, a
large majority, 83 percent, reported being worried about their ability to afford health care costs in
the future. According to the survey, more than nine out of ten respondents backed more reforms, like requiring hospitals, doctors and insurers to provide consumers with upfront cost estimates, and, if an insurer drops your doctor, to make it easy to switch to another health plan.

Colorado’s cap on insulin costs was associated with significant reductions in out-of-pocket
spending for insulin prescriptions, with the mean out-of-pocket payment per thirty day supply
decreasing by almost half, according to a study in Health Affairs. Colorado was the first state to
cap out-of-pocket spending for insulin prescriptions in 2020, requiring fully insured health plans
to cap out-of-pocket spending at $100 for a thirty-day supply. Average out-of-pocket spending
per prescription fell by roughly 40 percent, and patients filling insulin prescriptions saved an
average of $184 per year. At the same time, prescription volume and days’ supply increased,
suggesting that insulin use may have been rationed by some patients prior to the cap’s
implementation.

A survey found that many Washington State residents struggle with health care costs, according
to the Economic Opportunity Institute. The survey shows that 57 percent of respondents
avoided seeking medical care in the last year due to cost, one in three lived in a household with
medical debt, and 88 percent are concerns about the cost of health care in the future. It also
found that 63 percent could not pay or would struggle to pay an unexpected $500 medical bill.

Pennsylvania has passed legislation limiting the use of noncompete clauses for health care
practitioners, reports The National Law Review. Effective January 1, 2025, the Fair Contracting
for Health Care Practitioners Act deems noncompete covenants as contrary to the public
interest and void and unenforceable. Exceptions include noncompete clauses of less than a
year if the practitioner was not dismissed by the employer, in some cases of the sale of the
practitioners ownership, and recovery of certain expenses from the practitioner.

A report from the St. Louis Area Business Health Coalition reveals that most St. Louis hospitals
charge prices exceeding what is considered fair by national standards, reports the St. Louis
Post-Dispatch. These findings highlight the growing financial burden on businesses and
consumers, with BJC HealthCare identified as the most expensive provider in the region. They
also call attention to the ongoing challenges of controlling health care costs in St. Louis.