- ACA Implementation & State Health Reform
- Coverage and Access
- Federal/State Issues
- Medicaid and CHIP
- Population and Public Health
- Providers and Services
- Acute Care
- Assisted Living
- Behavioral Health
- Case Management
- Child Development Services
- Chronic Care Management
- Community Health Centers
- Developmental Screening
- Early Childhood Services
- Emergency Care
- EPSDT
- Family Planning
- Federally Qualified Health Centers
- Home & Community Based Services
- Hospitals
- Long Term Services & Supports
- Medical Homes & Health Homes
- Mental Health
- Nursing Homes
- Oral Health
- Preventive Care
- Primary Care
- Safety Net Providers
- Quality, Cost, and Health System Performance
- ACOs
- Adverse Event Reporting
- Care Transitions
- Comparative Effectiveness
- Cost Sharing
- Delivery System Reform
- Fraud and Abuse
- Health Care Workforce
- Health Information Technology
- Managed Care
- Medical Homes & Health Homes
- Medical Malpractice
- Patient Safety
- Payment Reform
- Performance Measurement
- Provider Payment Policy
- Quality Oversight
- Specific Populations
- Adolescents
- Childless Adults
- Children
- Children with Special Health Care Needs
- Dual Eligibles
- Elders
- Families
- Low Income People
- Parents
- People with Chronic Conditions
- People with Developmental Disabilities
- Transitional Youth
- Vulnerable Populations
- Young Adults
- Youth
- Youth in Foster Care System
- Youth in Juvenile Justice System
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Oklahoma's Web Portal: Fostering Care Coordination Between Primary Care and Community Service Providers
This is the second in the series of Assuring Better Child Health and Development (ABCD) III Innovation Briefs. This new brief focuses on the web-based referral and tracking system ("web portal") that Oklahoma has built into its pre-existing Preventive Services Reminder System. The state designed this web portal to improve care coordination for children with or at risk for developmental delays. Oklahoma is already considering ways to adapt the web portal for other services and populations.
February 2012» -
Improving Care Coordination and Service Linkages to Support Healthy Child Development: Early Lessons and Recommendations from a Five-State Consortium
This report summarizes early findings from the current Assuring Better Child Health and Development (ABCD III) learning collaborative of five states. Arkansas, Illinois, Minnesota, Oklahoma, and Oregon are testing models to strengthen linkages and care coordination between pediatric primary care providers and community-based providers of early intervention, mental health, public health, and early care and education services. The states’ early experiences piloting communication tools, facilitating data sharing, implementing quality improvement processes, and involving families are relevant for efforts to engage multi-sector stakeholders to improve state policy, primary care practice, and population health.
June 2011» -
The Affordable Care Act and Children with Special Health Care Needs
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) provides states with some important tools that can be utilized to provide more continuous, adequate and affordable coverage for children with special health care needs (CSHCN). How the law is interpreted and whether implementation challenges are addressed with the unique needs of CSHCN in mind will shape how well the ACA fulfills its promise to this vulnerable population. This paper developed by the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) for the Catalyst Center at Boston University reviews and analyzes key provisions of the ACA relevant for CSHCN and provides suggestions for state policymakers.
Download here: The Affordable Care Act and Children with Special Health Care Needs
January 2011 -
Managing the "T" in EPSDT Services
The Early Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) program is the child health component of Medicaid. Despite EPSDT’s broad benefits, studies and state policymakers’ experience suggest that not all children are receiving the services to which they are entitled. While many stakeholders understand the requirements that define EPSDT well child visits (commonly called screening visits) and their importance to supporting and promoting child health, the requirements that define EPSDT coverage for treatment (the “T” in EPSDT) are not as well understood. This brief explores states efforts and opportunities to improve access to treatment services in EPSDT.June 2010» -
State Strategies for Care Coordination, Case Management, and Linkages for Young Children: A Scan of State Medicaid. Title V, And Part C Agencies
NASHP conducted this scan of states in order to better identify and understand what states are doing through variously funded early child health and development agencies to promote better care coordination, case management, and linkages to services for young children. The scan was designed to elicit strategies used by the three state agencies to improve healthcare and community linkages in three areas: within primary care practices; between primary care practices and other child and family service providers; and through systems or statewide strategies. This paper describes state models that may help policy makers become more aware of the potential resources and tools available to promote healthy development for young children and can provide states with strategies to more effectively coordinate resources and achieve better outcomes for their children.December 2009 -
Improving Care Coordination, Case Management, and Linkages to Service for Young Children: Opportunities for States
States can play an important role in improving care coordination and case management and strengthening linkages between primary care providers and other child and family service providers to promote and support the healthy development of young children. States can use primary care practice-based strategies, service provider linkage strategies, and systems change and cross-system strategies.
April 2009 -
State Policy Improvements that Support Effective Identification of Children At-Risk for Developmental Delay
The success of the ABCD Initiative provides lessons for states and other entities wishing to improve the quality of health care while controlling costs and improving efficiency. Identifying and implementing key processes to improve state policies affecting screening in primary care are the focus of this brief. ABCD states changed state statutes, state regulations, contracts, provider manuals, Web sites, and other documents that define state policies designed to improve the delivery of child development services.March 2009 -
The Role of State Health Policy in Multi-Sector System and Service Linkages for Young Children
Children must be healthy in order to learn. Their motor skills, coordination, and overall physical health affect social-emotional and cognitive development and academic achievement. The domains of child development are interrelated, demanding a multi-sector approach to foster healthy development. Yet, cross-sector service coordination remains a challenge. Increasingly, states are recognizing that healthy development requires attention to interrelated developmental needs of children and families, leading them to plan more integrated services. State health policy makers and program administrators, using their authority as health care purchasers, regulators, data warehouses, conveners, and educators, can help bridge the gap between the health sector and other early childhood resources by developing policies that promote coordination at both the state and local levels. With funding from the W.K.September 2008 -
Measuring and Evaluating Developmental Services: Strategies and Lessons from the ABCD II Consortium States
Since 2000, the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) and The Commonwealth Fund have conducted state learning consortia – in the Assuring better Child Health and Development (ABCD) initiative – dedicated to improving the delivery of child development services to young children who are Medicaid beneficiaries. The work of the eight ABCD states has shown that state policies, especially Medicaid policies, can effectively promote improvements in the quality of preventive and developmental services provided to young children.December 2006 -
How States are Working with Physicians to Improve the Quality of Children’s Health Care
This report examines how state agencies and medical providers are working together to improve the quality of health care for children, particularly for those who are underserved and members of at-risk populations. The paper discusses the roles that states can play in supporting provider efforts to improve the quality of children’s health care, and it offers detailed profiles of five models for doing so: • Learning collaboratives, • Modified learning collaboratives, • Practice-based seminars, • Off-site workshops, and • Models that use technology. The report concludes by summarizing the lessons that states – and their partners – have learned from these efforts.April 2006
