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Blog

03.2024 / By Academy Health

A new blog that published by Health Affairs describes the cultural shift in Medicaid managed care post-COVID-19 to address the social needs of enrollees. This blog highlights the findings in from multiple grants and policy recommendations moving forward.

Blog

This blog outlines vaccine coverage and payment policies for Medicaid and CHIP, and outlines strategies states can take to boost vaccine rates for children

Blog

This blog shares how partnerships between pediatrics and obstetrics and gynecology can promote access to risk-appropriate care and create a stronger continuity of care for parents and their children.

Blog

01.2024 / By Benefits Data Trust

This blog discusses how Benefit Data Trust's policy team is supporting seven agencies to simplify the SNAP application process for families and individuals and community-based organizations that assist state agencies in screening and enrolling applicants by phone.

Blog

This blog discusses how organizations can integrate trauma-responsiveness into leadership practice.

Blog

This blog provides infection control strategies public health leaders can adopt during respiratory disease season.

Blog

The ways we collect, manage, analyze, and share data used for healthcare and public health decision-making have advanced considerably over the past decade. However, with the implementation of a new, voluntary approach for health data exchange later this year, that burden could be lessened. Later this year, healthcare entities can begin sharing health data under the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement, also known as TEFCA.

Blog

This blog discusses strategies to include people living with disabilities in the public health workforce and help the current workforce focus through a diversity, equity, and inclusion lens.

Blog

This blog discusses the impact of the Public Health Equity Corps fellowship on the public health workforce and its influence on state health agencies.

Blog

This blog reviews and shares resources from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials' healthy aging portfolio, along with a roadmap state officials can utilize to promote brain health.

Blog

This blog examines how public health leaders can improve tobacco control through incremental changes, appeals to science, and partnerships with thought leaders. 

Blog

This blog examines how public health leaders are preparing to prevent illness from all three viruses with approved vaccines and preventative antibody treatments.

Blog

The policies discussed in this blog demonstrate how policymakers and health agencies can collaborate to better serve communities after emergencies.

Blog

In this blog, ASTHO's Diverse Executives Leading in Public Health scholars share insights on how the data modernization initiative and diversity, equity, and inclusion intersect with public health.

Blog

This blog shares new precise and granular estimates for smaller racial and ethnic subpopulation groups that often are under-researched in ACE studies due to data limitations.

Blog

This blog shares the steps federal and state policymakers have taken to eliminate PFAS from ground water and drinking water and to mitigate exposure to these forever chemicals.

Blog

This blog includes takeaways from an ASTHO technical package, summarizing a select group of related interventions that, taken together, help achieve and sustain improvements related to risk factors for CS or health outcomes. 

Blog

This blog examines the role of state advisory councils in emergency preparedness planning and how public health leaders can create a public health ethics committee to ensure equitable resources allocation during an emergency response.

Blog

This blog shares why adoption of and compliance with the FDA Food Code is important.

Blog

This blog examines how state agencies are collaborating to develop resources to mitigate public concerns and better protect the health and welfare of their communities.

Blog

This blog discusses the use of evidence based policies, understanding the the vaccine opinion landscape, and how public health leaders can utilize value based messaging.

Blog

This blog discusses the launch of the Diverse Executives Leading in Public Health and its cohort of leaders.

Blog

This blog highlights a conversation between ASTHO's Marcus Plescia and healthcare, technology, and policy experts from across the field, in which they discussed the future of measuring health equity in a world of rapidly evolving data.

Blog

This blog examines rural hospital closures and why rural hospitals may be at risk of closure due to the present and ongoing physician shortage. 

Blog

06.2023 / By Pew Charitable Trusts

This blog discusses the need to invest in equitable infrastructure in disadvantaged communities. 

Blog

The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials' Public Health TechXpo and Future Forum engaged some of the world’s top leaders in technology and public health on challenges and solutions for modernizing the U.S. public health system. This blog reviews key takeaways from the three-day forum. 

Blog

This blog discusses Kentucky’s decision-making process behind implementing CHW certification and how the Kentucky Office of CHWs has maintained shared decision-making with their state’s CHW workforce.

Blog

Addressing Health Related Social Needs (HRSN) in 1115 demonstrations can help states improve coverage, access, and equity. This blog examines innovative state demonstrations and implications for cross agency partnerships.

Blog

In this blog, ASTHO asked her to reflect on her experience and role leading public health communications for the nation’s capital.

Blog

This blog discusses the agenda for the event and benefits of joining the Public Health TechXpo and Futures Forum.

Blog

This blog examines dengue concerns for the United States, the development of early warning systems in the U.S affiliated Pacific Islands, and vaccine implementation in Puerto Rico.

Blog

This blog examines how public health could be impacted if the nation defaults on its debt.

Blog

This blog reviews selected policies tied to the PHE and evaluates how their expiration will impact consumers’ access to services.

Blog

This blog discusses why timely and reliable data are necessary for program planning, implementation, and monitoring/identifying resources to address and prevent ACEs. 

Blog

This blog explores the evidence behind harm reduction strategies and shares practical steps for adopting this approach in healthcare settings.

Report

05.2023 / By Urban Institute

This analysis provides new evidence on transportation barriers to healthcare, and highlights the importance of public transit accessibility in promoting equitable access to care.

Blog

This blog provides a brief update on five public health state policy issues.

Blog

This blog discusses federal investment to address climate, state and territorial health agency climate capacity and funding, and states that have introduced legislation for climate change.

Blog

This blog discusses seven podcasts that can keep individuals informed, motivated, and ready to do their best work.

Brief

This brief presents considerations and emerging state strategies for bolstering the rural behavioral health crisis care continuum at each level of care.

Webinar & Presentations

This webinar shares how health agencies can support HAI/AR staff recruitment and retention.

Blog

This blog includes a Q&A with two Iowa HHS employees to learn more about these recent efforts. 

Blog

This blog explores the best path forward for public health leadership following the shift away from telework.

Blog

This blog outlines promising strategies for state-local collaboration for opioid settlement funding.

Blog

This report explores the dynamics influencing immunization information systems (IIS) and health information exchanges (HIE) data sharing and includes considerations for health, data, and technology leaders interested in advancing IIS and HIE connectivity.

Blog

Physical activity not only improves mobility, but can reduce the risk of moderate or severe functional limitations among older adults and people with disabilities. This blog discusses the benefits of physical activity and strategies to support increased physical activity.

Blog

This blog discusses upcoming changes that will help ensure all school meals align with the dietary pattern outlined in the Dietary Guidelines. 

Blog

This blog examines the fundamental differences in vaccine exemption type, their impact on a community, and strategies to reduce exemptions. 

Webinar & Presentations

This webinar highlights how Denver Health, a health system in Colorado, is implementing a trauma-and resilience-informed approach into organizational policy and practice, while also focusing on addressing systemic racism and biases.

Blog

This blog highlights federal action limiting flavors for combustible cigarettes and cigars, cigarettes and other nicotine products; state bans on Tobacco flavors, including menthol.

Blog

This blog examines how working with trusted messengers and crafting informative and compelling legislative testimony could increase vaccine confidence among elected leaders and navigate current legislative sessions.

Blog

This blog examines legislative initiatives to increase AED and CPR Training and challenges of equity in AED and CPR training.

Blog

This blog presents findings from a study aimed at producing estimates of ACE exposure for different demographic groups.

Blog

This blog examines Health Data for Action grantee Carrie McAdam-Marx's journey to take her research on insulin out-of-pocket costs to policymakers on Capitol Hill.

Blog

This blog discusses how business’ place-based investments can advance health, wellbeing, and equity.

Blog

This blog highlights the variety of activities undertaken to implement the family glitch fix.

Blog

This blog examines recommendations state and territorial health officials should consider to strengthen trust within public health practice.

Webinar & Presentations

This webinar discusses opportunities to achieve engagement and trust between safety-net health systems and communities.

Webinar & Presentations

This webinar highlights the importance of including fathers in patient and family engagement to improve pediatric care.

Blog

This blog explores how State Interagency Councils on Homelessness (ICHs) can serve as a promising mechanism to coordinate various state and local partners and develop and implement plans to end homelessness.

Brief

This issue brief outlines the ways in which such efforts can improve communication, lead to more effective and efficient programs, and result in ongoing collaboration with people who have experienced state-run systems and services.

Blog

This blog outlines a number of strategies available to state and territorial health departments to expand their public health approaches to firearm-related violence depending on their stage of readiness to address this issue.

Brief

01.2023 / By Health Impact Project

This brief discusses how the health impact assessment and the Health in All Policies are making advancements to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to be as healthy as possible.

Blog

This blog highlights strategies health department leaders can explore to reduce staff stress and burn out.

Blog

01.2023 / By The Camden Coalition

This blog shares lessons learned of Camden Coalition’s Community Ambassadors program, which has played a key role in educating Camden and South Jersey residents about various public health concerns. 

Blog

This blog outlines CDC's strategies for preventing ACEs and how states have played a critical role in enacting policies to support them.

Webinar & Presentations

This webinar recording explores innovations in recruitment, training, and retention that can lead to a more representative and supported pediatric workforce.

Blog

This blog discusses that, though the law intended to cover ALL FFY and the provision seems straightforward, the way the law was constructed has many barriers and administrative burdens.

Blog

This blog discusses how persistently low and disparate rates of flu vaccination, and the added burden of increases in other respiratory viruses such as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), are all contributing to what may be a tumultuous next few months for the public the nation's health systems.

Blog

This blog discusses how stigma and misunderstanding of HIV transmission has led to policies that discriminate against people living with HIV or against people who have been disproportionately impacted by HIV. 

Blog

This blog reviews why taking stock during pandemic recovery and preparing for the challenges ahead presents a unique moment to build and strengthen trust in public health with young adults.

Brief

This brief provides a practical guide for states that are designing and implementing doula coverage under Medicaid. 

Blog

This blog looks into the steps health agencies often must take to prevent infectious disease spread through mitigating disease risks of contaminated water, establishing surveillance systems, vaccinating those at high risk for infection, communicating risk effectively, and monitoring endemic diseases.

Blog

This blog reviews jurisdictions that continue to implement policies to reduce tobacco and nicotine use, including increasing tobacco prices, expanding areas deemed “smoke-free,” limiting the sale of flavored tobacco products, and supporting tobacco cessation programs.

Blog

This blog discusses why supporting adolescent girls’ mental, emotional, and social needs may significantly improve population health outcomes later in life. 

