December 16, 2014
The State Health Access Reform Evaluation (SHARE) program has released a report chronicling the history of the RWJF-grant program and the policy impacts resulting from SHARE-funded research. SHARE is a National Program Office of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) program located within the State Health Access Data Assistance Center (SHADAC) at the University of Minnesota, School of Public Health. Since its beginning in 2008, SHARE has awarded $7.7 million to fund 33 projects over three grand periods. Recently awarded grants have focused on topics specific to state-level implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), such as insurance market reforms and health insurance marketplaces/exchanges. SHARE staff works with researchers to translate rigorous health services research to various outlets of dissemination that are more likely to be reviewed by policy analysts, decision makers, and their staff. SHARE-funded research has generated approximately 170 of these products, including reports (17), presentations (72), research briefs (38), and peer-reviewed publications (24).
This new report summarizes the grants and research that have been funded, who has used or cited SHARE results, and the implications for implementation of the ACA. Findings from SHARE research have been referenced by national associations (e.g., National Governors Association, National Conference of State Legislators), the Executive Branch (e.g., The White House, Congressional Budget Office), state agencies (e.g., Minnesota Department of Human Services, California Health Benefit Exchange), and research organizations/Think Tanks (e.g., National Academy of State Health Policy, State Center on Budget & Policy Priorities). Highly-referenced research topics include expanding young adult dependent coverage, using and sharing data across public programs to determine eligibility, streamlining enrollment eligibility, evidence from a state small employer subsidy program, and many others.
Summary reports on (1) the data and methods used in SHARE state health services research and (2) the evidence generated by SHARE state health policy research will be available soon. To keep informed of SHARE activities, sign up for the SHADAC and SHARE newsletters and follow us on social media (Twitter, Facebook).