AHRQ Releases Annual Update on U.S. Healthcare Quality, Disparities
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has released its National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report, which details the state of healthcare quality and disparities in the United States. The report identifies improvements in HIV and colon cancer care, nursing home care, and medication prescribing to older adults. The report also indicates that more work needs to be done to address disparities in important areas. Among the findings, dental and oral health care services have not substantially improved, particularly for people with low income or who live in rural areas.
Reimagining A Quality Information System For US Health Care
Recommendations include: a national data infrastructure that operates independent of practice setting; aligned multipayer incentives that support needed infrastructure investments; longitudinal patient-reported outcome measures captured both in-clinic and through mobile technologies; a series of robust regional demonstration projects to broaden stakeholder understanding and technical capability; and a governance mechanism that assures both simplification and alignment of methods.
How does cost affect access to care?
In this chart collection, authors from the Peterson-Kaiser Family Foundation Health System Tracker explore trends in how costs affect access to care in the U.S. based on the National Health Interview Survey data through 2020. Health spending per person in the U.S. averaged almost $12,000 in 2020, nearly double the average in other large high-income countries.
Planning for the End of the Continuous Coverage Requirement: A Communications Toolkit for States
The end of the Medicaid continuous coverage requirement presents states with tremendous opportunities to keep individuals enrolled in health coverage. This toolkit provides a communications planning guide and template communications resources designed to support state Medicaid agencies as they prepare for the upcoming end of the continuous coverage requirement.
What Eliminating Barriers to Interstate Telehealth Taught Us During the Pandemic
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly all states and the federal government approved unprecedented flexibilities that significantly aided the response to the crisis by expanding telehealth, bolstering care in underserved areas, increasing access to mental health services, and importantly, providing some relief for overstressed hospitals and health systems losing health care workers. Now, as temporary waivers in most states are expiring, this publication describes opportunities to apply lessons learned to bring long-term benefits to the health care system.
The Effectiveness of Policies to Improve Primary Care Access for Underserved Populations
This report reviews the research literature to assess the evidence supporting whether policy initiatives targeting primary care access in each of these five dimensions have been effective in reducing health care disparities. The policy initiatives considered vary widely in terms of the decisionmakers best suited to implement them and therefore require multi-sector collaborative solutions to improve access to primary care in underserved areas.
Mindfulness and Healing Justice
The Kataly Foundation’s Mindfulness and Healing Justice program hosted a discussion with grantee partners to explore the connections between healing, collective transformation, and power-building. The conversation highlighted the need to meaningfully resource mindfulness and healing justice work led by Black and Indigenous people and all communities of color.
Realizing Parity, Reducing Stigma, and Raising Awareness
The Department of Health & Human Services, Department of Labor, and Department of the Treasury have released the 2022 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act report to Congress. The new report provides updates on compliance, enforcement, and consumer protection efforts.
Behavioral Health Data Added to Health Equity Tracker
The Health Equity Tracker, supported by the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at Morehouse School of Medicine, Annie E. Casey Foundation, CDC Foundation, Gilead Sciences, Google.org, and AARP, recently announced the creation of a behavioral health category and the addition of six indicators related to mental health and substance use.
Older Adults’ Mental Health Needs
A new report from The Commonwealth Fund compares older adults’ mental health needs and access to treatment in the United States and other high-income countries to better understand coverage gaps and opportunities for improvement.