Blogs / Reports
FEATURED ARTICLE
NASHP Workgroup Bridges Research and Health Care Policy
/in Policy Blogs Behavioral/Mental Health and SUD, Care Coordination, Chronic and Complex Populations, Cost, Payment, and Delivery Reform, Health System Costs, Physical and Behavioral Health Integration /by Olivia BaconNational reports show it takes 17 years[1] before medical research is put into practice by health care providers. Why does it take so long? Are there levers or tools, such as payment incentives or provider education, that state health policymakers can use to bridge that gap? The National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) recently […]
Bracing for an Uncertain 2018, States Can Apply the Flexibility and Innovation Learned in 2017
/in Policy Blogs Administrative Actions, Cost, Payment, and Delivery Reform, Health System Costs, Medicaid Managed Care, Model Legislation, Newly-Enacted Laws, Prescription Drug Pricing, Quality and Measurement, State Rx Legislative Action, Value-Based Purchasing /by Anita CardwellThe federal political and funding uncertainties that affected state health insurance coverage in 2017, including the potential repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), are expected to reverberate through 2018. But this year, state health care policymakers have some lessons learned about the value of state flexibility and innovation as they navigate another tumultuous year. […]
Trending Now: State Legislation that Bans Pharmacy Benefit Managers’ “Gag Clauses”
/in Policy Blogs Newly-Enacted Laws, Prescription Drug Pricing, State Rx Legislative Action /by LaVita TuffA growing number of state legislatures across the country are introducing bills to outlaw a “gag clause” that prevents pharmacists from telling consumers when there are cheaper prescription drug alternatives available. Some of the bills also require fuller disclosure about the business relationships between pharmacy benefit managers, health plans, and pharmacies in order to address […]
Virginia Cooperative Promotes Evidence-Based, Prevention Improvements in Primary Care
/in Policy Virginia Reports Care Coordination, Chronic and Complex Populations, Cost, Payment, and Delivery Reform, Health System Costs, Population Health, Primary Care/Patient-Centered/Health Home, Quality and Measurement, Value-Based Purchasing /by Olivia BaconYears can pass before providers fully integrate evidence-based approaches that can saves lives and provide more cost-effective care into their practices. To speed that process, NASHP worked with Virginia’s EvidenceNOW cooperative to share findings from that initiative’s effort to promote evidence-based primary care prevention with 1,500 small- to mid-sized primary care practices in 12 states. […]
State Legislatures Start Out Strong in 2018 with Bills to Curb Rx Drug Costs
/in Policy Blogs Model Legislation, Prescription Drug Pricing, State Rx Legislative Action /by NASHP WritersWith the federal government continuing to take no action to curb drug costs, states legislatures across the country are intensifying their efforts in 2018 to staunch the financial hemorrhage to health care budgets caused by escalating prescription drug costs. Three weeks into 2018, 43 bills designed to rein in prescription drug costs have been introduced […]
Latest Continuing Resolution Funds Six Years of CHIP
/in Policy Blogs CHIP, CHIP, Eligibility and Enrollment, Health Coverage and Access, Healthy Child Development, Integrated Care for Children, Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health /by Anita CardwellYesterday, after a three-day federal government shutdown, Congress passed a continuing resolution (CR) bill that was quickly signed into law to keep the federal government operating through Feb. 8, 2018. After months of delay, Congress included new, long-term funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in the CR. Since September 2017, when consistent federal […]
A Glimpse at Kentucky’s Newly Approved Medicaid Work Requirement Waiver
/in Policy Kentucky Blogs Cost, Payment, and Delivery Reform, Health Coverage and Access, Health System Costs, Work Requirements /by Anita CardwellLast week, for the first time the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) approved a Medicaid waiver application that includes work and community engagement requirements as a condition of Medicaid eligibility for certain enrollees. Approval of Kentucky HEALTH’s Medicaid waiver proposal, which will run through Sept. 30, 2023, came one day after CMS released […]
Maryland Lawmakers Submit Drug Cost Review Bill Based on NASHP’s Model Legislation
/in Policy Blogs Administrative Actions, Model Legislation, Newly-Enacted Laws, Prescription Drug Pricing, State Rx Legislative Action /by NASHP StaffANNAPOLIS — State lawmakers are scheduled to introduce a bill today that empowers Maryland to regulate prescription drug costs by evaluating the affordability of certain drugs and imposing limits on what the state and commercial health plans will pay them. Based on model legislation created by the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP), the […]
State CHIP Officials Speak Out on Impact of Congressional Funding Delay
/in Policy Blogs CHIP, Chronic Disease Prevention and Management, Eligibility and Enrollment, Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health, Population Health /by Maureen Hensley-QuinnIn early January, the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) asked all state Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and Medicaid officials: How state CHIP funding exhaustion dates and contingency planning had changed as a result of the Dec. 22, 2017, continuing resolution that provided states with a short-term allotment of $2.85 billion, and What […]
Overview of Medicaid’s New Work and Community Engagement Option for States
/in Policy Blogs Cost, Payment, and Delivery Reform, Health Coverage and Access, Health System Costs, Work Requirements /by Anita CardwellLast week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued guidance outlining a new policy that allows states to implement work and community engagement requirements for certain Medicaid enrollees. States would be permitted to seek federal approval to require non-elderly, non-pregnant adults who are not eligible for Medicaid due to a disability to participate […]
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