Quinn, B., 2011 "State-Level Health Policy Research: Looking Back, Looking Ahead." Health Services Research 46(1): 243-245.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) supports research on state-level policy efforts through its State Health Access Reform Evaluation (SHARE) initiative. This editorial by Brian C. Quinn, RWJF Director, Health Policy Analysis in Research and Evaluation, introduces a special February 2011 supplement of HSR: Health Services Research, providing a framework for subsequent articles by eight SHARE grantees.

In a post-ACA health policy environment, state outcomes continue to be vital sources of information for two key reasons:

1. Previous state experimentation efforts, such as Massachusetts health reform, demonstrated that reforms can succeed and paved the way for ACA.
2. The need for state-level policy research will grow as states implement some of the largest and most important elements of ACA. State-level variations can provide evidence of how policy changes work in different settings.

For a synopsis of the eight "lab reports," see "Harvesting the Lessons of State Health Policy" by SHARE Director Lynn A. Blewett and Andrew Bindman.