A new Utah bill would allocate $5 million to start a grant program to expand access to mental and behavioral health services for first responders in the state. House Bill 23 was recently discussed in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee after last week’s 74-1 passage in the House. The bill would set a … Read more
Kiara Kuenzler M.D., CEO and president of the Jefferson Center, said her organization could serve an additional 10,000 more patients each year if Senate Bill 077 becomes law. The Senate Health and Human Services Committee heard testimony on SB 077 on Monday, legislation that would significantly increase the workforce pool for behavioral health counselors in … Read more
A proposed minimum staffing level bill for hospitals was heard today in the Washington State House Labor and Workplace Standards Committee. The bill would move oversight of staffing committee statutes from the Department of Health, where it currently resides, to the Department of Labor and Industries. It would also increase the daily penalty for noncompliance … Read more
Representative Mary Bradfield (R – Fountain) is a member of the Colorado House Public & Behavioral Health & Human Services Committee and the House State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs Committee, as of Jan. 11. She also is a member of the Behavioral Health Transformational Task Force. In this Q&A, Bradfield talks with State of … Read more
Last week, Alaska lawmakers began prefiling bills for the 2022 session. Most of the health care bills deal with COVID-19, including several seeking to limit the state’s ability to enforce or mandate vaccinations. These include HB 238, which would prohibit businesses, state agencies, municipalities, school districts and the University of Alaska from requiring vaccinations if … Read more
As Michigan’s 2021 legislative session comes to a close, the legislature and Governor Gretchen Whitmer are still making efforts to improve and augment the health care workforce in Michigan. These measures continue the theme of providing financial and programmatic support to assist the health care workforce due to significant shortages brought on by the COVID-19 … Read more
Members of the Colorado General Assembly are starting to prepare their legislation for the upcoming 2022 General Session starting Jan. 12. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle spoke with State of Reform on their priorities and pre-filed health policy legislation that they will be working on throughout the next session. Rep. Dafna … Read more
The Behavioral Health Transformational Task Force interim committee is working to address the “missing middle” in the behavioral health care continuum, according to Rep. Dafna Michaelson Jenet (D-Aurora). The task force is working to address this “missing middle” in the criminal justice system and in opioid overdose care. They are also working to expand in-patient … Read more
As Utah’s second special session comes to a close, Rep. Jennifer Dailey-Provost (D-Salt Lake City), member of the Health and Human Services Interim Committee, says the legislature has gone too far with legislation inserting itself into medical and business decisions. She called it a “betrayal,” especially around youth transgender care and expanded COVID-19 vaccination exemptions. … Read more
In the last two months after the return from the Michigan Legislature’s summer break, they have been moving many health-related bills. The legislature has been moving bills on behavioral and physical health integration, improving behavioral health services in emergency departments (EDs), and prohibiting government entities from issuing COVID-19 passports or requiring vaccination to enter public … Read more