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.

Legislation we’re watching this month, including Certificate of Need in Mississippi, facility fees in Oregon, Medicaid reform in Indiana, and more.

The Idaho Governor signed into law a bill that makes substantive changes to the state’s Medicaid program. HB 345 was a negotiated compromise between legislative leadership that reforms both eligibility and coverage delivery for the Medicaid program.

Legislation we’re watching this month, including Medicaid policy activity in several states, a bill to eliminate the New Hampshire Vaccine Association, and more.

Recognizing the potential long-term benefits for enrollees’ cost of coverage, a number of state Medicaid and employee health plans initiated coverage of GLP-1s for weight loss purposes. Only Arkansas, California, Maryland, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Texas have introduced legislation mandating coverage in 2025 to date.

So far in 2025, 21 bills in 11 states have been introduced that would require some community engagement in order to receive Medicaid benefits. Despite legislative attempts at implementing work requirements, it may be possible for some states to bypass the legislature altogether.

As states and the federal government look for ways to cut spending, an obvious place to look is one of the largest budget items for all jurisdictions: Medicaid. The addition of work requirements for recipients has been a perennial (though so far unsuccessful), option for budget conscious legislators. So far in 2025, 12 bills in 7 states have been introduced that would require some community engagement in order to receive Medicaid benefits.