2023 Governor's State of the State speeches: on Health Care
Andy Beshear:
We've provided more than $2 billion to Kentucky hospitals
The health care industry is one of our leading employers, and it created 1,550 new jobs just in 2022. During the height of the pandemic, our hospitals and our health care heroes proved just how important they are, and together we saved tens of thousands
of lives. In recognition, we passed legislation that has provided more than $2 billion to Kentucky hospitals. This helped facilities across the state keep their doors open and helped lay the groundwork for some amazing new opportunities.
Source: 2023 State of the State Address to the Kentucky legislature
Jan 4, 2023
Andy Beshear:
Expanded Medicaid to including dental, hearing, vision
We are also called to improve the health of our people. A person has to be healthy enough to work. That's why in October, I announced expanded Medicaid coverage that includes dental, hearing and vision. Again, it's simple:
If we want you to go to work, you have to be able to see to drive to work. If you want to be safe on a job-site, you have to be able to hear the instructions.
Source: 2023 State of the State Address to the Kentucky legislature
Jan 4, 2023
Brad Little:
Make behavioral health services more accessible
We're on track to advance all of the recommendations from our historic three-branch Behavioral Health Council, and this year my IDAHO FIRST plan does even more to improve resources for troubled youth in mental health crises.
We are also going to make behavioral health services more accessible for the neediest of our neighbors and add more doctors for rural Idaho and more healthcare workers overall.
Source: 2023 State of the State Address to the Idaho legislature
Jan 9, 2023
Josh Green:
Invest in healthcare providers so we remain the health state
Some important specific items in the financial plan include:- More resources for the Hawai'i State Loan Repayment Program to help pay off educational loans for primary care and behavioral health providers, so that Hawai'i remains the health state
for generations to come--this investment will address our statewide healthcare provider shortage once-and-for-all.
- Over 60 new positions to expand nursing and medical programs across our UH campuses, with a special emphasis on behavioral health.
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The expansion of ICU and medical surgical units at Hilo Medical Center with $50 million in CIP funds.
- The firm establishment of the Office of Wellness & Resilience within the
Governor's Office, to focus on trauma informed care.
- Adding critical mental health resources for our schools and our communities.
Source: 2023 State of the State Address to the Hawaii legislature
Jan 23, 2023
Brian Kemp:
State Pathways to Coverage rather than Medicaid expansion
When I first signed the bipartisan Patients First Act in 2019, no counties had more than two health insurance carriers. Today, 86% of Georgia counties have three or more carriers. And while others have called for expanding one-size-fits none,
massive government health programs, thanks to our policies, enrollment in the individual market has more than doubled since 2019 to over 700,000 Georgians.
The Georgia Pathways to Coverage program was negotiated with the federal government so that we could expand access to health insurance for those who need it the most, while sustaining the quality of coverage. 345,000 Georgians could qualify for the
Pathways program and healthcare coverage for the first time, with no changes for those who qualify for regular Medicaid. Unlike Medicaid expansion, Georgia Pathways will not kick 200,000 Georgians off their private sector insurance.
Source: 2023 State of the State Address to the Georgia legislature
Jan 25, 2023
Brian Kemp:
$4.5M in loan repayments to increase healthcare workers
Right now, there are 67 counties with less than 10 physicians. And Georgia's need for more nurses is well documented. That's why I'm proposing over $4.5 million in loan repayment programs to grow the number of healthcare workers in Georgia.
I'm also calling for an additional 102 residency slots through an investment of $1.7 million. With these additions, we will exceed the initial goal number of this program.
Source: 2023 State of the State Address to the Georgia legislature
Jan 25, 2023
Eric Holcomb:
Address mental health, addiction, suicide, & public health
What really struck me is that our life expectancy in Indiana has declined in recent years--specifically among those who are front and center to our future--working age adults between 25 and 64-years-old. That's a pattern we need to reverse, and
I will politely push and prod and poke everyone I can to adopt the commission's recommendations, including a significant increase in our state's public-health appropriation--$120 million in the first year and $227 million in the second year.
Our health and wellbeing challenges extend to addressing mental health problems, helping Hoosiers defeat addiction, maternal and infant mortality, and assisting our veterans who face double the risk of dying by suicide than other groups.
Our localized pathways to improvement must include programs to attack these issues, close to home, by building sustainable systems that prevent and respond to a crisis and investing in data-driven, evidence-based community programs.
