Health Coverage and Access
FEATURED ARTICLE
#NASHPCONF19 Presents its Academy Award to Washington State Health Policy Innovators
/in Policy Washington Blogs Cost, Payment, and Delivery Reform, Eligibility and Enrollment, Health Coverage and Access, Health System Costs, Medicaid Expansion, Medicaid Managed Care, Quality and Measurement, Value-Based Purchasing /by Joe FloresOn Friday, Aug. 23, 2019, NASHP presented its 32nd Annual State Health Policy Conference Academy Award to a team of Washington state policymakers and legislators who have worked together to implement pioneering policies to improve the quality, cost, and delivery of health care in their state. Below are remarks made by Joe Flores, Virginia governor’s […]
States Take Action to Improve Health through Housing
/in Policy Blogs Behavioral/Mental Health and SUD, Chronic and Complex Populations, Chronic Disease Prevention and Management, Cost, Payment, and Delivery Reform, Eligibility and Enrollment, Health Coverage and Access, Health Equity, Housing and Health, Long-Term Care, Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health, Medicaid Managed Care, Medicaid Managed Care, Medicaid Managed Care, Medicaid Managed Care, Population Health, Social Determinants of Health /by Amy ClaryOn a single January night in 2018, approximately 553,000 people in the United States experienced homelessness, either sleeping on the street or in a variety of shelters, and those numbers have been gradually increasing since 2016. The risk of homeless also looms large for many who are housing insecure, including 25 percent of renters nationwide […]
Medicaid and CHIP Levers to Promote Lead Screening and Treatment: Indiana’s Experience
/in Policy Indiana, Maryland Reports Care Coordination, Chronic and Complex Populations, Health Coverage and Access, Health Equity, Housing and Health, Lead Screening and Treatment, Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health, Population Health, Social Determinants of Health /by NASHP StaffAddressing lead hazards today generates future economic benefits and improved health outcomes for children. In partnership with the Health Resources and Services Administration, NASHP is publishing a series of case studies highlighting state initiatives to promote lead screening and treatment. This study explores Indiana’s efforts to address this issue within its Medicaid and Children’s Health […]
How Washington State Is Reducing Costs and Improving Coverage Value – A Q&A with its Health Benefit Exchange CEO
/in Policy Washington Blogs Eligibility and Enrollment, Essential Health Benefits, Health Coverage and Access, Safety Net Providers and Rural Health, State Insurance Marketplaces /by Christina CousartWashington State made history recently with passage of Chapter 364 – a new law that is poised to revolutionize the state’s individual insurance market. The law takes a multi-pronged approach to its market redesign by: Creating a quasi-public option product for Washington’s individual market; Requiring standard plan design for plans sold on its exchange; and […]
A Snapshot of State Efforts to Reach and Enroll Children for State Medicaid and CHIP Programs
/in Policy Blogs CHIP, CHIP, Eligibility and Enrollment, Eligibility and Enrollment, Health Coverage and Access, Healthy Child Development, Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health, Medicaid Managed Care, Safety Net Providers and Rural Health /by Andre FloreaIn 2018, the number of children enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) declined 2.2 percent. It is not known if these children moved to other sources of health coverage, like employer-sponsored insurance, or became uninsured until publication of the US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey this fall. However, last year’s decline […]
How California Is Moving the Needle on Coverage and Costs: An Interview with Covered California Leaders
/in Policy California Blogs Eligibility and Enrollment, Health Coverage and Access, Health IT/Data, Medicaid Expansion, State Insurance Marketplaces /by Christina CousartCalifornia Gov. Gavin Newsom’s new budget has infused significant funds to make health care coverage sold through its health insurance marketplace (Covered California) more affordable and has made new subsidies available to middle-income individuals earning between 400 to 600 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL). • California’s new subsidy program assists those earning up […]
States May Soon Have to Provide Medication-Assisted Treatment to Inmates, Here’s How to Fund It
/in Policy Blogs Behavioral/Mental Health and SUD, Care Coordination, Chronic and Complex Populations, Chronic Disease Prevention and Management, Cost, Payment, and Delivery Reform, Eligibility and Enrollment, Health Coverage and Access, Health System Costs, Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health, Medicaid Managed Care, Medicaid Managed Care, Medicaid Managed Care, Medicaid Managed Care, Physical and Behavioral Health Integration, Population Health /by Kitty Purington and Chris KukkaState policymakers on the frontlines of the opioid epidemic understand that treating justice-involved individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) offers a critical opportunity to expand access to treatment. While there is strong evidence that medication-assisted treatment (MAT) promotes recovery, saves lives, and reduces re-incarceration, states must surmount significant policy and financial challenges to provide MAT […]
New Jersey and Pennsylvania Approve Legislation to Launch State-Based Insurance Marketplaces
/in Policy New Jersey, Pennsylvania Blogs, Featured News Home Eligibility and Enrollment, Health Coverage and Access, State Insurance Marketplaces /by Trish RileyState-based marketplaces (SBMs) give states more control over their local health insurance markets and consistently outperform states that use the federal marketplace with higher enrollment, more insurance plan choices for consumers, lower premium rate hikes, and a younger consumer base. These accomplishments are especially notable given recent federal policy actions that have unsettled insurance markets […]
States Take Action to Improve and Expand Early Childhood Education
/in Policy Blogs, Featured News Home Behavioral/Mental Health and SUD, Care Coordination, CHIP, CHIP, Chronic and Complex Populations, Eligibility and Enrollment, Eligibility and Enrollment, EPSDT, Health Coverage and Access, Health Equity, Healthy Child Development, Infant Mortality, Integrated Care for Children, Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health, Population Health, Social Determinants of Health /by Megan LentParticipation in early childhood education programs has been linked to better health, higher educational achievement, and higher socioeconomic status in adulthood. Given that programs have been shown to yield a $2 to $4 return for every $1 invested, many states are looking upstream and investing in the education of their youngest residents. What governors are […]
For individuals living with complex, often chronic conditions, and their families, palliative care can provide relief from symptoms, improve satisfaction and outcomes, and help address critical mental and spiritual needs during difficult times. Now more than ever, there is growing recognition of the importance of palliative care services for individuals with serious illness, such as advance care planning, pain and symptom management, care coordination, and team-based, multi-disciplinary support. These services can help patients and families cope with the symptoms and stressors of disease, better anticipate and avoid crises, and reduce unnecessary and/or unwanted care. While this model is grounded in evidence that demonstrates improved quality of life, better outcomes, and reduced cost for patients, only a fraction of individuals who could benefit from palliative care receive it. 
Rhode Island Looks to Auto-Enrollment to Ease Transitions from Medicaid to Marketplace
/in Health Coverage and Access, Policy Rhode Island Blogs, Featured News Home State Insurance Marketplaces /by Gia Gould and Maureen Hensley-Quinn