Collaborating with Health Centers to Leverage HIT for System Improvement
Early in 2010, NASHP hosted a webinar that brought together individuals from Massachusetts, Oregon, and Tennessee with experience in collaborating with health centers around Health Information Technology (HIT) activities to discuss ways in which state agencies and federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) are working together to use HIT and health information exchange (HIE) funding opportunities from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to achieve mutual goals for health system improvements.
State Innovations in EPSDT
Between 2007 and 2009, the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP), with the support of The Commonwealth Fund worked with the Medicaid staff tasked with administering the EPSDT program (EPSDT coordinators) to support their efforts to improve children's access to health and developmental services as well as the quality of those services. This technical report outlines eight innovative strategies states are using to achieve these goals and highlights three major goals that states were seeking to achieve for their EPSDT program.
Opportunities and Recommendations for State-Federal Coordination to Improve Health System Performance: A Focus on Patient Safety
NASHP convened a roundtable of state and national health policy leaders in October 2009 to discuss opportunities for states and the federal government to develop congruent policies to promote patient safety. This brief summarizes recommendations that emerged from that meeting. Participants identified four criteria to use in selecting issues for state-federal coordination: (1) degree of readiness for change, (2) symbolic value and potential to send broad messages about priorities, (3) potential to avoid harm from non-aligned policies, and (4) potential for cost savings. Con
Enhanced Pregnancy Benefit Packages: Worth Another Look
Through their Medicaid programs, states may offer specialized pregnancy benefits to women that target risks contributing to poor pregnancy outcomes. Though such benefits are categorized as “optional” Medicaid services, they are seen by many as critical to optimizing maternal health and positive birth outcomes. These enhanced pregnancy benefits support women in having healthy pregnancies and contribute to improved infant and maternal health.
Supporting State Policymakers’ Implementation of Federal Health Reform
States will have enormous short-term and long-term needs for assistance as they grapple with federal health reform legislation. Significant federal and private resources to support state-level implementation will be necessary. Implementation support must be defined and coordinated quickly. Technical assistance must be provided in a manner that corresponds with state needs. State officials should be involved in the design of technical assistance so that it is most effective given varied state circumstances, needs, and capacities.
State Policymakers’ Priorities for Improving the Health System
This State Health Policy Briefing presents the issues identified by NASHP’s state leadership as their most significant priorities for improving their health systems. As Academy members discussed their priorities, a set of broader themes emerged.
Improving EPSDT Periodicity Schedules to Promote Healthy Development
Medicaid’s Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment (EPSDT) benefit is comprehensively designed to promote children’s healthy development. EPSDT includes outreach, comprehensive well-child visits (referred to as EPSDT screens), treatment and case management. In recent years states have recognized that it is important to identify and treat developmental delays early in a child’s life.
Findings from a Survey of Juvenile Justice and Medicaid Policies Affecting Children in the Juvenile Justice System: Inter-Agency Collaboration
Medicaid is important to juvenile justice-involved youth both as a health care financing mechanism and as a way to access physical and behavioral health services. The National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP), with the support of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, is working with the Models for Change grantee organizations and state policymakers to address the health needs of youth in the juvenile justice system.
Building Adult Foster Care: What States Can Do Brief
This study presents a summary of each state’s regulatory, licensure, and payment policies for adult foster care within its array of long term services and supports. It also examines the influence of state Nurse Practice Acts on the scope of services available in adult foster care and identifies policy considerations for state officials who are developing or expanding the availability of adult foster care.
Engaging Primary Care Medical Providers in Children’s Oral Health
Access to dental care in the U.S. is a severe problem for young children, underscored by the fact that only a quarter of all children under six had a dental visit in 2004. In an effort to address these access issues, many states have begun reimbursing medical providers for delivering basic oral health services to children. This issue brief provides an update to the 2008 State Health Policy Monitor, The Role of Physicians in Children’s Oral Health, which highlighted state efforts to increase access to preventive dental care through the use of medical providers.