Report

This report includes details on these laws and analysis of how source of income protections help families access low-poverty neighborhoods.

Blog

This blog examines the history and evolution of the opioid crisis through several charts based on data from SHADAC's State Health Compare. 

Blog

This blog focuses on e-cigarette use and smoking rates, especially among young adults.

Blog

This blog discusses how adopting a public health approach to substance use through implementation of harm reduction policies can help communities address the overdose crisis. 

Blog

The blog discusses proposed legislation to strengthen and sustain infection prevention capacity, efforts to implement requirements for data tracking and reporting through national surveillance systems, and how states are prioritizing antimicrobial stewardship.

Blog

This blog discusses how states are working to rapidly expand the available pool of providers given the higher demand for mental health services. 

Blog

This blog analyzes how the Cross Agency Leadership Team (CALT) is prioritizing improving the Federal Grant Planning and Set Up process to prevent bottlenecks and other issues that occur throughout the rest of federal grant lifecycle.

Map

This map includes states’ up-to-date approaches to school COVID-19 vaccine and mask requirements on the map below.

This blog discusses how GIS can be used by health agencies to improve public health.

Blog

This blog discusses the opportunities for state and federal policymakers to ensure food insecurity remains low now and into the future.

Blog

This blog discusses how the recent creation of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) represents an opportunity to reinvigorate the field of public health and emergency preparedness to better meet current challenges.

Blog

This blog breaks down the steps state and federal policy makers are taking to improve health outcomes for pregnant people.

Blog

This blog discusses current vaccine options, liability protections for those giving the MPV vaccine, and considerations for vaccinating teenagers. 

Blog

This blog discusses dissemination strategies that can inform preparedness efforts for future infectious disease threats.

Blog

This blog discusses how policy decisions can help chart a course to a proven method for reducing opioid mortality rates, and why lowering insurance-related barriers to MAT is key to ensuring access to this lifesaving care. 

Blog

This blog evaluates performance indicators that provide a window into how efficiently state Medicaid programs process their Medicaid Modified Adjusted Gross Income and CHIP applications.

Brief

This brief highlights key lessons to inform data-sharing partnerships between community-based organizations, state agencies, and individuals with lived expertise and outlines data-sharing.

Blog

This blog explores how states can coordinate and prepare communications related to the end of the Medicaid continuous coverage requirement with clear messaging to inform enrollees, help to reduce churn, and maximize coverage renewal, retention, and transition.

Brief

This brief highlights key successes and lessons learned from Oklahoma's implementation of new harm reduction policies. 

Report

Almost two-thirds of adults in the United States have experienced at least one adverse childhood experience (ACE). This document synthesizes evidence-based policies and programs that address clinical, community, and policy-level interventions that can prevent ACEs and mitigate consequences.

Brief

In 2021, ASTHO convened state environmental health directors (SEHDs) and directors of public health preparedness to discuss innovations developed during the COVID-19 pandemic such as virtual inspections. This brief explores how state health and partner agencies developed these methods to support environmental health work and how they are continuing to adapt them moving forward.

Blog

Two years later, many Emergency Operations Center's (EOC) across the nation remain operational in a virtual environment for the safety of public health staff. In. this blog, ASTHO’s Directors of Public Health Preparedness (DPHP) Network present a range of challenges that the DPHPs, as response leads, have learned to address, including inconsistent connectivity, greater need for remote capabilities, and improved software to facilitate operations management and reporting.

Blog

Beginning July 16, the telephone number to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, an existing hotline composed of a network of call centers, will shift to 9-8-8 across states. This blog provide in sight on the purpose of 9-8-8 and how the mental health crisis line is being supported. 

Map

State legislatures are introducing and passing legislation in preparation for the July 2022 rollout of 9-8-8, the new congressionally mandated three-digit calling code for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. This map provides insight on state enacted legislation to implement and fund 988.

Podcast

This new episode of the Medicaid Leadership Exchange podcast explores the inner workings of Medicaid’s workforce recovery and the opportunity to build a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive work culture.

Blog

The blog provides recommendations public health officials applying for grants based on a five-year funding cycle, which allows public health agencies to invest in their workforce, demonstrate the need and value for new positions and/or benefits, and make progress on longer-term workforce improvements.

Blog

This blog analyzes the progress and challenges for states modernizing vital records systems (e.g., birth, death, and marriage certificates).

Blog

This blog details how the use of an ASTHO tool was instrumental in helping create a disability preparedness toolkit for South Carolina⁠, as well as tips for how jurisdictions and agencies can address the access and functional needs of people living with disabilities during and after an emergency.

Blog

This blog post, by current state health department leaders, explores the current state of the public health workforce and provides rationale for adding board-certified preventive medicine physicians on staff in health departments. 

Blog

06.2022 / By AcademyHealth

This blog post by researchers at AcademyHealth discusses the benefits of having an affirming provider to address health inequities among LGBTQ+ older adults, as well as shares resources to increase capacity for LGBTQ+ affirming care.

Resource Page , Webinar & Presentations

The webinar aimed to bring together those in states who have implemented social risk factor screening measures for incentive use in managed care contracts.

Blog

The Center for Health Care Strategies recently spoke with Jacey Cooper, California’s Medicaid director, to explore how CalAIM seeks to improve care for Californians experiencing homelessness and what other states can learn from this work.

Report

This report offers the evidence and rationale for a policy-based approach to reduce tobacco use. It also provides (1) principles for advancing tobacco control policies and working with Tribal nations and (2) a summary of the changing tobacco control landscape, including the youth e-cigarette epidemic, information on health disparities and health equity, and addressing related issues such as marijuana, e-cigarette or vaping use-associated lung injury (EVALI), and COVID-19.

Brief

This brief examines both combined and individual rates of reported anxiety and depression symptoms for the total adult population as well as by specific breakdowns, including age, gender, race/ethnicity, income categories, and education levels.

Blog

This blog, the first in a two-part series, outlines strategies state Medicaid agencies can take to identify people with high health needs and provide them with additional support to retain or transition their health coverage in order to maintain access to essential healthcare services. 

Map

With children ages five and older now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine and booster shots widely available to adults, states are continuing to develop policies on vaccine requirements in schools, both for students and faculty. This interactive map shares states’ up-to-date approaches to school COVID-19 vaccine and mask requirements.

Graphic

This infographic outlines options can states can pursue as they consider how to target various funding sources to effectively provide treatment and recovery services for substance use disorder (SUD).

Blog

This blog post offers suggestions on what states need to consider when they structure primary care investments, including how to ensure that spending reaches patients with the highest needs and improves care delivery.

Blog

This blog provides updates focused on health insurance coverage, insurance markets, and how people are affected by insurance reform.

Blog

This blog post seeks to review updates to five existing guidelines: Well-Women Preventive Visits, Breastfeeding Services and Supplies, Counseling for Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), Screening for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Infections, and Contraception.

Dataset , Map

This interactive map allows users to explore state-by-state data about child food insecurity, and how federal nutrition programs can support better child nutrition.

Blog

This blog discuss the important role that ACA marketplaces will play in mitigating coverage losses as they prepare for the end of the Public Health Emergency and identifies basic as well as more innovative strategies marketplaces can adopt to help consumers make a smooth transition to affordable, comprehensive coverage.

Blog

05.2022 / By Benefits Data Trust

This blog explores how states are working to prepare for the end of the Public Health Emergency with the goal of modernizing benefits access to Medicaid, SNAP, and WIC rather than returning to pre-pandemic practices. 

Blog

This blog analyzes some of the public health related legislation introduced in U.S Territories and Freely Associated States during their most recent legislative sessions.

Topics include:

Health Equity
Access to Care
Covid-19
Nutrition and Food Security
Climate Change

Blog

This blog analyzes how data from the recently released  National Health Security Preparedness Index, a comprehensive snapshot of the nation’s readiness for large-scale emergencies can:

Ensure the country is prepared for future crises
Help direct ongoing relief to the communities that need it most
Pinpoint where public health and preparedness disparities persist

Blog

This blog provides model comments developed to inform and support state responses to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' RFI to achieve substantial reforms on access to coverage–namely, the processes for enrollment and eligibility redeterminations.

Resource Page

This toolkit provides a communications planning guide designed to support state Medicaid agencies as they prepare for the upcoming end of the continuous coverage requirement.

Map

This map compares state approaches to contact tracing during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Chart

This blog provides an updated look at vaccine hesitancy among U.S. adults (age 18 and older) using HPS data from January through October 2021.

Commentary

This blog provides solutions and unique opportunities for governors to reform mental health service delivery. Many states have adopted innovative tools to address these shortages.

Map

States are taking action on COVID-19 vaccine mandates and passports. This map displays the status of individual states’ efforts to:

- Ban or enforce private employer mandated vaccinations
- Mandate vaccines for state employees and health workers
- Implement vaccine passports or proof of vaccination requirements

Brief

This issue brief identifies several areas in which state departments of insurance may want to coordinate with other agencies or external stakeholders, issue new regulations or guidance, and establish means for minimizing gaps in coverage or access to services once the PHE ends.

Brief

This brief provides a current snapshot of racial, ethnic, and language concordance between nonelderly patients ages 18 to 64 and their usual providers. 

Chart

This chart provides recently updated data for state-level health behaviors and outcomes from the first years of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 and 2021.

Data includes six measures:

Alcohol-Involved Deaths
Opioid-related Drug Poisoning Deaths
Suicide Deaths
Premature Death
Adverse Childhood Experiences
Unemployment Rate

Dataset

This toolkit examines Medicaid payment strategies that Arizona, New York, Oregon, and Pennsylvania use to improve substance use disorder treatment for Medicaid beneficiaries. 

Brief

This brief examines how labor and delivery closures in New Hampshire affected the providers and patients in rural communities.

Chart , Map

This map and chart describe each state’s latest emergency orders and actions designed to safeguard residents during the COVID-19 pandemic, including statewide mask requirements.

Brief

This brief examines significant challenges and solutions identified by state health officials to mitigate coverage losses.

Map

This interactive map shows how states have developed, deployed and adapted their contact tracing approaches in response to the pandemic to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Blog

This blog highlights key themes and topics that governors across the country reflected upon during their state-of-the-state addresses. 

Brief

This brief projects Medicaid enrollment for the population under age 65 and federal and state Medicaid spending for 2022 and 2023, assuming the PHE is extended through the first, second, or third quarters of 2022.

