Blogs / Reports
FEATURED ARTICLE
Update: What’s Happening with CHIP?
/in Policy Blogs CHIP, Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health /by Maureen Hensley-QuinnThe Sept. 30, 2017, deadline has come and gone and Congress has not yet extended federal funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), but for now, the estimated 9 million children enrolled in the program remain covered. This is possible because CHIP, a block grant-funded program, provided annual allotments to states and a portion […]
State Medicaid Payment Reform Strategies Promote Improved Birth Outcomes
/in Policy Oklahoma, Tennessee, Wisconsin Blogs Chronic Disease Prevention and Management, Cost, Payment, and Delivery Reform, Eligibility and Enrollment, Health Coverage and Access, Health System Costs, Healthy Child Development, Infant Mortality, Integrated Care for Children, Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health, Medicaid Managed Care, Medicaid Managed Care, Population Health, Quality and Measurement, Value-Based Purchasing /by Derica Smith and Carrie HanlonImproving birth outcomes, including reducing infant mortality, is a priority for state Medicaid agencies that finance nearly half of all births each year. Three states have proven to be creative and effective laboratories in developing initiatives that use Medicaid payment and delivery reform strategies to lower costs, improve access to postpartum care, reward high-quality care, […]
Selling Health Insurance Across State Lines
/in Policy Reports Cost, Payment, and Delivery Reform, Health Coverage and Access, Health System Costs, State Insurance Marketplaces /by Jenn JensonToday we issue another brief in our series, Lessons from States: Questions for Policymakers, that puts a state lens on emerging proposals in the ACA repeal and replace debate. Our latest, Selling Health Insurance Across State Lines notes that over the last decade 21 states introduced legislation to sell across state lines, only five states enacted such […]
It Is Time for a Thoughtful, Bipartisan Discussion About What Kind of Health Care America Wants
/in Policy Blogs Cost, Payment, and Delivery Reform, Health System Costs, Quality and Measurement, Value-Based Purchasing /by Trish RileyThe Graham-Cassidy amendment represented a radical overhaul of how health care coverage is financed and delivered, raising anew the question of federalism – what should the federal government guarantee and how much state variation should be supported? The legislation tossed most critical health care coverage and policy decisions to states without giving them sufficient time or […]
SIM Round One Test States Expand Value-Based Payments in Medicaid, and in Some Cases, Beyond
/in Policy Maine, Minnesota, Vermont Blogs Cost, Payment, and Delivery Reform, Health System Costs, Medicaid Managed Care, Quality and Measurement, Value-Based Purchasing /by Jennifer ReckThe Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released its third annual evaluation of the State Innovation Model (SIM) Round One Test States, which analyzes the ability of states to use policy and regulatory levers to drive statewide health care transformation. The evaluation, completed by a team of researchers from RTI International, the Urban […]
State Medicaid Agencies Venture into Value-Based Purchasing with Federally Qualified Health Centers
/in Policy Colorado, Hawaii, Michigan, Nevada, Oklahoma Blogs Cost, Payment, and Delivery Reform, Health Coverage and Access, Health System Costs, Medicaid Managed Care, Population Health, Primary Care/Patient-Centered/Health Home, Quality and Measurement, Safety Net Providers and Rural Health, Value-Based Purchasing /by Rachel DonlonState Medicaid agencies have generally found it challenging to include federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) in value-based purchasing initiatives because of a federal law passed in 2000 that regulates how state Medicaid programs pay FQHCs for the care they provide. State Medicaid agencies are required to reimburse FQHCs through the Prospective Payment System (PPS), a […]
Wisconsin and Oklahoma Case Studies Show Marked Maternal Health Care Improvements
/in Policy Oklahoma, Wisconsin Reports 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 /by Anisha Agrawal and Derica SmithState Medicaid agencies, which fund half of all births in the United States, are increasingly looking for ways to improve birth outcomes and maternal health while reducing costs by improving medical care and avoiding medically unnecessary cesarean sections. Two case studies from Wisconsin and Oklahoma show how these states successfully improved health care access and quality by […]
Ten State-Based Exchange Executives Tell Senate Leaders Graham-Cassidy Will Disrupt Insurance Markets and Prove Impossible to Implement
/in Policy Blogs Health Coverage and Access, State Insurance Marketplaces /by Jennifer LaudanoFor Immediate Release: Sept. 25, 2017 Contact: Jennifer Laudano, 202-507-7584 jlaudano@oldsite.nashp.org WASHINGTON, DC: Today, executive directors from 10 state-operated health insurance marketplaces expressed serious concerns over the financial cuts, drastic policy changes, and dramatically altered insurance funding model proposed in the Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson amendment. In a Sept. 25, 2017, letter to Senate leadership, state insurance marketplace […]
With the Clock Ticking on Health Care, the Senate Weighs Bipartisanship vs. a Repeal and Replace Revival
/in Policy Blogs Cost, Payment, and Delivery Reform, Health Coverage and Access, State Insurance Marketplaces /by Anita CardwellTime is running out for Congress to reform the nation’s health care system, and the Senate is considering two options that could impact state health care policies dramatically. The choices include a bipartisan bill to stabilize the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) insurance markets and give states the information they need to set insurance rates for […]
CHIP’s Future: There Are Hopeful Signs from Congress, But States Still Face Uncertainty
/in Policy Blogs CHIP, Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health /by Maureen Hensley-QuinnWith less than two weeks to go before current federal funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ends, Sens. Orrin Hatch and Ron Wyden have introduced a bipartisan bill to extend the program for five years. However, state officials face the unsettling possibility that if Congress is unable to pass this legislation and appropriate […]
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