State news roundup: Vt. mandates vasectomy coverage, Medicaid expansion dead in Okla.

Here are some highlights of healthcare news from Vermont, Oklahoma, Minnesota and Arizona.

Vermont Law Mandates Vasectomy Coverage

Vermont will be the first state to require public and private insurance plans to cover vasectomies, without copays and deductibles, under a bill signed into law by Gov. Peter Shumlin May 23.

The legislation effectively inserts the Affordable Care Act’s birth control mandates into Vermont law, while extending coverage to additional birth control methods including “voluntary sterilization methods” for both men and women.

“This is a family decision in many cases, and we should not pretend that this burden only falls to women at all,” Vermont State Rep. Chris Pearson told Vermont Public Radio when the bill passed in the legislature. “[It should] reflect the reality in that many, many cases, families make this decision together, and that’s appropriate."

The legislation was opposed by some religious and industry groups.

“We opposed the provision, in part because the bill failed to address the underlying prices charged for the services which is the what contributes to higher deductibles and co-pays for consumers," America’s Health Insurance Plans spokeswoman Clare Krusing said in an email to the Associated Press.

California and Maryland have also codified ACA standards on birth control into state law, but with some differences. California’s law doesn’t cover vasectomies, and Maryland’s legislation covers emergency contraceptives, which weren’t included in the Vermont bill.

Oklahome Medicaid Expansion Bill Won't Get Vote

Legislation to expand Medicaid eligibility in Oklahoma appears to be dead, the state’s Senate leader told the Associated Press.

“I think part of the [plan] is the expansion of [the ACA], and I think the Senate has been pretty clear for the last six years that we don't want to expand that portion ... because Oklahoma can't afford it," said Senate President Brian Bingman.

Bingman said there isn’t enough support in the Republican majority within the Senate to call the bill. A proposal on paying for the expansion with an increased tax on cigarettes was defeated earlier in May.

Without approving an expansion and being able tap into additional federal funds, the Oklahoma Health Care Authority is considering cutting reimbursement rates to providers by 25 percent. The board postponed a vote on the rate cut May 23, reported The Oklahoman, to allow more time for the legislature to negotiate a budget.

Minn. County Complains About Costs of 'Ineffective' IT System

Hennepin County, the most populous county in Minnesota, said it will be forced to hire 92 new employees because of new requirements involving the MNSure health insurance exchange, which the county labels “an ineffective system,” reported the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

About 41,000 Medicaid enrollees within the county (and 280,000 statewide) are expected to be transferred from an old computer system into MNSure. To complete the transfer and fulfill a new requirement for eligibility checks, Hennipin County Board Chair Jan Callison said the county will be forced to hire the new employees because of the difficulties with the MNSure IT.

“When MNsure was initiated in 2013, counties were assured that an effective state system would automate most routine work and facilitate the ability of our staff to respond to the needs of our residents," Callison wrote in a letter to Gov. Mark Dayton. "Since then, it's been three years of incremental improvements, temporary fixes and manual work-arounds for public healthcare programs, most of which counties are not responsible."

Callison said the staffing costs would have to be covered by an additional $1.7 million in county spending, along with $3 million in federal and state funds.

Ariz. Gov. Vetoes Overhaul of State Health Boards

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey rejected legislation which would have made several changes to the health regulatory boards in the state, calling it “watered down and weak.”

The bill would have required the boards to post disciplinary actions and minutes of their meetings online, along with imposing limits on how long members can serve on boards.

In Ducey’s letter rejecting the bill, he said he favors greater oversight of the boards, but doesn’t believe the legislation goes far enough.

“I do not believe the best way to address needed reform at the board level is small, isolated changes that do not address the root of the problem,” Ducey wrote.

The bill was motivated by an investigation by KNXV-TV in Phoenix into the state’s dental board, which found dentists who had been stripped of their licenses in other states or had engaged in severe misconduct and criminal activity were allowed to keep practicing in Arizona.