Source: 2023 State of the State Address to the Indiana legislature
Jan 10, 2023
Henry McMaster:
Increase mental and behavioral health services
To meet the growing demand for mental and behavioral health services, I am recommending an allocation of nearly $45 million to the Department of Mental Health. These funds will support the agency's ability to recruit and retain mental
health professionals, provide inpatient services, increase access to crisis services such as suicide prevention hotlines--including one specifically for veterans--and community-based treatment services.
Source: 2023 State of the State Address to the S.C. legislature
Jan 25, 2023
Jared Polis:
Time to hold healthcare industry accountable for high costs
We have worked with the healthcare industry in good faith to lower costs, but not all of them have held up their end of the bargain. It's time that we hold them accountable. First and foremost, that means stop overcharging patients.
It also means that nonprofit hospitals must work with their communities to live up to that promise, providing benefits like mental health, maternity care, healthcare workforce growth, and support for social determinants of health like housing and food.
Source: 2023 State of the State Address to the Colorado legislature
Jan 17, 2023
Jay Inslee:
Community-based behavioral health care is what works
The other issue confronting families and communities across Washington is behavioral health. We've been building a new, community-based system that helps people get the specific type of care they need closer to their homes and loved ones.
Community-based care is what works. We're still building, and my budgets contain funding to keep every part of our plan on track, including the new 350-bed forensic hospital at Western State.
Source: 2023 State of the State Address to the Wash. legislature
Jan 10, 2023
Joe Lombardo:
$17 million expansion of mental health services
I will make sure government does its part by increasing reimbursement rates in areas of acute need, especially in mental health services. My budget includes an enhancement in Medicaid, to expand community behavioral health centers.
This $17 million dollar expansion will add up to six clinics across the state in underserved areas including northern and rural Nevada. Ensuring more mental health services are available to anyone in need, regardless of their ability to pay.
Source: 2023 State of the State Address to the Nevada legislature
Jan 23, 2023
Joe Lombardo:
Substantially revise or repeal the Public Option
The Public Option was passed in 2021 but won't be implemented until 2026. Serious questions remain about the rushed implementation of the Public Option, agency amendments to the statute, and lack of transparency. Getting Nevadans insured is the goal.
At a minimum this law needs to be substantially revised, or better yet repealed, so we can re-focus on the real problem which is getting eligible but uninsured Nevadans the coverage they need.
Source: 2023 State of the State Address to the Nevada legislature
Jan 23, 2023
Kathy Hochul:
$1B and critical policy changes for mental health care
I'm proud to announce we will be investing more than $1 billion dollars and making critical policy changes to finally and fully meet the mental health needs of our state. We will add 1,000 inpatient psychiatric beds, funding 150 new beds in
State facilities and bringing 850 psych beds in hospitals back on line. This is more than half of the beds we have lost since 2014 and they will serve more than 10,000 New Yorkers each year. These actions are overdue.
Source: 2023 State of the State Address to the New York legislature
Jan 10, 2023
Kim Reynolds:
Increase funding for health care apprenticeship program
I'm announcing that we're increasing funding for the health care apprenticeship program we created last year, taking it from $3 to $15 million. In addition to expanding opportunities for nursing pathways,
we'll be adding apprenticeships for emergency medical services, mental and behavioral health, and direct support professionals.
Source: 2023 State of the State Address to the Iowa legislature
Jan 10, 2023
Kristi Noem:
Vaccine mandates stand in the way of business expansion
What we are doing in South Dakota is reverberating across this country and around the world. We would be growing even more if there weren't federal mandates preventing companies from coming--and Biden just extended these mandates last week.
We are in touch with a company in Canada that wants to move their business to the Black Hills. They want to grow their business and improve their quality of life here in our state. The Biden Administration's vaccine mandates are standing in their way.
Source: 2023 State of the State Address to the S.D. legislature
Jan 10, 2023
Kristi Noem:
$1.1M for pregnancy/postpartum care for Medicaid recipients
My budget proposes $1.1 million to help give pregnancy and postpartum care for moms who are Medicaid recipients. Pregnant moms who are at risk of poor birth outcomes will receive intensive care management. This will help moms have a healthy
pregnancy--and this care will extend after birth. This proves our commitment to helping moms and families through whatever situations they may face. We will help them and their babies both before birth and after.
