Thursday, August 3, 1:00 PM ET

States increasingly see oral health as important to overall health.  Oregon in particular has been working toward integrating oral health into its Medicaid coordinated care model.  In this webinar, Chris DeMars and Bruce Austin of the Oregon Health Authority will describe the state’s Medicaid system transformation and share the state’s experience integrating oral health into it, including key policy considerations. Linda Mann of Capitol Dental Care and Laura McKeane of AllCare Health will highlight innovative local strategies in Oregon for addressing oral health needs.

Register now!

The post National Webinar: Integrating Oral Health into Oregon’s Coordinate Care Model appeared first on NASHP.

State leaders know that low-income and vulnerable populations often need services and supports outside the scope of a single state agency—or a single funding stream—to live healthy lives. With support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, this NASHP webinar will profile Louisiana’s Permanent Supportive Housing program and  Virginia’s Children’s Services Act, and examine their use of blended or braided funding to help meet the health-related social needs of vulnerable low-income populations.

Speakers:

• Rebekah Gee, MD, MPH, Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health
• William A. Hazel Jr., MD, Secretary of Health and Human Resources for the Commonwealth of Virginia
• Scott Reiner, Executive Director, Virginia Office of Children’s Services
• Nicole Sweazy, Executive Director, Louisiana Housing Authority
• Robin Wagner, MSW, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Louisiana Dept. of Health, Office of Aging & Adult Services

The post Braiding and Blending Funds to Meet Health-Related Social Needs: Lessons from Louisiana and Virginia appeared first on NASHP.

Monday, June 19, 12:30-2:00 PM ET

The high cost of prescription drugs have commanded national attention, yet there have not been any successful national solutions. At the state level,there were over 80 Rx price-related bills introduced in 2017, but very few have crossed the finish line. This webinar, open only to state officials, will feature drug price legislation that has been enacted.  State officials responsible for passage and implementation will discuss the key provisions of the legislation, as well as the strategies that enabled success, and any anticipated implementation challenges.

Speakers:

• Josh Auerbach
  Assistant Attorney General, State of Maryland
• Susan Barrett
  Executive Director, Green Mountain Care Board, State of Vermont
• Jason Helgerson
  Medicaid Director, Department of Health, State of New York
• Dr. Norman Thurston
  State Representative, District 64, State Legislature, State of Utah
• Trish Riley (Moderator)
  Executive Director, National Academy for State Health Policy

You must be a state official to register. Contact Corinne Alberts with any questions.

The post Webinar: Tackling Prescription Drug Prices: A Closer Look at State Policy Successes appeared first on NASHP.

Through the State Innovation Model initiative, health home state plan option, and other payment and delivery system reforms, states have made significant investments to better integrate physical and behavioral health care. With support from The Commonwealth Fund, this NASHP webinar will explore five key components of integrated care infrastructure and highlight leading state approaches to build this infrastructure and support practice transformation. Speakers from Minnesota and Idaho will share their experiences and lessons learned. At least 30 minutes will be reserved for Q&A.

Speakers (and associated slides):

• Kitty Purington, The National Academy for State Health Policy
• Matt Wimmer, Idaho Department of Health and Welfare
• Jennifer Blanchard, Minnesota Department of Human Services

Additional Resources Referenced During Webinar:

• Minnesota Provider Toolkit: Data Privacy and Sharing

The post Webinar: State Strategies for Building Integrated Care Infrastructure appeared first on NASHP.

Overview

CMS is offering one-on-one technical assistance (TA) and a series of peer learning sessions to assist states in implementation of the final parity rule. All states are encouraged to participate, regardless of where they are in the parity compliance process. Note that any questions or information shared by states during the one-on-one TA and peer learning sessions will not be used for compliance or enforcement purposes.

One-on-one TA

States are encouraged to submit questions to the CMS Parity Team via email at parity@cms.hhs.gov. Questions will be reviewed and responded to by the CMS Parity Team. More complicated or detailed inquiries will be triaged by the CMS Parity Team for phone consultation with a contractor and may lead to additional one-on-one coaching as needed.

Peer Learning Sessions

Peer learning sessions are moderated, virtual sessions that provide an opportunity for states to share key challenges and strategies, and to problem-solve with peers. Peer learning sessions will focus on specific topics based on state technical assistance needs. Parity experts will facilitate peer learning sessions and answer questions, but active state participation is expected.

CMS staff will not attend peer learning sessions, and no information discussed on these calls will be used for compliance or enforcement purposes. Group facilitators will provide to CMS a high-level summary of states’ challenges, questions, and strategies after each session; however, states will not be identified by name or other identifying details.

Multiple time slots will be offered for each topic and pre-registration is necessary. To allow for a small group experience, participation in each group will be capped. States with multiple attendees should coordinate to register for one time slot per state.

• May 2017: Session 2 – Define classifications and map benefits to four classifications
  • Monday, May 22, 2017 at 2:00-3:00pm ET
  • Wednesday, May 24, 2017 at 3:00-4:00pm ET
• June 2017: Session 3 – Identify and analyze FRs, QTLs, and AL/ADLs
  • Tuesday, June 20, 2017 at 3:00-4:00pm ET
  • Wednesday, June 21, 2017 at 2:00-3:00pm ET
• July 2017: Session 4 – Documentation
  • Tuesday, July 18, 2017 at 3:00-4:00pm ET — Click here to register
  • Thursday, July 20, 2017 at 3:00-4:00pm ET — Click here to register
• August 2017: Session 5 – To be Determined Based on Emerging Issues
  • Tuesday, August 22, 2017 at 1:00-2:00pm ET
  • Thursday, August 24, 2017 at 3:00-4:00pm ET

Registration for Peer Learning Session 2: Define classifications and map benefits to four classifications

Topic: This peer learning session is designed to help states with defining Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder (MH/SUD) benefits for the purposes of the parity analysis, and with developing a strategy to classify benefits within the four classifications defined in the parity rule.

