Every American is affected by healthcare policy, and many face skyrocketing costs with dwindling access to primary care providers and specialists. Our 50-state Network is fighting back against bureaucratic red tape that unnecessarily burdens both patients and healthcare providers alike. The solutions brought by this Network have improved access to and the affordability of healthcare.

Here are some of the highlights from this legislative session:

Alaska: Thanks to the Alaska Policy Forum, Alaska advanced healthcare reform that allows providers to enter service arrangements directly with patients rather than using third-party entities like insurance companies. Alaska Policy Forum worked with policymakers on reform and took steps to educate the public on why reform is necessary.

Florida: Thanks to the efforts of the Foundation for Government Accountability, two measures to increase transparency made it into Florida’s “Live Healthy” package. The reforms will increase price transparency and give consumers information about how paying cash would benefit them. FGA played a key role in working with lawmakers to drive policy reform.

Georgia: The Peach State secured significant Certificate-of-Need (CON) law reform thanks to the efforts of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation. The Foundation launched a video series and social media campaign highlighting the negative impact of the state’s existing CON laws on patients and providers, raising awareness of how these laws raise costs and restrict access. Their efforts paid off when a law was passed reforming CON laws to ease the burden on hospitals, particularly in rural areas.

Maryland and North Carolina: Residents with rare diseases can now seek cutting-edge personalized treatments after the state joined a growing movement in adopting the Right to Try for Individualized Treatments. The law, championed by the Goldwater Institute, gives patients the right to work with their doctor to try innovative new medical treatments before they have been approved by the FDA and made commercially available. Oftentimes this approval process can take years to decades, which is simply time that these patients do not have.[LN1] 

Mississippi: The Foundation for Government Accountability scored a win for healthcare in Mississippi after the state passed a solution to expand non-profit health plans after educating lawmakers on how the reform can provide savings in premiums for individuals with up to 77% lower price tags.

South Carolina: Telemedicine in South Carolina is now more accessible than ever thanks to Palmetto Promise Institute. This is a continuation of the Network’s multi-year efforts to make COVID-era deregulation permanent.

Tennessee: With the support of the Beacon Center of Tennessee, three significant healthcare reforms have been enshrined into law in the Volunteer state. A telehealth bill will remove the requirement that the healthcare service provider have an established provider-patient relationship prior to a virtual visit, allowing citizens to access telemedicine sooner. Pharmacy Scope of Practice Reform will increase the access and affordability of healthcare services by broadening the scope of what can be prescribed by pharmacists, and Certificate of Need is taking a step in the right direction with a rollback. The Beacon Center published a comprehensive report calling for these reforms at the beginning of the session.