Source: 2023 State of the State Address to the S.D. legislature
Jan 10, 2023
Laura Kelly:
Expand Medicaid; guarantee mental health care
We cannot talk about rural Kansas without talking about Medicaid Expansion. To date, we have left $6 billion dollars in Washington, D.C.--squandering our own taxpayer dollars. And we have forfeited 23,000 jobs for Kansans. There is an obvious way to
stop the bleeding: Expand Medicaid. By far the most impactful thing we could do for our small towns would be to draw down the billions of dollars--once again, our own hard-earned tax dollars--that are just sitting there.
We need to pass legislation to guarantee mental health care for our first responders. Right now, our police officers, our firefighters, our EMTs and paramedics are not eligible for workers compensation for
PTSD--even if they experienced the traumatic event on the job. That is unacceptable. We say we value our first responders. Let's put our money where our mouth is and protect them just like they protect us.
Source: 2023 State of the State Address to the Kansas legislature
Jan 24, 2023
Michelle Lujan-Grisham:
Expanding Medicaid will lead to universal health care state
Right now, New Mexico is the only state where more than half the population is on Medicaid, including 80% of children. Expanding Medicaid coverage offers us a chance to revolutionize care and become a universal health care state.
And that's exactly what we intend to do, building a healthier, longer living, more prosperous New Mexico where we can live for our dreams and decrease the fear and hardship of untreated chronic conditions in the process.
Source: 2023 State of the State Address to the N.M. legislature
Jan 19, 2023
Mike Dunleavy:
No COVID vaccine mandate; but expand Medicaid
In my second year, the pandemic descended on Alaska, and it was supposed to wipe us out. We had the best survival rate in the country and at the same time we kept our industries running.We respected local control and individual freedom. We fought
back and won against vaccine mandates and federal overreach. While battling the pandemic and the associated chaos, we kept the state moving forward.
We are asking for funding to expand postpartum Medicaid coverage from 60 days to
12 months to ensure that moms and their children get off to a healthy start in life. This initiative will also fund recruitment and retention of the health care professionals we need to fill the 5,000 jobs that will be required over the next 10 years.
The Healthy Families initiative will also add support to our efforts to battle tuberculosis. Our goal is to eliminate TB as a health threat in Alaska once and for all.
Source: 2023 State of the State Address to the Alaska legislature
Jan 23, 2023
Mike Parson:
$4.3M to address unacceptable maternal mortality rate
Currently, Missouri ranks 44th in the United States for our abnormally high maternal mortality rate. This is embarrassing and absolutely unacceptable. We are requesting $4.3 million dollars to allow the Department of Health and Senior Services to
implement a new maternal mortality plan.DHSS estimates that 75 percent of maternal deaths are preventable with at least one meaningful change to treatment, whether directly to the patient or through the provider, community, or health care system.
Source: 2023 State of the State Address to the Missouri legislature
Jan 18, 2023
Tate Reeves:
Seek free market solutions to disrupt traditional healthcare
This legislative session, I urge the legislature to think outside the box when it comes to improving Mississippi's healthcare system. Don't simply cave under the pressure of Democrats and their allies in the media who are pushing for the expansion of
ObamaCare, welfare, and socialized medicine. Instead, seek innovative free market solutions that disrupt traditional healthcare delivery models, increase competition, and lead to better health outcomes for Mississippians.
Source: 2023 State of the State Address to the Miss. legislature
Jan 30, 2023
Tony Evers:
New resources to expand school-based mental health services
Over the last year, we doubled our investment in our "Get Kids Ahead" initiative--investing $30 million of our federal pandemic relief funds to provide every Wisconsin public school district with new resources to expand school-based
mental health services. Tonight, I'm announcing we're going to make "Get Kids Ahead" a permanent state program, and we're investing more than $270 million to ensure every student has access to mental health services.
Source: 2023 State of the State Address to the Wisconsin legislature
Jan 24, 2023
Glenn Youngkin:
$230M to build strong, stable behavioral health safety net
Last month, I stood at Henrico Doctors Hospital to announce a three-year plan to fundamentally transform our behavioral health system.
The "Right Help, Right Now" plan is comprehensive and I ask this General Assembly to fully fund the $230 million first step of this plan.
This funding rapidly accelerates the transformation toward a strong and stable behavioral health safety net. It will substantially expand system capacity--same day care, relieving the burden on law enforcement,
greater pre-crisis service capacity in schools, a focus on substance use disorder, a stronger behavioral health workforce, and service innovations.
Source: 2023 State of the State Address to the Virginia legislature
Jan 11, 2023
Page last updated: Feb 18, 2023