Author Archive for: eddy-fernandez
About Eddy Fernandez
Eddy Fernandez joined NASHP in June 2019 as a research analyst with the Child and Family Health Team. He is involved with projects related to maternal and child health, behavioral health, and policy innovation. Prior to joining NASHP, Eddy was a health policy intern at the North Carolina Institute of Medicine. He has also worked with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services where he researched strategies to increase uptake in state benefit programs, such as Medicaid, CHIP, SNAP, and WIC. Additionally, he has worked with the Chatham County Public Health Department to perform an assessment of the county’s mental health, substance use disorder prevention and treatment, and intellectual and developmental disability systems. Fernandez graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2019, where he majored in health policy and management.
Entries by Eddy Fernandez
How Oregon Uses Medicaid Incentive Payments and Quality Measures to Improve Contraceptive Use and Timely Postpartum Care
October 12, 2020 in Policy Oregon Blogs, Featured News Home Health Equity, Integrated for Pregnant/Parenting Women, Maternal Health and Mortality, Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health, Medicaid Managed Care, Population Health, Quality and Measurement /by Eddy FernandezTo improve effective contraceptive use and timely postpartum care statewide, Oregon’s Medicaid program successfully used incentive payments and quality measures to increase the rates of effective contraceptive use from 35.4 to 46.8 percent between 2015 and 2018, and timely postpartum care from 61.3 to 68.2 percent between 2018 to 2019. Oregon implemented the quality incentive […]
State Strategies to Address the Black Maternal Health Crisis
October 12, 2020 in Policy Blogs, Featured News Home Eligibility and Enrollment, Eligibility and Enrollment, Essential Health Benefits, Health Coverage and Access, Infant Mortality, Integrated for Pregnant/Parenting Women, Maternal Health and Mortality, Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health, Medicaid Managed Care /by Taylor Platt, Eddy Fernandez and Carrie HanlonThe inequities laid bare by COVID-19 underscore the importance of states’ efforts to develop policies and interventions to address all health disparities. Systemic racism, a driver of these inequities, also fuels disparities in maternal morbidity and mortality – Black women are four-times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than White women. States are on […]
New Jersey’s Project ECHO Builds Provider Capacity to Support Maternal and Child Health during COVID-19
June 29, 2020 in Policy New Jersey Blogs, Featured News Home COVID-19, Health Coverage and Access, Health Equity, Health IT/Data, Infant Mortality, Integrated for Pregnant/Parenting Women, Maternal Health and Mortality, Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health, Population Health, Social Determinants of Health, Workforce Capacity /by Eddy FernandezConfronted with a pandemic that impacts the health of women and children – ranging from pregnancy and delivery to access to substance abuse treatment – a consortium of New Jersey state and health care experts launched a Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) initiative to share COVID-19 expertise between specialists and primary care to […]
Infographic: How State Medicaid Programs Can Use Telehealth to Serve Pregnant Women during COVID-19
May 4, 2020 in Policy Featured News Home COVID-19, Integrated for Pregnant/Parenting Women, Maternal Health and Mortality, Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health, Medicaid Managed Care, Population Health /by Eddy Fernandez and Taylor PlattThis infographic highlights what states need to consider when providing pregnancy-related services to Medicaid enrollees through telehealth during the pandemic. Links to more tools and resources are listed below the infographic. States can use the following flexibilities and tools to increase access to pregnancy-related services via telehealth: Medicaid State Plan Disaster Relief State Plan Amendment: States can […]
Infographic: State Team-Based Care Strategies for Medicaid-Eligible Women
December 2, 2019 in Policy District Of Columbia, Minnesota, Montana Featured News Home Behavioral/Mental Health and SUD, Care Coordination, Chronic and Complex Populations, Cost, Payment, and Delivery Reform, Health System Costs, Infant Mortality, Integrated for Pregnant/Parenting Women, Maternal Health and Mortality, Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health, Medicaid Managed Care, Medicaid Managed Care, Medicaid Managed Care, Physical and Behavioral Health Integration /by Eddy FernandezFor more information, please click the program titles and read NASHP’s State Medicaid Quality Measurement Activities for Women’s Health. Acknowledgement: Thank you to the officials in Washington, DC, Montana, and Minnesota for reviewing their respective highlighted strategies. This infographic is a publication of the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP). This project is supported […]
State Medicaid Strategies to Promote Early Identification and Treatment of Pregnant Women with Substance Use Disorder
November 18, 2019 in Policy Featured News Home, Reports Behavioral/Mental Health and SUD, Care Coordination, Chronic and Complex Populations, Chronic Disease Prevention and Management, Eligibility and Enrollment, Eligibility and Enrollment, Essential Health Benefits, Health Coverage and Access, Health Equity, Health IT/Data, Infant Mortality, Integrated for Pregnant/Parenting Women, Maternal Health and Mortality, Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health, Medicaid Managed Care, Medicaid Managed Care, Medicaid Managed Care, Physical and Behavioral Health Integration, Population Health, Safety Net Providers and Rural Health /by Carrie Hanlon, Taylor Platt, Eddy Fernandez and Lyndsay SanbornStates face rapidly rising rates of substance use disorder (SUD) and overdoses among pregnant women and increases in maternal deaths and poor birth outcomes, such as neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) and neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS).[1] To understand how states promote early identification of SUD and treatment access for pregnant women, the National Academy for […]
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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. 
