Governors’ Final Actions on Major Healthcare Bills
As legislative sessions wind down across the country, attention turns to the executive branch as governors make decisions on bills passed by the legislature. In the past month, various governors have taken action on significant healthcare legislation by signing, vetoing, or allowing bills to become law.
Arkansas
Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) signed HB 1620 into law. The bill requires pharmacy benefit managers to reimburse pharmacists for prescription drugs, promptly, within seven to fourteen days after the receipt of an electronic claim. This required timeline would apply only to clean claims and PBMs would pay penalties of 12 percent per month for late payment of claims.
Colorado
Governor Jared Polis (D) signed HB25-1002 into law. The measure provides for standardized utilization review criteria for the treatment of behavioral and mental health disorders that would align with utilization review and determinations made of physical health treatment.
Idaho
Less than an hour after the Idaho Legislature passed its final bill of the year, the “Medical Freedom Act”, Governor Brad Little (R) signed it into law. The new medical mandate ban bill, SB 1210, will prohibit Idaho businesses, government entities, schools and colleges from restricting entry, employment or services based on requirements for medical interventions, like vaccines, medical diagnosis or treatment. In late March, Gov. Little vetoed a similar bill (SB 1023), recognizing the challenges the bill presented to schools who need to send children with contagious illnesses home. The legislature attempted to override the veto, but that effort failed. They instead included school attendance policies in the new bill to alleviate the Governor’s qualms.
Mississippi
Governor Tate Reeves (R) vetoed SB 2867, which was a wide-ranging bill amending large parts of Mississippi’s Medicaid program. The legislation included several changes to Medicaid such as requiring children with long-term and chronic conditions needing less frequent medical examinations and redeterminations; foster children eligibility for benefits until age 26; the State Division of Medicaid no longer needing to apply for Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services waivers for patients who are in end-stage renal disease; and rural hospitals allowed to opt out of reimbursements from the Medicaid program for outpatient services under the Ambulatory Patient Classification system. The Governor claimed these changes amounted to an expansion of the Medicaid program, something he has long been opposed to.
Utah
Waiting until the last minute, Governor Spencer Cox (R) allowed SB 69 to become law without signature. The bill prohibits pharmaceutical manufacturers from interfering with 340B covered entities’ contract pharmacies or requesting claims information from drug dispensers. Citing doubts that the legislation would achieve the goals of legislators and a desire for the federal government to deal with program reform, he nevertheless chose not to veto the bill. It was only one of three bills that he did not sign or veto.
Track Health Care Policy
The ever-evolving state health policy landscape will continue to influence how health care organizations make business decisions. MultiState’s team pulls from decades of expertise to help you effectively navigate and engage. MultiState’s team understands the issues, knows the key players and organizations, and we harness that expertise to help our clients effectively navigate and engage on their policy priorities. We offer customized strategic solutions to help you develop and execute a proactive multistate agenda focused on your company’s goals. Learn more about our Health Care Policy Practice.