State and Federal Health Policy and Health Reform Strategies

Our faculty and staff are nationally recognized experts on collecting and applying sound data to inform public health and health policy decisions at the state and federal levels. We rely on both qualitative and quantitative data sources to identify and frame policy options and bring long-standing qualifications in tapping federal survey data sources. We provide direct technical assistance to individual states, create forums to support state-to-state peer learning, and more broadly conduct targeted research and policy analysis as well as translate technical information into content that is accessible and informative to decision-makers.

Related SHADAC work:
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State Health & Value Strategies Technical Assistance

SHADAC provides technical assistance as part of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s (RWJF) State Health & Value Strategies (SHVS), a program that connects state officials with experts in the field to support them in transforming their health care systems to be affordable, equitable, and innovative. SHADAC provides analytic and evaluation support with the goal of helping states use sound data to inform policy decisions on topics such as Medicaid, health equity, multi-payer delivery system and payment reform, quality measurement, coverage and access expansions, health insurance exchanges, and population health. For example, SHADAC produced analyses for multiple states about the potential impact of the unwinding of the public health emergency (PHE). This assistance allowed the state to make data-driven decisions about how the end of the continuous coverage requirement may impact enrollment and costs.

Strategies to Increase Access to Medications for Opioid Use Disorder during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond

SHADAC researchers Carrie Au-Yeung and Lynn Blewett, along with Hennepin Healthcare researcher Tyler Winkelman, authored a new Milbank Foundation policy brief that examines the federal and state policies changes put in place to improve access to medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) during the COVID-19 pandemic, during which time MOUD became especially challenging to access because MOUD patients are typically required to have as many as six in-person clinic visits a week. The authors conclude with federal and state policy recommendations based on their analysis.

Leveraging 1332 State Innovation Waivers to Stabilize Individual Health Insurance Markets

Funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), SHADAC researchers documented the strategies and rationale of the first three states to receive federal approval to establish state reinsurance programs with federal funding—Alaska, Minnesota, and Oregon—via Section 1332 State Innovation Waivers in order to address the volatility of their individual health insurance markets. SHADAC identified challenges, facilitators, and lessons learned during the waiver application and implementation processes that could be helpful for states considering similar policy action and for federal regulators interested in supporting similar state initiatives.

Minnesota Long-Term Services and Supports Projection Model

SHADAC collaborated with the Minnesota Department of Human Services to develop a model estimating future Medicaid utilization and spending in Minnesota for long-term services and supports (LTSS). The spreadsheet model leveraged data from the American Community Survey (ACS), the state’s Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS), and the state’s Survey of Older Minnesotans to define current Medicaid cohorts and use, calculate projections of future eligibility, and delineate predictors of LTSS service use under different economic and policy assumptions.

Assessment of State Health Information Exchange Policy

On behalf of the Connecticut Health Foundation, SHADAC authored a policy brief exploring the launch of a new statewide health information exchange (HIE)—the Health Information Alliance— in Connecticut. In addition to providing context for the state’s new HIE, the brief also offers an overview of the current landscape in Connecticut related to information exchange and describes opportunities and potential obstacles going forward, such as the need for robust provider participation, provision of incentives to ensure participation, and the development of a long-term funding and patient engagement strategy. To inform this work, SHADAC researchers conducted a review of select national and state literature and organized interviews with key stakeholders both in Connecticut and in other states that are further along with statewide HIE efforts, with the goal of helping policymakers and those interested in patient care and population health understand where the state is today, what’s coming, and what to consider for success.