Blog

This blog examines Virginia's framework to expand coverage for community doula services for Medicaid beneficiaries. 

Blog

This paper outlines strategies states may consider to improve routine childhood vaccination rates and catch-up the millions of children who are behind on vaccinations due to the challenges posed by the pandemic.

Blog

This Blog explores Oregon's new kindergarten readiness incentive metric in its Medicaid program focused on social-emotional health to help solidify the connection between a child’s health and their success in school and beyond. 

Report

This report examines existing data and research to comprehensively describe the scope and prevalence of obesity and available obesity treatments in the US covered by fee-for-service Medicaid, Medicaid managed care, state employee health plans, and state essential health benefits benchmark plans.


Chart

This chart provides an overview of how states legislatures are acting to coordinate and direct the uses and disbursement of opioid abatement funds. 

This facts sheet explores the U.S. mortality data of alcohol-related deaths and drug overdoses reported within the last ten years, highlighting patterns and a crescendo in numbers during the pandemic.

Blog

This blog summarizes the actions state leaders have taken to invest in and strengthen school-based mental health systems addressing students' mental health needs brought upon by COVID-19. 

Resource Page

This resource page outlines what palliative care is, how it can improve quality of life and how state policymakers can bridge the information gap.

Webinar & Presentations

This video discusses the 2021 release of the National Health Security Preparedness Index.

Blog

This blog examines important questions officials are considering as they monitor shifting trends of telehealth utilization across the country.

Chart

This chart provides a snapshot of cost-growth benchmark programs, cost-containment strategies that limit how much a state’s health care spending can grow each year, across the United States.

Map

This interactive map explores state legislation to implement and fund 988, the new congressionally mandated three-digit calling code for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

Blog

This blog details new federal rules that require health insurers to cover and waive cost-sharing for over-the-counter COVID-19 tests for the duration of the federal public health emergency.

Blog

This blog highlights several successful state initiatives that policymakers may consider adopting to improve routine Human Papillomavirus vaccination rates among adolescents and provide catch-up vaccinations to the estimated one million adolescents who are now behind due to the challenges of the pandemic.

Map

This interactive map exhibits the status of individual states’ actions on COVID-19 vaccine mandates and passports.

Blog

This blog post sheds light on how Pennsylvania has taken steps to better understand how to mitigate the racial bias by collecting information on how Medicaid Managed Care Organizations are using algorithms, the types of proxies being used, and the outcomes as a method to develop their health equity strategies.

Map

This interactive map displays each state’s latest emergency orders and actions designed to safeguard residents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Map

This interactive map showcases how states are addressing school mask mandates amidst increasing youth vaccination rates and fluctuations in pediatric COVID-19 cases.

Chart

This informative chart details key components and features of states’ Medicaid doula benefits.

Blog

This blog provides a high-level overview of a range of state-level measures which may help states understand and track trends across indicators of health equity, such as health insurance coverage, health care access and affordability, and quality of care. 

Report

This extensive report provides a communications planning guide and template communications resources designed to support state Medicaid agencies as they prepare for the upcoming end of the continuous coverage requirement.

Blog

This blog examines how state officials are actively planning for the eventual end of the Medicaid continuous coverage requirement that is currently associated with the federal COVID-19 public health emergency and enhanced federal Medicaid matching funds.

Blog , Map

This blog presents a set of data resources for the 50 states and the District of Columbia to help policymakers and other stakeholders identify opportunities to improve health equity in their states.

Blog

This blog post offers considerations for pediatric medical care teams and community partners to ensure more equitable COVID-19 vaccine distribution among children.

Blog

This brief features key considerations for state policy makers for leveraging federal funds through the American Rescue Plan Act including: Maximizing and aligning Medicaid and other funding sources; Sustaining new crisis capacity; Providing crisis services in rural areas; Addressing endemic workforce challenges; Sharing data;  and investing strategically.

Map

This map developed features state tracing programs and compares states’ approaches.

Brief

This brief explores how nearly 13 million adults delayed or did not get needed prescription drugs in the past year because of the cost, including 2.3 million elderly Medicare beneficiaries and 3.8 million nonelderly adults with private insurance, 1.1 million with Medicaid, and 4.1 million who were uninsured at any point during the year.

Report

This report offers four recommendations for policymakers to integrate individuals with lived expertise as partners in program and policy design, implementation, and evaluation to more effectively address food insecurity.

Brief

This issue brief explores opportunities for state Medicaid agencies to implement performance measures with contracted care entities that could strengthen their growing interest in social care and highlights several barriers to those applications.

Map

This map features how states are using these one-time funds to support transitions from institutional settings into the community through housing navigation, employment placement, assistance with transition costs and other social determinant supports, as well as by investing in affordable and accessible housing for home-and community-based services populations to remain within the community.

Brief

This brief describes current use of and spending on routine vision and hearing services among all Medicare beneficiaries and select subgroups.

Brief

This brief highlights key state actions to increase cancer screening for adults covered by Medicaid and improving health outcomes.

Map

This map provides a snapshot of current telehealth medications for opioid use disorder state policy 18 months into the COVID-19 pandemic.

Commentary

This commentary highlights how states have advanced two separate but related initiatives  to tackle rising healthcare costs: cost-growth benchmarks to track and contain overall healthcare spending; and prescription drug affordability boards to conduct reviews of high-cost prescription drugs and set limits on what can be paid for these drugs in the future.

Brief

This issue brief summarizes state strategies and experiences shared during a virtual summit on data and health equity, as well as lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brief

This brief synthesizes key accomplishments and lessons learned based on interviews with 10 state COVID-19 health equity task forces represented in the network. 

Commentary

This commentary covers how the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP)’s Model Act for State Oversight of Proposed Health Care Mergers grants state attorneys general and state health officials with overarching authority on cost, like a health cost commission, the authority to review, place conditions upon, and block potentially harmful consolidation of healthcare providers in their state.

Report

This report estimates increases in federal subsidies under two provisions of the Build Back Better Act that would flow to people below the federal poverty limit in the 12 states that have not expanded Medicaid (people in the “Medicaid gap”).

Brief

This brief identifies key themes and policy considerations to help Massachusetts implement value-based payment models that better meet children’s needs.

Brief

This brief highlights a Nevada program that aims to target oral health care gaps among children who rely on school-based sealant programs to prevent dental decay, the most common chronic condition among children. 

Brief

This brief examines how state Medicaid and public health programs can advance health equity for the communities they serve, especially for people of color, working both within their agency and through cross-agency partnerships.

Brief

This brief examines the information technology system, policy, and operational strategies states can consider to update key enrollee contact information to ensure eligible enrollees are able to keep or transition to new affordable health coverage at the end of the public health emergency.

Brief

This issue brief reviews state Medicaid/Children's Health Insurance Program agency data and information technology system “table stakes”—strategies that will have the highest impact for states seeking to ensure that eligible enrollees are able to keep or transition to new affordable health coverage when the Public Health Emergency continuous coverage requirements end.

Brief

This brief explores whether insurance shoppers are still being directed towards alternative coverage at a time when the Affordable Care Act coverage was broadly available and more affordable than ever because of the enhanced premium subsidies under the American Rescue Plan Act.

Factsheet

This fact sheet explores how people of color experience unfair treatment or judgment when applying for public benefits at higher rates than white adults, and those experiences often have adverse consequences.

Chart

This chart presents efforts by state insurance purchasers using reimbursement rates paid by Medicare as a reference-point to inform their programs’ hospital payments.

Chart

This brief explores how states propose using American Rescue Plan Act funds to bolster the workforce that provides home- and community-based services, including increasing reimbursement rates, providing new opportunities for professional advancement, and offering recruitment and retention incentives.

Webinar & Presentations

10.2021 / By Urban Institute

This event examines the Housing Crisis Research Collaborative and the Urban Institute's insights from published and upcoming research on how policymakers, researchers, community members, and funders can work together to support the stabilization of renters in the US during and beyond the pandemic.

Report

10.2021 / By Urban Institute

This report aims to estimate the Medicaid enrollment trends once the COVID-19 public emergency ends and policies prohibiting disenrolling beneficiaries are nullified.

Brief

This brief analyzes how three state governments (Illinois, Indiana, and Rhode Island) worked across agencies to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brief

This brief examines results from SHADAC's survey on population experiences with COVID-19 sickness and death.

Blog

This blog examines the results from the 2021 release of the National Health Security Preparedness Index which show that the nation’s protections from large-scale health threats remain highly variable across the country. 

Brief

This issue brief outlines key priorities and considerations for modernizing Immunization Information Systems, including leveraging federal funding available to support these efforts.

Chart , Dataset , Graphic

This chart presents the status of individual states’ efforts to ban or enforce private employer mandated vaccinations, mandates on vaccines for state employees and health workers, and vaccine passports.

Chart , Graphic

This chart presents information on the states banning vaccine mandates for students and those mandating that students and staff wear masks in schools.

Brief , Report

08.2021 / By Urban Institute

This brief examines how several adults have gone without needed health care during the COVID-19 pandemic over concerns about being exposed to the novel coronavirus in hospitals, doctor’s and dentist’s offices, and other health care settings.

Brief

This issue brief outlines key barriers states face in their efforts to increase vaccination rates among BIPOC and highlights strategies states are pursuing in partnership with community-based organizations to address these challenges.

Blog

This memorandum identifies and describes several strategies states deployed to counter false information campaigns during the 2020 election and examines how they may augment states’ COVID-19 vaccine messaging efforts by building better public resilience to false information and restoring trust in official sources of information.

Chart

This map and chart describe each state’s latest emergency orders and actions designed to safeguard residents during the COVID-19 pandemic, including statewide mask requirements and travel advisories.

Report

This report highlights key findings from a survey, interviews, and literature scan to identify pathways to Medicaid leadership positions, challenges, and opportunities for developing a more diverse pool of future Medicaid executives, and the skills necessary to succeed in these roles.

Blog

This blog explains how several states have increased COVID-19 vaccine rollout over the past several months by expanding vaccine access to the general adult population and children over 12.

Blog

This blog examines how Minnesota’s Medicaid expansion was a crucial resource during the COVID-19 pandemic for those who lost their jobs and/or their employer-sponsored health insurance coverage. It is estimated that approximately 29,500 Minnesotans lost their private health insurance coverage between April 2020-July 2020.

