Over the past 15 years, California gained extensive experience in designing and operating a health insurance exchange, an effort that ultimately proved unsustainable. Drawing on interviews with individuals who played key roles in the California exchange, this analysis explores the problems faced by the California experiences and analyzes how a national exchange could be designed … Read More

This paper presents a range of options on different paths the state of California could take in a request to the federal government to extend its 1115 Medicaid Demonstration Waiver. It is intended to be used as the beginning of a process with the State and stakeholders to discuss waiver options, rather than presenting recommendations.

This snapshot uses data from the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) to document the extent to which uninsured and insured Californians use the emergency department for preventable dental conditions such as untreated cavities, dental abscesses, and periodontal disease. The report concludes with recommendations for developing a more comprehensive dental safety net, … Read More

In a new section of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation website, Jack Meyer and Elliot Wicks reintroduce the Covering America project in a new essay with the hope that it will provide some timely guidance in the struggle to find a political consensus around a plan to cover the uninsured. Covering America produced 17 papers … Read More

In the summer of 2008, the Comer Science and Education Foundation (Foundation) engaged Health Management Associates (HMA) to develop a plan for optimizing the existing health care capacity serving vulnerable pregnant women and children on the south side of Chicago. While the vast majority of these populations are covered by public insurance programs, a variety … Read More

The drive to obtain better results in caring for those with chronic illness while slowing spending growth continues to grow stronger. This study shows that carefully targeted and well-designed care management programs can improve health outcomes for people with chronic illness and save money on a predictable basis. The report identifies the key elements of … Read More

States in Action is a bi-monthly newsletter that examines state-level innovations in health policy. Each issue profiles several states in short “snapshot” articles, examines a state or policy trend in detail, and provides an update on relevant federal policy.

This report profiles the Iowa Department of Public Health’s 1st Five Healthy Mental Development Initiative, which is bridging public and private health care systems to improve early detection of social_emotional delays and prevention of mental health problems among young children and their families. Key features of the 1st Five model include: user-friendly mental and developmental … Read More

This report examines the New York Medicaid eligibility structure and process, draws from the experience of selected states that have undertaken improvements in their Medicaid eligibility systems and processes in recent years, and identifies lessons that New York might consider as it seeks to improve its own Medicaid eligibility process.

HMA conducted a statewide systems assessment of Ohio’s Ryan White Part B Program. Part B is a federal grant program that funds States to improve the quality, availability, and organization of local health care and support services for individuals with HIV and their families. The broad purpose of the assessment is to analyze and describe … Read More