Blogs / Reports
FEATURED ARTICLE
Why Shared Plans of Care Are Critical to Coordinated Care and How States Are Implementing Them
/in Policy Iowa, Oregon, Utah, West Virginia Blogs Behavioral/Mental Health and SUD, Care Coordination, Children/Youth with Special Health Care Needs, CHIP, CHIP, Chronic and Complex Populations, Chronic Disease Prevention and Management, Cost, Payment, and Delivery Reform, Eligibility and Enrollment, EPSDT, Health Coverage and Access, Healthy Child Development, Integrated Care for Children, Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health, Medicaid Managed Care, Physical and Behavioral Health Integration, Population Health, Primary Care/Patient-Centered/Health Home /by Erin Kim, Becky Normile and Karen VanLandeghemChildren and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN) can require significant care coordination across a continuum of health and social services. Improved care coordination for CYSHCN can lead to better outcomes for CYSHCN, as well as cost savings for states. To achieve those goals, state Medicaid agencies and Title V CYSHCN programs are increasingly […]
Administration Proposes Significant Policy Changes for State Insurance Markets through New 1332 Waiver Guidance
/in Policy Blogs Cost, Payment, and Delivery Reform, Essential Health Benefits, Health Coverage and Access, Health System Costs, State Insurance Marketplaces /by NASHP StaffOn Oct. 22, 2018, the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services and Treasury issued new guidance governing Section 1332 State Innovation Waivers, now called State Relief and Empowerment Waivers. Through increased state flexibility, the guidance supports the diffusion of association health plans and short-term, limited-duration plans, continue to stymie state efforts to use a 1332 […]
SUPPORT for Families and Communities Act: New Funding and Flexibility for States to Address Substance Use Disorder
/in Policy Blogs Behavioral/Mental Health and SUD, Care Coordination, Chronic and Complex Populations, Chronic Disease Prevention and Management, Essential Health Benefits, Health Coverage and Access, Healthy Child Development, Infant Mortality, Integrated Care for Children, Integrated for Pregnant/Parenting Women, Maternal Health and Mortality, Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health, Medicaid Managed Care, Medicaid Managed Care, Physical and Behavioral Health Integration, Population Health /by Kitty PuringtonLast week, Congress sent the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, a wide-ranging bill that seeks to address the country’s opioid crisis across a number of policy areas, to the President for his signature. The act contains numerous provisions that affect how state Medicaid agencies structure and administer services and supports for individuals with opioid […]
Q&A: How Massachusetts Uses Its Medicaid IMD Waiver to Improve Substance Use Disorder Treatment
/in Policy Massachusetts Blogs Behavioral/Mental Health and SUD, Chronic and Complex Populations, Chronic Disease Prevention and Management, Cost, Payment, and Delivery Reform, Health Coverage and Access, Health System Costs, Integrated for Pregnant/Parenting Women, Maternal Health and Mortality, Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health, Medicaid Managed Care, Medicaid Managed Care, Physical and Behavioral Health Integration, Population Health /by Rachel DonlonIn 2016, only 3.8 million of the 21 million Americans with substance use disorder (SUD) received treatment. As the opioid crisis persists, states have been working to identify new SUD treatment approaches, but the Medicaid Institutions for Mental Diseases (IMD) exclusion has historically put certain residential health care facilities out of reach for many Medicaid […]
Lawrence, Massachusetts, Keeps the Community at the Center of Hospital Community Benefits
/in Policy Massachusetts Reports Accountable Health, Behavioral/Mental Health and SUD, Blending and Braiding Funding, Chronic and Complex Populations, Chronic Disease Prevention and Management, Community Benefit, Health Equity, Housing and Health, Population Health, Social Determinants of Health /by Amy ClaryLawrence, Massachusetts, a city that has struggled with poverty and poor health, is now a Culture of Health Prize winner due in part to state policies that bolster the city’s efforts to advance health equity and address social needs. These supportive state policies include guidelines governing the local hospital’s community health needs assessments, its community […]
States Share their PrEP Prevention Initiatives to Reduce New HIV Infections
/in Policy Connecticut, Maryland, Michigan Reports Behavioral/Mental Health and SUD, Chronic and Complex Populations, Chronic Disease Prevention and Management, HIV/AIDS, Population Health /by Erin Kim and Lyndsay SanbornPre-exposure prophylaxis, known as PrEP, is a comprehensive HIV intervention that combines an antiretroviral drug, testing, and counseling to reduce new HIV infections. NASHP brought together officials from Maryland, Michigan, and Connecticut in a PrEP Policy Learning Series to learn and report on how states are effectively deploying and improving their PrEP initiatives to save […]
States Take Administrative Actions to Curb Medicaid Drug Costs
/in Policy Ohio, Vermont, West Virginia Blogs Administrative Actions, Cost, Payment, and Delivery Reform, Health Coverage and Access, Medicaid Managed Care, Prescription Drug Pricing, State Rx Legislative Action /by Jennifer ReckDuring the 2018 legislative session, 28 states passed 45 laws to curb the rising cost of prescription drugs. In addition to legislative solutions, states are taking administrative action to better manage state spending on Medicaid pharmacy benefits. Ohio, West Virginia, and Vermont offer examples of states taking innovative administrative approaches to rein in drug costs. […]
A Snapshot of the Key Health Policy Issues at Play in 2018 Governors’ Races
/in Policy Blogs Administrative Actions, Behavioral/Mental Health and SUD, Chronic and Complex Populations, Chronic Disease Prevention and Management, Cost, Payment, and Delivery Reform, Health Coverage and Access, Health Equity, Health System Costs, Integrated Care for Children, Integrated for Pregnant/Parenting Women, Maternal Health and Mortality, Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health, Medicaid Expansion, Population Health, Prescription Drug Pricing, Safety Net Providers and Rural Health, Social Determinants of Health, State Insurance Marketplaces, State Rx Legislative Action, Workforce Capacity /by Anita CardwellWith elections just three weeks away, governors’ races in 36 states – with 17 open seats – are down to the wire and important health policy issues, such as Medicaid expansion, stabilizing insurance markets, public options, and prescription drug price controls, are at play in most of them. The National Academy for State Health Policy […]
Center for Health Policy Development Board Announces New Members
/in Policy Blogs /by NASHP StaffThe Center for Health Policy Development (CHPD) is the official non-profit corporation that assures the independence of the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) and supports its work. CHPD recently held elections and instituted term limits for its board members. Members retiring due to term limits include immediate past chair Maggie Alegria, PhD, chief […]
Federal Housing Policy Developments Could Affect State Health and Housing Programs
/in Policy Blogs Behavioral/Mental Health and SUD, Chronic and Complex Populations, Chronic Disease Prevention and Management, Health Equity, Housing and Health, Population Health, Social Determinants of Health /by Peggy BaileyPeggy Bailey is director of the Health Integration Project at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and Amy Clary is a senior policy associate at NASHP. States use a range of policy levers to address the roughly 80 percent of factors affecting health that are outside the realm of clinical care, such as access […]
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. 
States’ COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Declarations and Mask Requirements
/in COVID-19 State Action Center Charts, Featured News Home, Maps COVID-19, Featured Policy Home, Health Equity, Population Health, Social Determinants of Health /by NASHP Staff and Ella Roth