Commentary

This commentary examines that in 2018, the United States had its first decline in drug overdose deaths in decades, with overall drug overdoses decreasing 4.1% from 2017. However, provisional data on overdose deaths released by the CDC indicate that drug overdose deaths rebounded in 2019, rising 4.6% over the previous year.

Podcast

This podcast describes how the past year has seen many sectors of health care increasingly pursue diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts as health equity becomes a more prominent topic.

Podcast

This podcast describes how critical conversations about health equity can be productive when there is a shared and agreed-upon language amongst Medicaid agencies.

Blog

This blog describes how the American Rescue Plan Act expanded access to affordable health insurance coverage in a variety of ways.

Commentary

This commentary examines how in late June, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued its first proposed rule governing the health insurance markets and marketplaces.

Commentary

This commentary explains how increased flexibility in the delivery and payment of telehealth across many coverage programs, but particularly in Medicaid and CHIP, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has been a significant shift for some states. Many state officials are considering if and how to adapt rapidly implemented telehealth policies as the nation emerges from the public health emergency. 

Report

This report examines how a public option that typically pays Medicare rates would considerably reduce the cost of increasing coverage in the Medicaid gap.

Commentary

This commentary explains the federal government’s goal of reducing new HIV infections by 90% by 2030, the CDC has identified two policy strategies that states can employ for HIV prevention – provision of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis medication and availability of Syringe Service/Exchange Programs.

Graphic

This graphic illustrates how federal guidance has prompted lawmakers in a number of states to introduce legislation prohibiting businesses from requiring COVID-19 vaccinations as a condition of work.

Commentary

This commentary examines how Washington implemented the nation’s first public option for the 2021 plan year and in the first six months of 2021, states made significant progress in advancing public option proposals, with public option legislation advancing in Colorado, Nevada, and Oregon.

Commentary

This commentary examines how recent approval of the Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm under the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s Accelerated Approval Program is controversial for a range of reasons, including its projected impact on state Medicaid budgets which will be required to cover the drug, priced at $56,000 a year, despite inconclusive evidence of its clinical effectiveness. 

Report

This report examines the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey to study the relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and mental health burdens for the United States’ adult population.

Commentary

This commentary explains how rising health care costs and increased consolidation of hospitals and provider groups into large health systems have led states into exploring ways to contain costs and provide oversight of the growing market power of large hospitals.

Blog

This blog explains the harm reduction public health approach that aims to reduce harms related to substance use by treating people with dignity and compassion.

Commentary

This commentary demonstrates how data analysis is an essential tool for advancing health and racial equity.

Chart

This chart details the amounts and required oversight of COVID-19 federal funds allocated to hospitals, providers, and states by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (Families First Act), the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act (HR 266), the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

Report

This report describes how the US supply of COVID-19 vaccines has increased in recent months, and demand starting to level off most states were at or near having more vaccines available than people who want them as of May 2021.

Blog

This blog analyzes the accumulating evidence that the pandemic precipitated dangerous changes in the way people consume alcohol in the United States.

Commentary

This commentary explains that on June 17 the Supreme Court decisively rejected California v. Texas, the latest lawsuit before the Court that challenged the legality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010.

Chart

This chart demonstrates how states are using a variety of approaches to provide doula services within their Medicaid programs to address inequities.

Commentary

This commentary explains how substance use disorders (SUD) and mental health conditions are prevalent among pregnant and postpartum people in the United States, and they have far-reaching consequences for the health and well-being of parents and their children.

Brief

This brief describes Nevada's new public option that is intended to provide consumers with comprehensive, but lower cost health insurance.

Brief

This brief examines how public health activities in the United States are critical to disease prevention, health promotion, environmental health monitoring, and emergency preparedness.

Brief

This brief examines how state are shifting strategies to increase accessibility and engage communities with low COVID-19 vaccine uptake.

Blog

This article analyzes a key provision of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) to the establishment of the $350 billion Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (Fiscal Recovery Funds) for the eligible state, local, territorial and Tribal governments (Recipients) to respond to the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE).

Blog

This blog will provide up-to-date information on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on employment, spending, food and housing security, disruptions to education, physical and mental wellbeing, and health insurance and access to care.

Report

While more than half of US adults have received a COVID-19 vaccine, the slowing pace of vaccinations hampers efforts to contain the pandemic.

Report

This brief provides evidence on persistent chilling effects among low-income immigrant families during the pandemic, drawing on data from the Urban Institute’s Well-Being and Basic Needs Survey.

Journal Article

This blog serves as a resource page providing policy options and considerations for states interested in improving access to high-quality mental health care for youth and adults.

Journal Article

This blog provides updates on the current COVID-19 vaccine incentives being utilized across the country.

Commentary

This blog uses data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey to illuminate the social barriers affecting the COVID-19 vaccine rollout by looking at vaccine hesitancy among U.S. adults (age 18 and older) for January – March 2021, by region, race/ethnicity, income, and reported reasons for hesitancy.

Graphic

This chart provides information on state and territorial plans for phased allocation of COVID-19 vaccines.

Commentary

This brief analyses the state option established by the American Rescue Plan to provide community mobile crisis intervention services for a five-year period beginning in April 2022.

Report

This report examines evidence-based policymaking and how it can be improved.

Report

This report describes trends and variation in alcohol-involved death rates at the state and national levels and among demographic subgroups using vital statistics data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for 2006 to 2019.

Commentary

This commentary outlines how vaccinating children against COVID-19 will be crucial to reaching herd immunity in the United States.

Commentary

This brief summarizes the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill.

Report

This paper shares strategies that governors and other state leaders can pursue to expand access to data and technology to improve public health. 

Webinar & Presentations

This webinar offers insights and solutions for health care organizations and government entities to build effective partnerships with the individuals and communities they serve to better address their health and social needs.

Report

This analysis examines historic vaccination patterns among adults using data from the 2016-18 National Health Interview Survey.

Commentary

This commentary examines how the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine can aid vaccine distribution, but must have stronger messaging surrounding its efficacy.

Commentary

This commentary presents top-level findings from new data on vaccination rates among U.S. adults living in households.

Report

This report explores vaccine hesitancy among nonelderly adults with new data from the Urban Institute’s Well-Being and Basic Needs Survey.

Report

This report examines delayed or forgone care during the pandemic for nine types of health care services and assesses patterns by race/ethnicity, income, and the presence of physical and mental health conditions.

Commentary

This commentary discusses why states are beginning to include children in their vaccination distribution plans.

Report

This report discusses the states who are are reporting setting-specific COVID-19 outbreaks as of November 2020 and highlights promising examples that others can look to as they consider adapting and expanding COVID-19 reporting.

Webinar & Presentations

In this video, speakers from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the National Health Security Preparedness Index (NHSPI) discuss ways NHSPI can be used to guide change, the role geographic differences play in preparedness levels, how the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed health inequities, and much more.

Commentary

This commentary provides an updated view of the current state budget landscape and examines in greater detail the health care implications of choices states made to address deficits and balance their budgets in the face of the severe budget shortfalls they confronted for fiscal year 2021.

Report

This brief provides a high-level summary of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services guidance related to: (1) conducting redeterminations for Medicaid enrollees who were continuously enrolled; (2) terminating, or extending where appropriate, temporary flexibilities; and (3) developing a consumer and provider communication strategy.

Report

This report provides nationally representative estimates of telehealth use among nonelderly adults six months into the COVID-19 pandemic, as of September 2020.

Report

This report describes how the COVID-19 pandemic financially affected five safety net hospitals as of summer 2020, including the costs of preparing for and operating during the pandemic, the pandemic’s impact on their revenues, the federal financial relief they have received, and implications for policy and practice.

Graphic

This chart shows how each state is prioritizing populations in its vaccination distribution plans.

Report

01.2021 / By Urban Institute

This brief uses new data from the second wave of the Urban Institute’s Coronavirus Tracking Survey, conducted September 11 through 28, 2020, to explore the pandemic’s impact on housing stability and renters’ vulnerability to eviction.

Brief

This report explores flu vaccination rates across multiple years for U.S. adults across the 50 states and the District of Columbia as a proxy to identify population subgroups that may be harder to reach with a COVID-19 vaccine.

Webinar & Presentations

This webinar features experts reviewing the provisions of the No Surprises Act and implications for states, providing an overview of the next steps for implementing the federal balance billing protections and what the law will mean for state-level protections.

Journal Article

01.2021 / By Health Affairs

This blog post examines early evidence regarding health care spending, utilization, employment, and prices for 2020, and looks at how COVID-19 might affect these indicators going forward.

Commentary

This commentary explores Michigan’s efforts in improving access and adherence to asthma medications and devices, as well as promoting the use of evidence-based interventions to improve access to important asthma devices and services.

Commentary

This commentary explores states' approaches to contact tracing during the pandemic.

Report

This report uses data from the most recent wave of the Coronavirus Tracking Survey to examine food insecurity among families with school-age children six months into the pandemic.

Report

This report uses data from the most recent wave of the Coronavirus Tracking Survey to assess food insecurity and other key indicators of material hardship and well-being among families with young children.

Commentary

This commentary examines unique strategies states are developing to support the health needs of children and youth with special health care needs who lack access to their usual school-based physical, developmental, and mental health supports. 

Report

This report on the opioid crisis examines wide-ranging unmet community needs and service system limitations, often tied to historical policy failures and/or regional economic challenges.

Commentary

This commentary describes the legal authority that permits states to continue to authorize Medicaid reimbursement for audio-only telehealth after the public health emergency ends.

Report

This report examines the impact of COVID-19 on essential and nonessential workers needing to work in person at even higher risk for contracting COVID-19 and the need for policies and systems to protect and support them.

Report

This report explores how the pandemic contributed to inequitable patient and provider experiences with maternal health care during the prenatal, delivery, and postpartum periods.

Report

This report draws on interviews with maternal care stakeholders and available literature and reports to assess if and how our current data systems provide the information needed to track inequities in maternal health outcomes.

Commentary

This commentary explores the ways in which states are working to confront long-standing racial and ethnic disparities that the COVID-19 pandemic is laying bare.

Brief

This brief explores the key challenges faced by the rural ambulatory safety net in delivering primary care and behavioral health services since COVID-19 and the policy changes that have been implemented in response.

Commentary

This conversation explores the ways in which Louisiana continues to provide harm reduction services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Report

This report seeks to identify ways in which the opioid crisis is affecting children in families touched by drug use; how parents or caregivers could be better supported; and how service providers and systems could better support families. 

