Joanna Turner presented, "Using Federal Survey Data to Inform State Health Policy" at the U.S. Census Bureau's Health Statistics Forum on October 17, 2012 in Suitland, Maryland. This Forum was held as part of the State Data Center Annual Meeting.

This report presents the results of a stakeholder analysis of the new competitive bidding process implemented in the seven-county Twin Cities, Minnesota metropolitan area for the 2012 Families and Children Contract for Medicaid (known as Medical Assistance or MA in Minnesota) and MinnesotaCare medical care services. While competitive bidding is an approach that has been used by other states around the country to contract with health plans serving public program enrollees, it is new to the State of Minnesota and represents a significant and meaningful change in the manner in which contracting has been handled in Minnesota for over a decade. 

This report describes the approach SHADAC used to conduct the project, provides a summary of the Families and Children Contract procurement changes implemented in the metropolitan area, and presents and discusses key themes from interviews with stakeholders about the implementation of the competitive bidding process. We conclude with a set of recommendations for DHS to consider in future procurements in the metropolitan area and throughout the State. 

View PDF of this report here.

Presentation by Lynn Blewett, "Assessing State Administrative Data to Monitor Health Care Reform" at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Data Council Meeting on September 9, 2012. 

Dr. Blewett briefed the Council on highlights of a preliminary report from an ASPE funded study entitled Assessing the Potential of State Administrative Data to Monitor Health Care Reform.

The purpose of this project is to use the experience of leading States on Exchange implementation to develop a framework for thinking about State-level data required for evaluation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) with a specific focus on new administrative data from the Exchange. The project also offers examples of specific administrative data that will be needed from the Exchange for annual reporting and evaluation, and discusses where and how those reports might be produced.

Presentation by Lynn Blewett, "Immigrants and Coverage; Affordable Care Act" at the Safe Table Forum:  Health Care Access for Immigrants in Washington State, The Implications and Potential of Health System Reform, held August 23, 2012, in Seattle, WA. 

This presentation provides an overview of citizen/immigrant definitions, estimates of foreign-born by type of immigration status, the impact of ACA coverage expansions, and implications for states and locals safety net programs.

Download a PDF version of these slides

This report examines state-level trends in children's health insurance coverage. Download the report.

This report analyzes recent trends in health insurance coverage for children at the state level between 2008 and 2010. The percentage of children with public coverage through Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) increased substantially, while rates of private coverage and uninsurance declined. However, we find substantial variation across states.

The report is accompanied by state-level summary tables of key characteristics.  These can be downloaded as one file for all 50 states and the District of Columbia, or chosen individually from this drop-down list.

Select a state from the drop-down menu below to view state-specific fact sheets: