In September 2009, the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services announced that Medicare will join selected state-based, multi-payer medical home initiatives in an Advanced Primary Care (APC) demonstration. States have welcomed this announcement viewing Medicare as a valuable potential strategic stakeholder, yet are concerned that the proposed APC criteria may be too narrow to fit many current initiatives. This paper builds from a December 2009 research scan and webcast that looks at a broad range of state multi-payer initiatives and compares some of these criteria against the proposed APC criteria.
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February 2010
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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. Congress gave states the option to offer enhanced pregnancy benefits to pregnant women on Medicaid in 1985, and many states quickly took advantage of this opportunity, adding comprehensive non-clinical and medical pregnancy services to their Medicaid benefit packages. The use of enhanced pregnancy benefits peaked in 1993 when forty-four states provided at least one enhanced pregnancy benefit through Medicaid. Since then, the number of states offering Medicaid enhanced pregnancy benefits appears to have dipped and then rebounded nearly to 1993 levels.
January 2010 -
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. Considering these criteria, participants recommended three topics as especially worthy of future dialogue: reducing healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), decreasing preventable hospital readmissions, and avoiding hospitalizations for ambulatory care-sensitive (ACS) conditions.
January 2010