Commentary

This commentary explores what states have learned during the COVID-19 health crisis that could improve their long-term services and supports programs during and beyond the pandemic.

Brief

This brief explores impediments and accelerants to advancing health equity as states are increasingly being called upon to drive change.

Webinar & Presentations

This tool helps states gather detailed information from hospitals about their community benefit expenditures and activities during the pandemic.

Webinar & Presentations

This podcast explores strategies public-sector leaders have implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Report

This report assesses how adults and their families were faring six months into the COVID-19 pandemic.

Report

This report uses data from September 11–28, 2020 to compare food insecurity in September with levels earlier in the pandemic after major relief legislation was passed.

Commentary

This commentary explores recent federal efforts to expand private insurance coverage of a COVID-19 vaccine, and provides a roadmap for states to close remaining coverage gaps that could inhibit vaccine uptake.

Brief

This brief explores the response to the COVID-19 crisis, taking stock of what we have learned and how we have changed.

Commentary

This commentary explores the complex question of which health care payers will cover the costs of COVID-19 vaccine administration.

Report

This report examines children’s unmet health care needs during the pandemic and identifies strategies to address these gaps, as well as barriers to widespread implementation of these strategies.

Commentary

This commentary covers how states are working to ensure equitable distribution of resources and funding to promote health and safety for all during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Commentary

This commentary discusses how, as development of a COVID-19 vaccine continues, states are racing to develop vaccine distribution plans.

Webinar & Presentations

This podcast episode focuses on how vision and purpose, communication, planning for action, and balancing political and strategic agility apply in practice during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Commentary

This commentary examines the impact that recent postal delays, COVID-19-related housing and economic crises, and natural disasters have had on state Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program agencies.

Commentary

This commentary explores the potential fiscal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Medicaid and early childhood services and offers opportunities to sustain critical services.

Report

This report measures changes in insurance coverage between April 23–May 12 and July 9–21, 2020 to better understand how the recession caused by COVID-19 affected insurance coverage.

Commentary

This commentary examines how proposals to protect patients from aggressive medical debt collection during the COVID-19 pandemic could serve as a model for the future.

Webinar & Presentations

This webinar details how three provider organizations are using population health management approaches to care for people with complex needs amid COVID-19.

Commentary

This commentary highlights several strategies states can pursue to help ensure a successful open enrollment period this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Commentary

This commentary explores how states are confronting the challenges that COVID-19 poses to dental care and oral health access in the United States.

Commentary

This commentary explores how adverse childhood experiences contribute to poor health outcomes, and the ways that these are exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Commentary

This commentary explores the key role Medicaid programs play in helping the health care system make the transition to the new normal of the COVID-19 crisis.

Brief

This brief compares four studies that project the effects of the COVID-19 recession on employment-based health insurance coverage and the number of uninsured people in 2020.

Report

This report provides perspectives from organizations across the country that serve immigrant families and shares their view on what response efforts have done to support immigrant families during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Commentary

This commentary examines the characteristics of hospitals that received and did not receive the first round of high-impact COVID-19 payments to examine how well the Depart of Health and Human Services (DHHS) targeted the $12 billion to hospitals in early hot spots.

Commentary

This commentary explores how states have been required to make numerous changes to their eligibility and enrollment systems, operations, and policies, in order to comply with the enhanced Federal Medicaid Assistance Percentages.

Commentary

This commentary analyzes how states are working to protect farmworkers during COVID-19.

Commentary

This commentary provides an overview of how COVID-19 is affecting state budgets and state health programs.

Commentary

This commentary recommends specific steps for state Medicaid programs to ensure state residents receive needed services during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a specific focus on Medicaid managed care organization (MCO) enrollees.

Commentary

This commentary discusses how potential requirements for workplace coronavirus testing may force essential workers to bear a disproportionate share of the cost.

Commentary

This commentary features a conversation with health leaders in Colorado about how their agencies partnered to support families with young children during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the challenges they faced. 

Commentary

This commentary discusses the decision to shift COVID-19 data reporting from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to the Department of Health and Human Services, and subsequent warnings from state officials.

Commentary

This commentary discusses how state Medicaid, children’s health insurance programs, and health insurance marketplaces prepare for an expected increase in demand due to COVID-19, an economic downturn and ensuing budget crises, and unpredictable federal relief efforts.

Webinar & Presentations

This webinar highlighted how states should adapt their strategies during COVID-19 as they plan their open enrollment outreach and education campaigns, and how to ground these efforts in terms of audience targeting and messaging.

Report

This report uses a microsimulation model to incorporates data on employment losses by industry, state, and demographic characteristics, allowing researchers to simulate employment losses and associated health insurance coverage.

Report

This report uses data to examine how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected food insecurity and access to school meals and charitable food distribution for adults and their families in the United States.

Commentary

This commentary provides updated interactive maps that explore the current status of all 50 states and the District of Columbia’s reporting of COVID-19 case and death data breakdowns by age, gender, race, ethnicity, and health care workers.

Graphic

This map provides information on each state's contact tracing program model, workforce, lead agencies, funding, technology, and contact tracing process.

Commentary

This commentary outlines some of the collaborative and successful strategies states are taking to protect and support individuals particularly at risk for homelessness.

Commentary

This commentary outlines recent data that examines how difficult it will be to predict the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the uninsured rate.

Commentary

This commentary outlines how state legislative sessions took a hit this year from the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Commentary

In this podcast, Medicaid experts share five tips for leaders to address today’s VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity) challenges within their organizations.

Commentary

In this podcast, Medicaid experts discuss how vision coherence is important for effective leadership.

Commentary

This commentary examines approaches states are taking to protect farmworkers during the COVID-19 pandemic and recommendations for policymakers.

Webinar & Presentations

In this webinar, experts present key findings from a new COVID-19 state resource guide on federal and state Medicaid flexibilities and how they are being deployed to help ensure access to long-term services and supports.

Graphic

This chart describes each state’s dates for phased COVID-19 reopenings and any delays or reclosings resulting from the recent resurgence of infections, and indicates which states currently have statewide mask requirements.

Commentary

This commentary reviews how various states are addressing their home visiting programs and implementing more telehealth services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Commentary

This commentary features an interview on how health care systems can use trauma-informed care to support patients and frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Report

This report uses new data from the first wave of the Urban Institute’s Coronavirus Tracking Survey to examine health care affordability problems and avoidance of care due to concerns about exposure to COVID-19.

Report

This report provides the first nationally representative estimates of changes in coverage during the initial months of the recession induced by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Report

This report outlines six key steps for governors to build and support a contact tracing workforce to respond to COVID-19.

Commentary

This commentary examines the launch of a New Jersey-based Project ECHO initiative to share COVID-19 expertise between specialists and primary care to meet the needs of pregnant and parenting women during the crisis.

Commentary

This commentary provides an overview of the state of COVID-19 testing in the United States.

Commentary

This commentary revisits the history of certificate-of-need and state health planning efforts to inform future decisions as hospitals and state policymakers plan for a post-COVID-19 health care system.

Commentary

This commentary presents stories of innovative approaches to address food insecurity needs exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Commentary

This commentary presents data on how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting “deaths of despair” caused by suicides, alcohol abuse, and overdoses from opioids and other drugs. 

Journal Article

This journal article focuses on how state-level Medicaid program flexibility and emergency waivers can expand Medicaid financial eligibility for long-term supports and services for at-risk individuals.

Commentary

This commentary provides a snapshot of how states are navigating fiscal challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, given declining revenues and rising spending demands.

Report

This report examines insurer responses to the COVID-19 pandemic to assess the effect the pandemic has had on their companies as well as actions they have taken to aid in the pandemic response.

Commentary

This commentary provides an overview of new federal guidance that attempts to answer questions about requirements for coverage of COVID-19 testing services.

Commentary

This commentary examines how states are developing COVID-19 testing programs without clear federal guidance.

Commentary

This commentary discusses how some states are bolstering their community health workforces to curb COVID-19 and improve the quality of care delivered to communities that have faced decades of discrimination.

Commentary

This commentary assesses how insurers are developing their 2021 premium rates by reviewing preliminary actuarial findings in the District of Columbia, New York, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington.

Commentary

This commentary examines the importance of home visiting during the COVID-19 pandemic, as families face new or expanding challenges like domestic violence, substance use, or mental health needs.

Commentary , Dataset , Report

This dataset shows that national health security capabilities continue to gain strength, but at a rate that has slowed down over time.

Dataset

This dataset examines projected changes in federal and state Medicaid and CHIP expenditures for scenarios during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Commentary

This commentary features insights from state health agencies and health insurance marketplaces that have actively identified opportunities to conduct outreach in communities disproportionately affected by COVID-19.

Commentary

This commentary provides interactive maps that explore the status of the 50 states' and District of Columbia’s reporting of COVID-19 case and death data breakdowns by demographic categories. 

Commentary

This commentary, part of the Innovations Amid COVID-19 series, profiles a clinic's innovative approach to using online data to identify high-risk patients.

Brief

This brief provides an overview of New Hampshire’s recent directed payment to six types of essential Medicaid providers in order to help them keep their doors open during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brief

This brief provides a chart describing the effective dates of various federal provisions to allow for temporary flexibilities in the Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program programs.

Brief

This toolkit is intended to serve as a resource for states as they begin to strategize about reopening and plan for the next phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Commentary

This commentary provides a summary of state efforts to capture information on the coronavirus pandemic through state and local surveys fielded between March 2020 and May 2020.

Commentary

This commentary discusses how job losses and reductions in hours have resulted in millions losing employer coverage or the income needed to pay premiums, increasing the uninsured rate.

Commentary

This commentary outlines three key policy steps to help health centers survive in the short term and thrive beyond the COVID-19 crisis.

Commentary

This commentary shows how every state and Washington, D.C. are innovating and expanding contact tracing to contain COVID-19 infections and reopen their economies. 

Commentary

Destination: Home leadership discuss their county’s initial response to COVID-19 and their organization’s role in providing care and services for homeless individuals during the pandemic. 

Commentary

This commentary examines the relief funds in the CARES and PPP Acts intended to help providers prevent, prepare for, and respond to COVID-19.

Commentary

This commentary compiles thoughts from navigators across five states using the federally-facilitated marketplace about how they are faring during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Commentary

This chart describes each governor’s stay-at-home order, penalties for noncompliance, and dates when governors plan to reopen their economies and resume non-essential procedures.

