Maryland Extends Medicaid Enrollment Freeze On Behavioral Health Providers

The Baltimore Sun: Maryland Health Department Extends Pause On Medicaid Enrollment For Some Behavioral Health Providers 
The Maryland Department of Health has extended a pause on new provider enrollments in Medicaid for certain mental health and addiction treatment facilities. The pause will now last until July 2025, a statement from the department said last week. First instituted in July, it affects four kinds of providers: Psychiatric rehabilitation programs; psychiatric rehabilitation programs, health home; Level 2.5 partial hospital program; and Level 2.1 Intensive outpatient treatment programs. (Bazos, 12/31)

AP: Massachusetts Lawmakers Approve Bill To Close Loopholes In Health Care Market
The Massachusetts Legislature approved a bill Monday aimed at closing loopholes in the state’s health care market regulatory process exposed by the collapse of Steward Health Care. The bill is also designed to increase financial transparency by gathering more information about hospital finances and assist in maintaining a more stable and sustainable health care system, according to legislature supporters. The measure would bolster the reporting authority of the state’s Center for Health Analysis and Information and the scope of the oversight of the Health Policy Commission by adding reporting requirements for hospitals. (12/31)

The Texas Tribune: Texas Must Replace COVID-19 Mental Health Funds, Experts Say
Replacing federal pandemic relief funding critical to community programs could top Texas lawmakers' to-do list for mental health next year as they also address understaffing of the 988 suicide hotline, mental health in schools and reviving the workforce. Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar projected the state will have a $20 billion surplus at the start of the 2025 session on Jan. 14. Although the state has plenty of cash, competing priorities like school vouchers, campus security and fixing Medicaid enrollment issues might diminish what’s available for mental health. (Simpson, 1/2)

WLRN Public Media: Hurricanes Test Florida Community Health Centers' Resilience And Adaptability
In the aftermath of the 2024 hurricanes, Florida community health centers proved indispensable in disaster response and recovery, providing far more than medical care. The back-to-back blows of Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton left many counties reeling, testing the resilience and adaptability of health care providers. (12/31)

Reproductive health developments —

AP: New York Employers Must Now Offer Paid Medical Leave During Pregnancy
Pregnant New Yorkers will be entitled to at least 20 hours of paid leave to attend prenatal medical appointments under a law that took effect Wednesday. Gov. Kathy Hochul said the policy makes New York the first state in the country to offer paid leave for prenatal care. All pregnant workers in the private sector are eligible for the paid time off. Workers can schedule the paid leave for pregnancy-related medical appointments such as physical examinations, end of pregnancy care and fertility treatments, among other things. (1/1)

St. Louis Public Radio: Planned Parenthood Asks Judge To Reconsider Abortion Order
Planned Parenthood is asking a Kansas City judge to reconsider an order that left some abortion restrictions in place after she temporarily struck down a Missouri ban on the procedure. Jackson County Circuit Judge Jerri Zhang earlier this month ruled several of the state’s restrictions on abortion providers were unlawful now that a constitutional right to receive an abortion in Missouri has gone into effect. But Zhang’s Dec. 20 order left other rules for providers in place, including licensing requirements that apply to abortion facilities in the state. (Fentem, 1/2)

AP: Takeaways From AP's Report On Social Safety Nets In States That Ban Abortion
States with restrictive abortion laws generally have more porous safety nets for mothers and young children, according to recent research and an analysis by The Associated Press. Tennessee is an example of how this plays out. Tennessee residents of childbearing age are more likely to live in maternal care deserts and face overall doctor shortages. Women, infants and children are less likely to be enrolled in a government nutrition program known as WIC. And Tennessee is one of only 10 states that hasn’t expanded Medicaid to a greater share of low-income families. (Ungar and Kruesi, 12/27)

KFF Health News: For Many Rural Women, Finding Maternity Care Outweighs Concerns About Abortion Access
In what has become a routine event in rural America, a hospital maternity ward closed in 2023 in this small Oregon town about an hour from the Idaho border. For Shyanne McCoy, 23, that meant the closest hospital with an obstetrician on staff when she was pregnant was a 45-mile drive away over a mountain pass. (Mongeau Hughes, 1/2)

Psychedelics and cannabis in Colorado —

The Colorado Sun: Coloradans Will Have A New Psychiatric Treatment Option In Psilocybin On Jan. 1
Ryan Chrapko ate some psilocybin half an hour ago. He’s been staring at the same tree now for 10 minutes. It wasn’t a lot of mushrooms, only about a quarter of a gram. It’s just enough to unlock a sense of childlike wonder in his psyche at this particular moment. (Roch, 12/30)

AP: Psychedelic Therapy Begins In Colorado
As Colorado becomes the second state to legalize psychedelic therapy this week, a clash is playing out in Colorado Springs, where conservative leaders are restricting the treatment over objections from some of the city’s 90,000 veterans, who’ve become flagbearers for psychedelic therapy to treat post-traumatic stress disorder. Colorado residents voted to legalize the therapeutic use of psilocybin, the chemical compound found in psychedelic mushrooms, in a 2022 ballot measure, launching two years of rulemaking before it could be used to treat conditions such as depression and PTSD. (Bedayn, 1/1)

The Colorado Sun: Colorado Launches New Public Health Campaign About High-THC Cannabis
In more than a decade since Colorado voters legalized recreational marijuana for adults, state officials have come up with a ton of ideas for delivering cannabis-cautious public health messages to the public. They tried stoner humor. They tried high-concept art installations. They tried … hoedown music? The results have been decidedly mixed. (Ingold, 12/31)