Executive actions this period include the Department of Health adopting two sets of rules to update general clinical laboratory standards and align certificate of qualification pathways for laboratory directors with federal requirements. Simultaneously, the Education Department issued an emergency rule to conform shared pharmacy service regulations with recent statutory changes. Additionally, the Workers’ Compensation Board advanced a revised proposal to update the medical fee schedules governing reimbursement for treatments in compensation claims.

In the legislature, new measures introduced in the Assembly focus heavily on behavioral health access and workforce flexibilities. Proposed legislation would prohibit regional field offices of the Office of Mental Health from imposing county-based geographic restrictions on licensed outpatient mental health telehealth providers. Other measures seek to expand the statutory definition of qualified mental health professionals for mobile crisis outreach teams to include licensed mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists, and would allow master’s level mental health practitioners to practice under supervision for up to ninety days while awaiting formal licensure.

Additional legislative proposals address provider reimbursement mechanics and hospital staffing protections. A newly introduced measure would prohibit health insurers and health maintenance organizations from reducing negotiated rates for evaluation and management services when a provider bills for concurrent health care services on the same day. Another proposal aims to restrict the enforcement of non-compete agreements against health care professionals if a court determines that such restrictive covenants would materially impair access to critical care, emergency services, or essential clinical operations at general hospitals. Furthermore, new legislation directs the Department of Health to create specific clinical screening guidelines for postpartum psychosis as a condition distinct from general maternal depression.