Webinar & Presentations

In this webinar, experts reviewed the current telehealth policy landscape and considerations for states as they design their post-apex telehealth policies.

Dataset

This guide compiles more than 100 resources tracking state and local data and policy responses to COVID-19 in health care, food, housing, and income supports.

Commentary

This commentary provides a survey of actions that state and local governments have taken to intentionally incorporate equity into their COVID-19 recovery and reopening policies. 

Commentary

This commentary provides an overview of CMS relief guidance and flexibility to state hospitals, facilities, and providers on reporting measures for value-based purchasing and quality reporting programs.

Commentary

This commentary explains how, due to the loss of employer-sponsored insurance from the economic fallout of COVID-19, states may continue to see an increase in Medicaid enrollment.

Commentary

This commentary outlines challenges facing family caregivers in the COVID-19 environment and new opportunities for states to come to their aid.

Webinar & Presentations

This webinar presented results from a financial model examining the Medicaid fiscal implications of the interaction between the COVID-19 pandemic, the emerging economic downturn, and recent policy changes.

Commentary

This commentary assesses how the COVID-19 pandemic may accelerate a shift away from fee-for-service payments models in health care.

Report

This report shows how the additional levels of unemployment insurance provided through the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program affects eligibility for subsidized coverage in expansion and nonexpansion states.

Commentary

This commentary provides state and local leaders with health equity principles that can serve as a compass to point leaders toward an equitable and lasting COVID-19 recovery. 

Commentary

This commentary identifies actions federal and state policymakers have taken to address the impact of COVID-19 on their managed care performance incentive programs.

Report

This report outlines potential IT investments in responding to COVID-19 and strategies for states to support these investments, and to secure current and future IT investments that enable ongoing Medicaid program operations and advance health information exchange.

Webinar & Presentations

This webinar reviews potential information technology (IT) investments in responding to COVID-19 and strategies for states to support these investments to secure current and potential IT investments that enable ongoing Medicaid program operations and advance health information exchange.

Report

This report assesses how the pandemic is affecting family employment and caregiving, financial decisions, and material hardship among parents living with children under age 19.

Commentary

This commentary provides an overview of strategies that states can consider to help address gaps in coverage to ensure as many people as possible get access to comprehensive care as the country continues to respond and recover from the COVID-19 health and economic crisis.

Webinar & Presentations

This webinar discussed the models that have been published of where individuals are expected to gain Medicaid and Marketplace coverage over the next 18 months.

Webinar & Presentations

This webinar reported on how states are tracking the disproportionate impact of the disease on vulnerable populations and provided a framework for states to examine their COVID-19 response efforts to yield better outcomes for such populations. 

Commentary , Dataset

This commentary looks at which states are regularly reporting data that helps shed light on the health equity issues of the COVID-19 crisis.

Report

This report focuses on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on family employment, financial security, and material hardship among non elderly Hispanic adults by family citizenship status.

Commentary

This commentary argues states can begin to foster a more equitable and just COVID-19 response, relief, and recovery effort by employing a few key guidelines. Asking a series of core questions and immediately responding with appropriate action can strengthen initial responses and lay the foundation for broader reforms to advance health equity.

Webinar & Presentations

In this webinar, experts review strategies states can use to manage and process an increased number of Medicaid applications, and the federal authorities that permit states to do so.

Brief

This document provides examples of potential Medicaid messaging states can use during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Commentary

This expert perspective looks in depth at states that are regularly reporting COVID-19 health equity data.

Webinar & Presentations

In this webinar, experts from Manatt Health and Georgetown University’s Center on Health Insurance Reforms summarize recent federal legislation and guidance related to COVID-19.

Report

This toolkit provides an overview for states of various coverage pathways for individuals, including those who are uninsured, in need of COVID-19 testing and treatment.

Report

This report uses new data from the Urban Institute’s Health Reform Monitoring Survey to examine the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on families’ employment and abilities to meet basic needs, as well as disparities in the economic impact of the pandemic.

Report

This report estimates how health insurance coverage could change as millions of workers lose their jobs because of the slowdown in economic activity resulting from public health efforts to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. 

Commentary

States can use or revise this downloadable template to capture how much in federal coronavirus relief funds each hospital has received to date to guide states’ future CARES Act.

Commentary , Dataset

This chart describes each governor’s stay-at-home order, penalties for noncompliance, and the dates when governors plan to reopen their economies and resume non-essential, medical, surgical, and dental procedures.

Dataset

This chart details recent state actions affecting health insurance in response to COVID-19.

Dataset

This chart details the amounts and required oversight of federal funds allocated to hospitals, providers, and states by three federal COVID-19 laws.

Dataset

This data set tracks which states are reporting case and mortality data by race and ethnicity data on a state, zip code, or community level.

Brief

This brief provides an overview of Children Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Health Services Initiatives (HSIs) and identifies ways that states can leverage them as part of their targeted response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Commentary

This commentary discusses the 1115 waiver applications submitted by states that have the potential to safeguard access to care and increase support for children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Commentary

This commentary discusses state employee health plans (SEHPs) and the rapid changes they are making to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

Commentary

This commentary highlights the critical need for PPE and infection control expertise at nursing homes.

Commentary

This commentary discusses the need for states to be sound stewards of taxpayer dollars and why the need to do so now is particularly acute as states confront financial landscapes devastated by the pandemic.

Brief

This Q&A responds to questions received regarding the April 9 Targeted Options for Increasing Medicaid Payments to Providers During COVID-19 Crisis Webinar and corresponding Toolkit.

Report

In this report, researchers estimate the fiscal impacts of several approaches for increasing federal Medicaid matching rates, providing state-level estimates for each approach.

Brief

This Q&A provides a moment-in-time update in response to questions about the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Commentary

This commentary looks in-depth at which states are regularly reporting data that helps shed light on the health equity issues of the COVID-19 crisis.

Webinar & Presentations

This webinar discuses the impact of COVID-19 on Medicaid Managed Care Performance Incentives.

Commentary

This commentary discusses the states that have rapidly amended their Medicaid home- and community-based services for older adults and their family caregivers to ensure access to long-term services and supports during the COVID-19 crisis.

Commentary

This commentary discusses the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) and the potential eligibility challenges it creates for both individuals and states.

Commentary

This commentary discusses the steps states are taking during the COVID-19 pandemic to protect pregnant women and their infants during delivery.

Commentary

This commentary discusses the huge rise in the number of people without health insurance in the wake of mass layoffs resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and are seeking strategies to protect them from high prescription drug prices.

Commentary

This commentary discusses the unique risk for COVID-19 associated with homelessness.

Commentary

This commentary discusses details of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) signed into law on March 27, 2020. It considers the policy implications and challenges for states, and discusses potential state measures to address these challenges.

Brief

This brief addresses how Medicaid Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) and states can individually and collectively play a role in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Webinar & Presentations

This webinar highlights funding opportunities and key provisions relevant to states included in the CARES Act. 

Commentary

This commentary discusses the use of Telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic. It summarizes the federal legislation and guidance and discusses actions state departments of insurance can take to encourage greater access to telehealth services.

Commentary

This commentary includes a list of state recommendations and restrictions on the dispensing chloroquine and hydoxychloroquine.

Commentary

This commentary discusses the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES) and how policymakers can make informed decisions about how best to target these resources.

Commentary

This commentary includes examples of how states can address new needs, including housing, food, transportation, education, and employment, and how the CARES Act can support and amplify states' work to help stop the spread of COVID-19 and assist people with health-related social needs.

Commentary

This commentary includes some of the options available to states to ensure that individuals with complex medical conditions and their families have access to necessary home- and community-based services during the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis through waiver and state plan amendment applications.

Commentary

This commentary examines how Connecticut became one of the first states to put guardrails in place to guide how hospitals will use federal relief funds from the CARES Act.

Commentary

This commentary features recommended communication strategies and examples for how states can elevate coverage options and help ensure that more residents can access health insurance during these uncertain times.

Commentary

This commentary reviews the key indicators currently being tracked by states via their COVID-19 dashboards and also provides an overview of “best practices” states can consider when developing or modifying these same COVID-19 dashboards.

Brief

This brief includes communication examples to help states answer questions on how health insurance covers COVID-related testing and treatment, encourage consumers to enroll in coverage, and engage with providers to keep them informed.

Commentary , Dataset

This resource library provides key guidance, reference materials, and tools for states as they try to lessen the impact of COVID-19 on Medicaid populations.

Commentary

This commentary discusses how states are mobilizing to meet the crushing health care demands resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Commentary

This commentary examines state strategies to promote health insurance enrollment to protect consumers from potentially exorbitant medical bills during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Commentary

This commentary examines state strategies for addressing barriers to telehealth for opioid use disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Commentary

This commentary discusses what states are doing as coronavirus hospitalizations and ICU bed demand surge across the country.

Report , Webinar & Presentations

This webinar walks through tools states can use to increase payments to providers through both fee-for-service and Medicaid managed care, despite COVID-19 driven changes to utilization. An accompanying toolkit is included that identifies the immediately available tools for states.

Brief

This brief estimates that in the four weeks leading up to April 11, 2020, as many as 18.4 million individuals in the United States may be at risk of losing their employer-sponsored health insurance (ESI) coverage, including policyholders and their dependents.

Brief

This brief discusses the new established guidelines regarding placing COVID-19 related ads on social platforms.

Brief

This brief is a compilation of state marketplace communications examples during the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Brief

This brief provides a template for states to inform residents of health insurance options during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Commentary

This perspective discusses strategies state Medicaid and CHIP agencies can pursue as part of their emergency preparedness planning for, and response to, COVID-19.

Webinar & Presentations

In this webinar, experts explore the key health care provisions in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and the implications for states.

Brief

This brief examines the Families First Coronavirus Response Act that was signed into law to provide resources to help states address the effects of COVID-19.

Brief

This brief examines the strategies being implemented by states to combat opioid use disorder in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brief

This Q&A examines what the Families First Coronavirus Response Act is doing to help states address the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brief

This brief gives an overview of the multiple actions states are taking toward ensuring accessible coronavirus (COVID-19) testing and cross-agency collaboration. 

Brief

This brief is a compilation of communication examples from state departments and agencies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brief

This brief provides some answers about who is eligible to enroll in coverage as many seek new health coverage, or help paying for coverage, during the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Report

This report examines the kinds of health insurance unemployed workers have and how coverage patterns have shifted under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Commentary

This commentary reviews key information for states about the recent federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) increase and conditions states must meet to qualify for it.

