• California: The Office of the California Surgeon General recently announced a new initiative called Strong Start & Beyond that is aimed at halving the state's maternal mortality rate by the end of 2026. "Although California has made significant progress on improving maternal health outcomes, we're still losing too many mothers, especially Black women who are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications compared to white women," said California Surgeon General Diana Ramos, adding that it's "not just a statistic, it's a crisis." The state plans to take a multipronged approach inside and outside of healthcare settings to reduce maternal deaths. Some strategies in the initiative include an open-source at-home pregnancy medical risk questionnaire and increasing awareness of services and programs the state already offers for pregnant individuals, such as community health workers and doula services. (Robertson, MedPage Today, 9/18)
• District of Columbia: Last week, the federal government relaunched its program to distribute free at-home COVID-19 tests to U.S. households. Under the program, each household can receive up to four at-home test kits. People can order the tests on COVIDTests.gov, which will direct them to a U.S. Postal Service site. According to HHS, this is the program's seventh round of distribution since it began in the winter of 2021. So far, more than 900 million tests have been delivered to U.S. residents. "Reopening this popular program is the latest step by the Biden-Harris Administration to ensure that over-the-counter COVID-19 tests are available to all who want them this fall and winter," said HHS Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Dawn O'Connell. "Before you visit with your family and friends this holiday season, take a quick test and help keep them safe from COVID-19." (Rubin/Tyko, Axios, 9/26; McPhillips, CNN, 9/26)
• Illinois: Walgreens has agreed to pay the Department of Justice (DOJ) a $106.8 million fine to settle allegations that the company billed government healthcare programs for prescriptions that were never dispensed. In a statement, DOJ said Walgreens had allegedly violated the False Claims Act, as well as state statutes between 2009 and 2020, when it submitted false claims for payment to Medicare and Medicaid for prescriptions that were processed but never picked up by patients. Instead, DOJ alleged Walgreens restocked and resold the same prescription to other patients without reversing the claim submitted to the government, which allowed the company to collect payment twice. "Medicare enrollees, and consumers at-large, rely on pharmacies for critical medications that sustain their quality of life, and providers who prey upon public healthcare programs to increase profit margins must be held accountable," said Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Christian Schrank from HHS' Office of Inspector General (OIG). "HHS-OIG is unwavering in its commitment to protecting taxpayer-funded healthcare programs and ensuring those that threaten their integrity are held liable for their actions." To prevent similar fraud from happening again, DOJ said Walgreens made changes to its electronic pharmacy management system. (Davis, Crain's Chicago Business/Modern Healthcare, 9/13)

The development of COVID-19 tests and reliance on home-based care have made at-home testing a major market — but is it here to stay? We examine two factors driving its growth and two potential roadblocks to its continued success.