Members of the Hawaii Department of Health (DOH) testified before the Senate Committees on Health and Ways and Means this month, presenting their legislative budget requests for fiscal year 2023. In total DOH is requesting $1.07 billion in budgetary funding, a $10 million increase from FY 2022.  Hawaii Health Systems Corporation (HHSC), which operates acute … Read more

This is the last Texas “5 Things” of 2022, and what a year it’s been! Those in the health policy world have been through a lot this year, so thank you for all the hard work you do to improve health care and for supporting our journalism. Registration is now open for our 2022 State of Reform … Read more

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) recently announced a two-year pilot program that will carve the coverage of long-term services and supports (LTSS) for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, traumatic brain injuries, and similar functional needs into Medicaid managed care. Individuals will be eligible for the STAR+PLUS Pilot Program (SP3) if they … Read more

Texans are set to vote this week on a constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to have essential caregivers in assisted living facilities. Ahead of the vote, advocates for these facilities are raising questions about how Ballot Proposition 6 will decide who has authority in the event the state needs to change the rules around in-person … Read more

The legislature’s recently approved bill that distributes $16 billion in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding appropriates over $400 million in federal funds to support the state’s faltering health care workforce. Senate Bill 8 passed during Texas’s third special session, which ended last week. It now heads to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk for signature.   … Read more

This week’s newsletter features some of the highlights from our recent 2021 North Texas State of Reform Health Policy Conference. From this year’s prolonged legislative activity to the uncertain future of the state’s safety net, needless to say there’s a lot happening in the Texas health policy space. With so much to talk about, we … Read more

Safety net funding, the allocation of federal dollars, COVID-19’s impact on Medicaid — a panel of experts from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) discussed all of this and more at last month’s 2021 North Texas State of Reform Health Policy Conference.  Stephanie Stephens, HHSC’s Medicaid director, Sonja Gaines, the agency’s deputy executive … Read more

Texas Medical Association (TMA) President Dr. Linda Villareal testified during a special meeting on border health care in the House Public and Behavioral Health Committee on Tuesday, calling on lawmakers to make increasing health care coverage in southern border communities a priority. “… While the economy of the border has amazingly grown in leaps and … Read more

We were honored to have the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) Commissioner Cecile Young join us Thursday as the Morning Keynote at our 2021 North Texas State of Reform Health Policy Conference. Young spoke with State of Reform Host DJ Wilson about the future of Texas Medicaid, the state’s relationship with the federal … Read more

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission is awarding more than $531,000 in grants to four rural Texas hospitals to expand telehealth services for children. The grants will help the hospitals expand or implement telehealth services that connect their patients with pediatric specialists and subspecialists through video chats and phone calls. “The pandemic has really … Read more