Commentary

This commentary explains insurers' moves to extend coverage grace periods during the COVID-19 crisis.

Commentary

The federal government has offered Medicaid waivers to give states flexibility to quickly increase their health care workforces in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Commentary

This blog posts pulls together frequently asked questions about the novel coronavirus to help guide Navigators, brokers, assisters, and consumers through this complex and trying time.

Dataset

The 2020 County Health Rankings highlight how health outcomes and health factors differ by place within states and illustrates how health differs among racial/ethnic groups within places.

Report

This report assesses the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of adult food preparation and food service occupations and provides state-level estimates of their numbers and uninsured rates before the outbreak. 

Report

This report examines the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and its implications for Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

Commentary

This post presents two sample hospital reporting templates to help policymakers capture the information they need to critically evaluate the community benefit investments hospitals make in exchange for their tax exemptions.

Report

03.2020 / By Urban Institute

This report presents presents estimates of the number of occupied versus unoccupied beds at the national, state, and county levels, using data from the 2018 American Hospital Association Annual Survey.

Commentary

This blog post discusses the challenges and risks associated with implementing cost-sharing requirements for COVID-19 testing and treatment, and the implications that these requirements may have in individuals delaying or avoiding care altogether.

Report

This report assesses attitudes toward and concerns about the 2020 Census, drawing on data from the December 2019 Well-Being and Basic Needs Survey.

Webinar & Presentations

This webinar explores how two health care innovators are engaging communities and using consumer feedback to rethink how services are designed and delivered.

Report

This guide is intended for health departments as they continue their journey to become equity-focused organizations, both in awareness and practice.

Graphic

This infographic highlights key considerations for health care systems on how to successfully convene and maintain a consumer advisory board (CAB).

Commentary

This commentary identifies key considerations to help guide health care systems in creating successful community advisory boards (CABs),

Commentary

This interview with Veenu Aulakh, Center for Care Innovations president, touches on the organization’s approach to human-centered design and how they collaborate with patients, staff, and other stakeholders in successfully redesigning care while also telling a meaningful story to the community.

Report

These two reports provide national and state-level trends in suicide deaths from 2000 to 2017.

Report

This literature review provides an overview of the scholarly work on the drivers of health.

Commentary

This blog outlines how states like Oregon and Connecticut go beyond federal requirements to ensure that hospital community benefit spending is substantial, meets community needs, and addresses state goals in exchange for tax exemptions.

Brief

These resources describe the core roles of state Medicaid and public health agency staff when partnering to implement evidence-based prevention interventions.

Brief

06.2019 /

In this blog, two former state medicaid directors demystify the distinct yet complementary roles of public health and health care — and how these state agencies can align efforts around prevention strategies to impact health and costs.

Commentary

This interview features two physicians who participated in planning New Jersey’s statewide office-based addiction treatment program and their experiences treating addiction within primary and specialty care settings.

Dataset

06.2019 / By Altarum

This resource calculates the cost of lead exposure in states, and computes the economic benefits of specific policies and programs, from replacing lead drinking water service lines to eradicating lead paint hazards in older homes.

Report

05.2019 / By Urban Institute

This report examines changes in material hardship between 2017 and 2018 and finds that, despite a strong labor market, there was only modest progress in families’ ability to meet basic needs.

Brief

America’s day-to-day readiness to manage health emergencies has improved significantly over the past six years according to a nationwide index of health security.

Report

This report explores challenges associated with providing complex care in rural and frontier communities and outlines opportunities to ensure effective programs.

Report

This report evaluates common methods for better using categorical income measures, such as the one in the BRFSS, to calculate income as a percent of the federal poverty guidelines. 

Commentary

State policymakers have more flexibility than ever to advance health-promoting policies and programs, and showcase effective strategies from which other states—and the nation as a whole—might learn. RWJF helps inform these efforts through research and analysis, technical assistance and training, and advocacy.

Graphic

This infographic shows 10 states’ guidelines for involving community members in the community health needs assessment process, as well as their enforcement levers.

Brief

States can work to make sure hospitals truly seek out and act on meaningful input from a wide range of community representatives — not just community members on a hospital’s board or leaders from high-profile community groups.

Report

This study analyzes three programs that use non-traditional workforce strategies to extend the reach of their clinics to better engage complex patients in their homes, at medical appointments, and other locations.

Commentary

In this interview, Carole Johnson, Commissioner of New Jersey’s Department of Human Services discusses how she is advancing the state's strategies to combat the opioid epidemic.

Report

04.2019 / By Urban Institute

This report explores the effects of Kentucky’s reinstatement of work-related time limits on the SNAP participation of able-bodied adults without dependents between January 2017 and September 2018.

Brief , Graphic

Several states are developing accountable health models to improve health and control costs by addressing health-related community needs, such as transportation, recreation, and housing. This brief examines their organizational and governance structures.

Report

Six case studies examine lessons from PHNCI Innovation Learning Community grantees, who spent eighteen months implementing public health innovations in their communities.

Report

The annual County Health Rankings measure vital health factors, including high school graduation rates, obesity, smoking, unemployment, access to healthy foods, the quality of air and water, income inequality, and teen births in nearly every county in America.

Report

This report highlights 13 evidence-based policies to improve the health and well-being of state residents.

Brief

This brief reviews the role that social and economic factors--such as housing, healthy food, and income--play in a “whole person” approach to health care, especially among Medicaid’s low-income enrollees.

Brief

This brief reviews the growing body of research on Medicaid's health and economic impacts, including access to care; self-reported health status; preventive health screenings; delaying care because of costs; hospital and ED utilization; and mortality rates.

Dataset

02.2019 / By LawAtlas

This tool facilitates use of policy surveillance and legal mapping for improving the nation’s health.

Dataset

This dataset contains local, state and national data that can identify problems and help determine best practices for health and public health programs and policies that promote optimal health.

Dataset , Report

02.2019 / By Health Impact Project

This project encourages state, local, and national level organizations to include health considerations in policy decisions across multiple sectors, such as housing, transportation, and education. Research shows that the conditions in which people live, learn, work, and play influence their health, so the project also works to create cross-sector partnerships that include the expertise of health care and public health systems.

Dataset

This tool helps identify policies and programs that are a good fit for community priorities. Analysts review and assess research to rate the effectiveness of a broad variety of strategies (i.e., policies, programs, systems & environmental changes) that can affect health through changes to: health behaviors, clinical care, social and economic factors, and the physical environment.

Graphic

These infographics show how each state's overdose rates compare to the national average, provide a high-level comparison of all 50 states' overdose death rates broken down by each of the five drug types, and highlight key findings for trends in drug overdose deaths from 2000-2017,

Report

This guide provides health departments with the key components to consider before planning the FPHS implementation process.

Dataset , Report

This report examines the country’s level of public health emergency preparedness on a state-by-state basis using 10 priority indicators.

Brief

Adult Unhealthy Days is a new measure that provides state-level estimates of the average number of days in the past 30 days that an adult’s mental or physical health was not good.

Report

This report presents a set of policy options for how Project ECHO, a telehealth mentoring program, could be paid for through federal and state funding mechanisms.

Commentary

New provisional CDC data suggests opioid-related overdose deaths in the U.S. may be slowing, leveling out or dropping slightly. The opioid crisis varies across states, requiring state-level data to effectively respond.

Brief

This case study explores how Indiana’s Family and Social Services Administration is working to rethink how to optimize the integration and delivery of health and social services for Medicaid beneficiaries.

Webinar & Presentations

The Senate passed H.R. 6, The Substance Use Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act (the “SUPPORT Act”) on October 3, 2018. This reviews major health provisions of the new law and implications for states.

Report

This report highlights three states – Ohio, Oregon, and Washington – work using data, expertise, and evidence to modernize their public health systems.

Brief

This State Health Policy Highlight profiles three State Health and Value Strategies issue briefs that provide states with practical approaches to improve individual and population health and create joint accountability across health care and other sectors.

Brief

The Minnesota State Employee Group Insurance Program has covered Minnesota state employees and their dependents using a tiered provider model since 2002. A recent SHARE-funded analysis examined the tiering model as well as patient and clinic responses to this tiered provider network approach.

Dataset , Report

This report highlights the latest obesity trends as well as strategies, policies, programs, and practices that can reverse the epidemic. The report also details the level of commitment necessary to effectively fight obesity on a large scale and includes key recommendations for specific actions.

Report

09.2018 / By Urban Institute

The Well-Being and Basic Needs Survey (WBNS) monitors changes in health and well-being at a time when policymakers seek significant changes to programs that help low-income families pay for basic needs. Most indicators based on data from the WBNS are reasonably consistent with measures from larger federal surveys.

Webinar & Presentations

This webinar is first in a two-part series exploring how providers are building on existing complex care program models to extend beyond the walls of a health system.

Report

This report examines the United States opioid epidemic at the state-level, analyzing trends in overdose deaths from heroin and other opioids. Using vital statistics data, it looks at which states have the highest rates of opioid-related deaths and which have experienced the largest increases in death rates.

Webinar & Presentations

This webinar provided an overview of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 6|18 Initiative and highlighted recent accomplishments from participating Medicaid-public health teams. The CDC 6|18 Initiative is a framework to guide Medicaid-public health collaboration.

Brief

State officials can align prevention strategies with value-based payment goals through a variety of mechanisms outlined in this brief, which draws from state-based 6|18 Initiative implementation efforts to help Medicaid and public health officials make the case for investing in prevention strategies and aligning these efforts to achieve state VBP goals.

Report

This chartbook uses data from the American Community Survey (ACS) to examine health insurance coverage from 2013 to 2016 for children at the national level and in the states.

Report

Informed by more than 30 key informant interviews representing programs in 19 states and a small group convening, this report offers a national analysis to uncover opportunities to facilitate state-level, cross-sector strategies that promote health beyond the traditional health care levers.

Graphic

SHADAC is highlighting state-specific findings from the 2016 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) on measures that illustrate where states are closer to achieving a Culture of Health and where improvements can be made. As additional years of NCSH data are released, trends will be monitored in these indicators to track progress in developing a culture of health over time.

Journal Article

The six household surveys documented in this article cover a broad array of health topics, including health insurance coverage (American Community Survey, Current Population Survey), health conditions and behaviors (National Health Interview Survey, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System), health care utilization and spending (Medical Expenditure Panel Survey), and longitudinal data on public program participation (SIPP).