Overview of Peer Learning Sessions: Peer learning sessions are moderated, virtual sessions that provide an opportunity for states to share key challenges and strategies, and to problem-solve with peers. Parity experts will facilitate peer learning sessions and answer questions, but active state participation is expected.

CMS staff will not attend peer learning sessions, and no information discussed on these calls will be used for compliance or enforcement purposes. Group facilitators will provide to CMS a high-level summary of states’ challenges, questions, and strategies after each session; however, states will not be identified by name or other identifying details.

Registration: Pre-registration is necessary. To allow for a small group experience, participation in each group will be capped. States with multiple attendees are requested to coordinate to register for one time slot per state. We will confirm your registration and send pre-session exercises and recommended resources for review.

Please use the following links to register for one of the following sessions.

• Session 4a: Tuesday, July 18, 2017 3:00-4:30pm ET: Click here to register
• Session 4b: Thursday, July 20, 2017 3:00-4:30pm ET: Click here to register

The post One-on-One State TA and Peer Learning Sessions appeared first on NASHP.

Do you have to make coverage decisions, design delivery system change, and/or implement new delivery models while ensuring quality? Research evidence, including Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER) and Patient-Centered Outcomes Research (PCOR), are valuable tools for state health policymakers to achieve those goals and to increase their chances of achieving the desired outcome: advancing policies with the ability to improve the health of the population served. Though the future of health care reforms enacted under the ACA still remains uncertain and there could potentially be changes in U.S. health care delivery and coverage systems, state officials must continue to operate these programs as efficiently as possible. At this crucial juncture in U.S. health policy, reliable sources of evidence will be critical resources for state policymakers facing important decisions regarding health care delivery system and coverage policies.

This webinar, supported by the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) will provide examples of how policymakers can, and are, using evidence including CER and PCOR to inform effective policymaking. This webinar will also highlight the important role consumers play in the evidence-based policymaking process, including strategies for improving consumer engagement.

Speakers:

• Gary Franklin, MD, MPH, Medical Director, Washington State Department of Labor and Industries; Research Professor, University of Washington; Co-Director, Washington Agency Medical Directors’ Group
• Kimberley Smith, CAPM, Compliance & Stakeholder Relations Unit Manager, Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing
• Margaret Guyer, PhD, Director, Workforce Development, Organization: Department of Mental Health
• Rob Walker, External Consumer Engagement Liaison, Massachusetts Department of Mental

Moderator:

• Greg Martin, Deputy, Chief Engagement and Dissemination Officer, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)

The post Using Evidence to Achieve Effective State Health Policy appeared first on NASHP.

Join co-sponsors the National Academy of Social Insurance, Nemours, and the National Academy for State Health Policy for an in-depth discussion of the ways in which state Medicaid policy currently supports and may evolve to more actively foster a Culture of Health. Panelists will discuss both Medicaid’s direct role as a funder of health care and its broader role in helping support services and programs aimed at promoting prevention and population health. New research exploring the use of existing Medicaid authority to support state-level approaches that link clinic to community prevention to address chronic disease will be shared. Resources will include a roadmap with over 40 examples from states doing innovative work, planning tools for states, a white paper describing the accelerators and barriers to state innovations, and the final report from a study panel of experts on Medicaid and the social determinants of health.

The post Medicaid’s Role in Prevention, Population Health, and Building a Culture of Health at the State Level appeared first on NASHP.

As states continue to focus on integrated care and delivery system reform, meaningful opportunities exist to improve care for people living with HIV (PLWH). In particular, states can use existing centers of care to promote “one-stop shopping” utilization of multidisciplinary services for PLWH and linkages to Ryan White and Medicaid. The Ruth M. Rothstein CORE Center in Chicago, Illinois – part of the Cook County Health & Hospitals System – operates just such a model. By emphasizing integrated and coordinated service delivery, using a unified data system, and making programmatic decisions that directly support the client as they navigate the integrated care system, the CORE Center and its partnerships at the state level offer multiple strategies for health systems and state agencies alike in the pursuit of improved care for PLWH.

View the brief here.

The post Data, Delivery, and Decisions as Levers for Enhancing Whole-Person Care for People Living with HIV: Lessons From the Ruth M. Rothstein CORE Center appeared first on NASHP.

Date and Time: January 11, 2017 3:30-4:30 PM ET
View the webinar here
Download presentation

Contact Corinne Alberts with any questions at calberts@nashp.org

The post Webinar Addresses Rising Cost of Pharmaceuticals appeared first on NASHP.

Each year taxpayers support at least $25 billion in spending by nonprofit hospitals, most of it for patient services, including charity care. All nonprofit hospitals must report community benefit spending to the IRS to qualify for tax-exempt status and a new report from George Washington University outlines strategies that could incentivize more of that spending to support population health activities. In this webinar we will explore the laws governing community benefit spending, learn how changes in IRS rules could encourage more investment by hospitals in efforts to improve community health, and explore what levers states have to engage on this issue.

Speakers:

• Sara Rosenbaum, J.D., Harold and Jane Hirsh Professor, Department of Health Policy and Management, Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University
• Maureen Byrnes, Lead Research Scientist, Department of Health Policy and Management, Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University
• Cynthia Woodcock, Executive Director, The Hilltop Institute

Moderator:

• Trish Riley, Executive Director, NASHP

The post Webinar: Hospital Community Benefit Spending: How to Increase Investments in Population Health appeared first on NASHP.