The Washington insurance commissioner, state telehealth collaborative, and state health care authority will study proposed methods to measure the impact of audio-only telemedicine on access to health care services for historically underserved communities and geographic areas.

Several state Medicaid programs have begun reimbursing for vaccine counseling services amid efforts across the country to increase COVID-19 vaccination rates. Vaccine counseling services can provide reassurance, education, and clarity to those experiencing vaccine hesitancy.

Several states have enacted fiscal year 2022 budgets that include line items related to the pandemic. For example, Florida budgeted $326 million to continue response efforts and Washington allocated money to hire case investigators, contact tracers, and other positions to respond to COVID-19.

Six states — Arizona, California, Florida, Indiana, Oregon, and Washington — are experiencing a frequency of COVID-19 variants, first identified in Brazil and South Africa, greater than 10 percent. FDA recommends providers in these states use only the REGEN-COV monoclonal antibody for treatment.

In response to new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance for fully vaccinated people, several states, including Nevada, Oregon, and Washington, have lifted their statewide mask mandates.

States are using varying techniques to encourage the public to get vaccinated for COVID-19. Some states are linking vaccination rates to loosening restrictions or offering financial incentives to those receiving a vaccine, while others focus on forming partnerships to scale up vaccination efforts.

At least 29 bills in 17 states involve health services for patients who are transgender, and many of these efforts specifically focus on youth populations. Several states proposed restricting access to transgender health care, by prohibiting or criminalizing gender-affirming care.

The administration approved the Pfizer vaccination for emergency use. In preparation, states — including Arizona, Colorado, Florida, and Washington — have outlined their vaccine distribution plans, which must be submitted to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Virginia and Washington have paused proposals to extend Medicaid postpartum coverage for low-income women, due to budget constraints resulting from the pandemic. States are engaged in contact tracing to curb the spread of COVID-19, and 24 states enacted budgetary measures related to the emergency.

Newly approved state plan amendments in Alabama, Arizona, Minnesota, Washington, and Wyoming aim to increase flexibility to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Federal guidance details how states can request ventilators; states regulate distribution of chloroquine and hydoxychloroquine and take steps to ensure housing stability.

Washington state received approval for a Section 1135 waiver, targeted at removing additional Medicare and Medicaid regulatory barriers for providers to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The new law requires the state to contract with one or more insurers to offer qualified health plans through its individual insurance marketplace beginning in 2021, as well as fund premium subsidies for people earning less than 500 percent of the federal poverty level.

With expected gridlock between our new divided Congress, states could be the ones to drive major health policy activity in 2019.

Begun as a state-funded pilot for high-risk uninsured adults in two counties, Washington state’s Mental Health Integration Program combines mental health screenings and treatment in a collaborative care model.