Weekly StateVitals Update: Volume 67 (May 4, 2026)

Alabama

• Alabama Medicaid Releases RFPs for Medicaid Management Information System. Recently, the Alabama Medicaid Agency released a request for proposals for a contractor to operate the Alabama Medicaid Management Information System (AMMIS). The state is seeking a vendor to modernize and enhance AMMIS and to maintain the Claims Processing and Management Services system. The contract is expected to begin July 1, 2027, and will run for an initial four-year term with two optional two-year extensions, if approved by the Legislature’s Contract Review Committee. If the committee does not approve an initial four-year term, the contract will run for an initial two years, with three optional two-year extensions. Proposals are due to the state by September 22, 2026.

Colorado

• Legislature Enrolls Budget Limiting Coverage for Immigrant Children and Capping Dental Benefits. This past Tuesday, the legislature passed the budget bill (HB 26 -1410) for the 2026-27 fiscal year. This effort comes after several weeks of discussion between the House and the Senate on funding for Cover All Coloradans, a program that extends coverage to children and pregnant women who are ineligible for Medicaid due to their immigration status but would be eligible otherwise. Ultimately, to control costs, the legislature capped enrollment at  25,000 children annually and reduced the eligibility cutoff from 19 to 18. Additionally, the bill would cap dental benefits for beneficiaries at $1,100. The bill is now headed to Governor Jared Polis’ (D) desk for signature.

Florida

• House Speaker Rejects Governor DeSantis’ Vaccine Repeal Bill During Special Session. Last Tuesday, on the first day of a special session, the members of the House unanimously declined to file Governor Ron DeSantis' (R) proposed legislation that would authorize parents to exempt their children from school-entry vaccine requirements on conscience-based grounds. Since September, Governor DeSantis and Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo have continuously pushed to loosen state vaccine mandates through unsuccessfully proposed legislation (HB 917/SB 1756) and ongoing rulemaking. However, while there is no House bill, the Senate still introduced SB 6D, which would implement the conscience-based exemptions. This special session is scheduled to conclude by Friday, May 1, and another focusing on the state budget is planned for May 12 through May 29. 

Kentucky

• State Circuit Court Finds Provisions of Near-Total Abortion Ban Unconstitutional. Last Friday, a Jefferson Circuit Court judge ruled that the language of the state’s abortion ban, which defines human life as beginning at conception, was unconstitutionally void for vagueness. The case was brought by Jewish women who argued the definition violated their religious freedom by putting them at risk for criminal prosecution if they pursue IVF and discard any frozen embryos they do not need. Notably, the ruling did not include any injunctions or enforcement actions related to the state’s abortion ban. However, this case brings additional protections for IVF in the state. In response to the ruling, a spokesperson for Attorney General Russell Coleman (R) stated that he still considers IVF fully legal in the state and that the services are not at risk.

Louisiana

• 5th Circuit Court Blocks Mail-Order Abortion Medication Nationwide. This past Friday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals granted a stay on the 2023 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rule that removed in-person dispensing requirements for mifepristone. The court’s decision reverses the rule authorizing telehealth and mail-order dispensing for Mifepristone, requiring patients to receive in-person prescriptions. This decision comes after a district court issued a stay early last month on Attorney General Liz Murril’s (R) lawsuit challenging the telehealth dispensing of mifepristone until the FDA completes its safety review. Notably, since the 2023 FDA ruling, states with abortion access have increased their capacity to prescribe mifepristone via telehealth and deliver the prescriptions through the mail, including across state lines. Many of these states have enacted shield laws, protecting providers from the continuous attempts by officials in states with abortion bans to prosecute or investigate them. The drug's manufacturer filed an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, and on Monday, Justice Alito issued an order putting the stay on hold for a week and restoring access via telehealth and mail order while the Court considers the request.

Mississippi

• Governor Reeves Launches Rural Health Transformation Program Office and Website. This past Wednesday, Governor Tate Reeves (R) announced the launch of the Mississippi Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) Office and website. The state’s RHTP plan includes a statewide rural health assessment. It focuses on care coordination, workforce development, the implementation of a statewide health information exchange, telehealth, and infrastructure improvements to improve rural access to quality care. The office will coordinate the implementation of the state plan while posting funding opportunities, progress, and information on RHTP initiatives on the website. Additionally, the State selected Richard Grimes, a CPA and CFO of the Mississippi Hospital Association, as the Project Director of the RHTP office. The office has not yet indicated when funding opportunities will be available or how to apply for funds.

Nebraska

• Nebraska to Become First State to Enforce Medicaid Work Requirements. On Friday, May 1, Nebraska’s Medicaid work requirements (LB 1221) went into effect, making it the first state in the nation to implement the requirements established by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services began checking work requirements for Medicaid expansion enrollees whose annual eligibility period ends on or after July 31, 2026. Existing enrollees must have met work requirements for at least one month since their last renewal, and new enrollees must meet work requirements in the month before they apply. While the state serves as an example of how the work requirements will operate in practice, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is expected to release an interim final rule on the requirements by June 1, 2026.

