Longtime users of State Refor(u)m may have noticed that we've moved some content around, and made discussions easier to navigate. Short, intuitive topical terms now label each discussion. These topics replaced State Refor(u)m's set of health reform milestones as the organizational structure for the site, but the milestones are still important. They remain a roadmap to help states make smart, informed implementation choices, and a voluntary tracking system to indicate state's implementation progress. read more

In 2019, the population receiving insurance through exchanges is projected to be 25 percent Hispanic, 11 percent black, and about one in four individuals will speak a language other than English in the home. But health insurance exchanges aren’t just an opportunity for these groups to access health coverage; exchanges are a chance to make a dent in health care disparities by shaping the health care that these groups receive. read more

The recent Supreme Court decision put the spotlight on Medicaid’s role in the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  With Medicaid front and center, states are publicly weighing their options on the question of “to expand or not to expand,” but the expansion itself is just one small part of the major Medicaid reforms in the ACA. read more

Many states are seizing the opportunity to draw down a 90 percent federal matching rate to design and develop new and upgraded Medicaid eligibility systems to support seamless enrollment. As states are considering their eligibility system enhancements and writing their APDs, we wanted to share exciting information technology (IT) innovations from Utah that have improved enrollment and retention in Medicaid, CHIP, and other human service programs. read more

With the constitutionality of the individual mandate—and with it, almost the entire Affordable Care Act—now established, the implementation ball has been returned squarely to the states’ court. The highly variable state responses to the law—ranging from fully embracing to fully rejecting, with the vast majority of states somewhere in between—now have implications for the country that will soon become crystal clear. State decisions over the next couple of months will define ACA implementation in 2014 and for many years to come. read more