Report

An annual assessment of the nation and each state’s day-to-day readiness for managing health emergencies improved significantly over the past five years, though deep regional differences remain. The 2018 National Health Security Preparedness Index found the United States scored a 7.1 on a 10-point scale for preparedness—nearly a 3 percent improvement over the last year, and a nearly 11 percent improvement since the Index began five years ago.

Brief

In Morrison County, Minnesota, an innovative state approach to improve population health is also helping combat the opioid crisis and save money. The Unity Accountable Community for Health (ACH) initiative has saved the state’s Medicaid program $3.8 million over three years by reducing claims for prescription opioid and related drugs.

Webinar & Presentations

Watch: Results of the 2017 Minnesota Health Access Survey.

Journal Article

This paper examines a 2008 survey of adults enrolled in Minnesota's public health care programs to study the effect of barriers to health care access and the magnitude of those barriers on health care utilization. The authors found that multiple types of barriers are associated with delayed and foregone care, with system-level barriers and discrimination having the greatest effect on health care seeking behavior.

Report

Six case studies on innovations in public health, including: Boston's PHC Bridges Sectors to Combat Overdoses; Chicago's DPH Sees the Future Thanks to Predictive Analytics; Hennepin County Uses Automation in Databook Development; Douglas' CHD Brings STD Testing to Youth-Friendly Locations; Portsmouth's HD Uses CASPER to Collect Neighborhood Data; and Check Out a Book, Check Out a Blood Pressure Kit.

Brief

This issue brief summarizes key features of the February 9, 2018 10-year CHIP extension. CHIP covers nearly 9 million children and is a key contributor to record-low levels of uninsurance among children.

Dataset , Report

The County Health Rankings is an annual county-by-county assessment that shows where we live matters to health. This year, we bring new analyses that show meaningful health gaps persist not only by place, but also among racial and ethnic groups. These gaps are largely the result of differences in opportunities in the places where we live. And, these differences disproportionately affect people of color.

Brief

The nation’s opioid epidemic claimed more than 42,000 lives in 2016, and more than 2 million people in the United States have an opioid use disorder (OUD). Yet, only 1 in 5 people suffering from an OUD receive treatment. In this issue brief, data from three states—New Hampshire, Ohio and West Virginia—highlight Medicaid’s role as the linchpin in states’ efforts to combat the opioid epidemic.

Journal Article

This article explores efforts by nine state Medicaid and public health agency teams to implement 6|18 interventions related to asthma control, tobacco cessation, and unintended pregnancy prevention. It was published in the Journal of Public Health Practice and Management and covers Colorado, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Rhode Island, and South Carolina.

Brief

This brief compares the health topics each governor addressed in their 2018 State of the State remarks.

Brief

This brief provides an overview of State Health Compare's most recent estimates for state public health funding, which come from data collected by the Trust for America’s Health.

Report

Studies show that health disparities are often passed down from socially disadvantaged parents to their children and grandchildren. Poor children begin life on an uneven playing field; they face greater challenges than their healthier, more advantaged classmates; and they often struggle as adults to accumulate wealth to share with—and bequeath to—their children. State and federal health policymakers play a crucial role in breaking this cycle of poverty and inequity so that all can live healthy, prosperous lives.

Report

This report highlights policy levers, performance measurement strategies, and sustainable financing options that states can use to support accountable health structures.

Journal Article

This article details a qualitative analysis that (1) identified facilitators and barriers to utilizing a community health worker (CHW) model among patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs) in Minnesota; and (2) defined roles played by the CHW workforce within the PCMH team. Four themes emerged as facilitators and barriers: the presence of leaders with knowledge of CHWs who championed the model; a clinic culture that favored piloting innovation vs. maintaining established care models; clinic prioritization of patients' nonmedical needs; and leadership perceptions of sustainability.

Brief

More than 200 state health officials crowded into a NASHP annual conference session to learn about strategies to improve population health and reduce costs while simultaneously transforming their state’s health care finance and delivery models.

Report

As the opioid and mental health crises continue to gain national attention, local leaders are stepping up to implement programs to address the prevalence and impact of untreated serious mental illness (SMI) and substance use disorders (SUD). This report explores how cities and counties have launched local initiatives to address the human and economic impact of untreated SMI and SUD.

Graphic

This map highlights state activity to integrate Community Health Workers (CHWs) into evolving health care systems in key areas such as financing, education and training, certification, and state definitions, roles and scope of practice. The map includes enacted state CHW legislation and provides links to state CHW associations and other leading organizations working on CHW issues in states.

Report

The Partnership for Healthy Outcomes set out to capture and analyze the lessons emerging in this dynamic space, as organizations explore partnerships to achieve greater outcomes together than they could on their own. A national request for information asked specifically about partnerships between health care organizations and CBOs. It produced a wealth of data from a wide range of partners in a wide variety of partnerships.

Brief

This blog examines three potential changes to state public health programs, based on insights in the proposed White House budget for FY 2018. The budget is expected to change in Congress; however, it is important for states to consider what the administration’s priorities could mean for public health. It proposes some targeted infrastructure investments and proposes to reduce funding for public health infrastructure and services.

Report

This report examines the United States opioid epidemic at the state-level, analyzing trends in overdose deaths from heroin and other opioids, such as prescription painkillers. Using vital statistics data, it looks at which states have the highest rates of opioid-related deaths and which have experienced the largest increases in death rates.

Brief

Medicaid can play a unique and critical role in responding to public health emergencies and health crises. This brief explores the role Medicaid has played in responding to events such as the opioid and HIV/AIDS epidemics, the 2001 World Trade Center attacks, the Flint, Michigan lead contamination crisis, and Hurricane Katrina.

Brief

The AHCA, which proposes to repeal and replace the ACA, would dismantle the Prevention and Public Health Fund (PPHF). States received over $625 million from the PPHF in fiscal year 2016, and stand to lose more than $3 billion over five years if it is repealed. The bill would repeal all new appropriations for the PPHF starting in fiscal year 2019, and rescind any funds left over at the end of 2018.

Brief

CHIP can provide critical financial support to states as they seek to implement cost-effective lead abatement activities to protect children. This issue brief describes the CHIP State Plan option, which does not require a waiver, and the opportunity it provides for states to make significant tangible reductions in lead exposure and improvements to children’s health. The brief includes specific examples in case studies from Michigan and Maryland.

Brief

When it comes to prevention, identification, and mitigation of public health crises, states are at the forefront. These crises require a multi-sector state agency approach as often they disproportionally impact disadvantaged communities and are linked with challenging social determinants of health.

Report

Health care leaders are well-positioned to use cross-sector approaches to drive improvements in population health in collaboration with state leaders. Through the use of joint measurement and accountability tools, policymakers can help to improve health outcomes to an extent not possible through isolated, medical-centric efforts. This report outlines how state agencies can use shared measurement and joint accountability across sectors as tools for improving population health outcomes. 

Brief

High-profile diseases such as Ebola and Zika grab headlines, but state health policymakers know that emergency preparedness begins long before the first news stories—or symptoms—appear. At the nexus of federal policy and local concern, state health policymakers are well-positioned to lead prior to, and during, health emergencies.

Webinar & Presentations

Increasingly, health departments are serving as leaders in communities to address the root causes of health inequities. This requires changing systems and policies, and working with non-traditional partners to ensure that all people have the opportunity to attain their highest level of health. On December 12, 2016, PHNCI explored the stories of two health departments working to transform communities such that zip codes do not dictate health outcomes. 

Brief

Stark health disparities make it difficult to move the needle on health outcomes and costs and reflect the fact that states face a variety of political and resource constraints when it comes to implementing health equity initiatives. While disparities still exist, all states have opportunities to advance health equity through a range of approaches, from incremental targeted programs to integration in broad health reform initiatives.

Brief

Leaders from across state governments, in both the executive and legislative branches, convened to help identify cross-cutting issues that provide opportunities to advance health reform and transform our health system to one that lowers cost, rewards value, and improves health. This brief presents key opportunities before the new administration that could maintain and accelerate state-based reforms.

Brief

To help better prevent and control costly conditions such as chronic diseases and break the cycle of poor health, states are experimenting with mechanisms to incentivize healthy behaviors and personal responsibility for wellness. In October 2016, leaders from Connecticut, Idaho, and Indiana shared their experiences along with the unique approaches their states are taking to address this issue.

Brief

State agencies across the country, from Medicaid to public health, to social services and corrections, are deeply engaged in multi-sector initiatives to reduce infant mortality. And for good reason: the United States ranks 25th among industrialized countries in infant mortality with a disproportionate number of being African Americans.

Report

10.2016 / By Urban Institute

This report is a detailed analysis of state rankings on 39 health outcomes, and correlations between those health outcomes and 123 determinants of health spanning five domains: health care, health behaviors, social and economic factors, the physical and social environment, and public policies and spending.

Brief

As public health departments adapt to meet the growing and changing needs of their communities, several national initiatives emerged to serve as pathways for health departments to be conveners, providers, and strategists to improve health and well-being. PHNCI, a division of the PHAB, was created to act as a national convener to incubate and share innovative ideas that help improve public health practice and serves as the hub for 21st century health. As part of PHNCI’s aim to provide strategic coordination at the national level, this brief provides an overview of national initiatives and their connections to accreditation.

Report

In an era of public health system transformation, public health departments around the nation are adapting — or “modernizing” — to meet the growing and changing needs of their communities. To help states navigate the challenges inherent in public health system transformation, three grantee states are participating in a learning community supported by PHNCI. The three states — Ohio, Oregon and Washington — are working to test and implement the systems transformations required to provide the foundational public health services statewide and ensure that all residents have equitable access to public health.

Report

PHAB is the nonprofit accrediting body for Tribal, state, local, and territorial public health departments. In 2015, PHAB launched PHNCI, a new division established to identify, implement, and spread innovations in public health practice to help meet the health challenges of the 21st century in communities nationwide. This report explains the alignment between version 1.5 of the accreditation standards and measures and version 1.0 of the foundational capabilities as part of the foundational public health services framework.

Brief

Changes in population-based payment models in health care delivery have spurred enhanced efforts toward closer integration between state purchasers of health care and state, county, and local public health officials. This issue brief investigates approaches that state agencies might employ in order to better integrate public health and health care delivery as a means of improving health and the value of health care, and it is organized according to seven features of integration. The issue brief is accompanied by three case studies providing additional detail to some of the examples cited in the brief.

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