North Carolina

• Governor Signs Bill to Fund Medicaid Shortfall and Implement Program Integrity Measures. Last Thursday, Governor Josh Stein (D) signed HB 696 into law, allocating $319 million in Medicaid rebase funding to cover the remainder of the fiscal year. The bill also included a series of provisions intended to combat Medicaid fraud, waste, and abuse, increase the frequency of current state reporting periods, and limits to Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy. In particular, the bill develops a Medicaid integrity, cost-savings, and efficiency plan, imposes stricter eligibility-determination and data-sharing requirements, and authorizes the exclusion of providers for several reasons, including those who perform poorly in terms of health care quality, cost-efficiency, or program integrity.

North Dakota

• Federal Judge Finds 340B Contract Pharmacy Law Unconstitutional. This past Monday, U.S. District Judge Daniel Taylor ruled that HB 1473, North Dakota’s 340B pharmacy law, was preempted by section 340B of the Public Health Service Act and violated the Supremacy Clause and the Commerce Clause. The law penalizes pharmaceutical manufacturers for interfering with a contract pharmacy’s ability to acquire 340B drugs and prohibits them from requiring extraneous data sharing or offering the drugs in rebates that are not compliant with federal law. In his ruling, Judge Taylor found this law “inhibit[s] the ability of the [federal] government to exercise its spending power by deterring manufacturers from participating in the [340B] program. This represents the second ruling favoring drug manufacturers regarding state 340B contract pharmacy laws this month, joining the 4th Circuit’s decision to uphold the preliminary injunction on West Virginia’s law on April 6. The State can still appeal the decision to the 8th Circuit, which previously ruled in favor of Arkansas’ law. 

Oklahoma

• Senate Enrolls Bill to Criminalize Abortion Pill Dispensing. Last Thursday, in a vote of 37-10, the Senate enrolled HB 1168, which establishes a felony offense for the trafficking of an abortion-inducing drug. In particular, the bill prohibits delivering or possessing with the intent of delivering an abortion-inducing drug to a person who intends to use the drug to cause an unlawful abortion. Yet, the bill exempts contraceptives as well as pharmacists, manufacturers, or distributors who lawfully manufacture, possess, offer, sell, or distribute, in the usual course of that entity's business or profession, any drug, medicine, or instrument intended for any lawful medical purpose. The bill is now headed to Governor Kevin Stitt’s (R) desk, who has five days to sign the bill, veto it, or allow it to become law without his signature.

Pennsylvania

• Department of Human Services Releases Applications for RHTP Grant Funding. This past Friday, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services opened applications for its first round of Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) grant funding. The department will award $25 million in grants, with a maximum amount of $1 million per qualified hospital, rural health facility, or healthcare provider for equipment, supplies, renovations, or structural improvements. To receive funding, applicants must stabilize or enhance rural healthcare access, promote rural well-being, and focus on one of six initiatives: 

  • Technology and Infrastructure

  • Aging and Access

  • Behavioral Health

  • Workforce

  • Maternal Health

  • Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and Transportation

  Applicants can submit the required eligibility certification now through June 1, 2026, or until the funding cap is met, whichever comes first. 

Utah

• Medical Licensing Board Asks to Suspend AI Pilot Prescription Program. Recently, the Utah Medical Licensing Board issued a letter to the Office of Artificial Intelligence Policy requesting that it suspend the first-in-the-nation AI pilot program designed to automate prescription medication renewals for patients with chronic conditions. The program gives the AI system the ability to legally prescribe routine refills for these patients, something that the medical board was only made aware of once the program had been implemented. A day later, the Division of Professional Licensing and the office issued a response, stating that the pilot will not be suspended, given that it is still in phase one, which requires physician reviews for each refill. However, the office noted that it may modify or cancel the program if future safety benchmarks are not met.

Wyoming

• Judge Temporarily Blocks State Abortion Ban. Recently,  Wyoming Judge Dan Forgey granted a temporary restraining order against the recently enacted law (HB 126) that prohibits abortions if a fetal heartbeat is detected, which is typically around 6 weeks of gestation. The law also included exemptions for a medical emergency necessary to prevent the impairment or death of a pregnant person. Notably, this is the first ruling affecting the legality of abortion following the state Supreme Court’s ruling in January. The Supreme Court found that the state’s existing near-total abortion and abortion pill bans violated the state Constitution by unjustifiably restricting a woman’s constitutional right to decide whether to continue or terminate a pregnancy. There is currently a lawsuit challenging the new law, which Judge Forgey noted was likely to be overturned due to also violating the state Constitution.