The National Health Policy Forum sought to contribute to a better-informed policymaking process by providing information and opportunities for dialogue for federal health policy staff in pursuit of a high-quality health care system that improves health and is affordable, equitable, efficient, and sustainable.
Headed by its founder, Judith Miller Jones, the Forum's staff comprised a small group of health policy analysts with a wide range of technical knowledge and experience gained by work in the public and private sectors. The Forum held a fierce commitment to independence and neutrality, and believed that giving policymakers practical and balanced information in a press-free zone would lead to better decisions. Forum operations were funded primarily by private foundations. The organization was based at the George Washington University under the Office of the Vice President for Research.
The Forum provided a learning environment for federal health policy staff in which they could explore the issues, challenges, and trade-offs of health policy decisions, without the glare of the media or the pressure of special interest groups.
Our programming offered opportunities to forge bipartisan relationships among staff of the Congress, the executive branch, and key influencers of the health policy community. We developed Forum meetings, publications, and site visits that gave participants access to experts and thought leaders and brought policy issues to life. Our content addressed the range of staff needs, from basic education on specific policies, programs, and issues, to complex analyses of the health care system, including information from important research studies, demonstrations, and innovative community efforts.
NHPF publications have been reposted with permission.
Submissions from 2007
The Prescription Drug Safety Net: Access to Pharmaceuticals for the Uninsured, Jack Hoadley
Medicare's Use of Risk Adjustment, Gerald F. Kominski
Health Care Price Transparency and Price Competition, Mark Merlis
Medicare Advantage Payment Policy, Mark Merlis
Health Information Technology Adoption Among Health Centers: A Digital Divide in the Making?, Adil Moiduddin and Daniel S. Gaylin
Community-Based Long-Term Care: Wisconsin Stays Ahead, Judith D. Moore, Carol O'Shaughnessy, and Lisa Sprague
Fairfax County's Commitment: A Housing and Health Continuum for Seniors, Judith D. Moore and Lisa Sprague
Review of Access and Quality of Care in SCHIP Using Standardized National Performance Measures, Terence A. Partridge
Children's Behavioral Health Services in Baltimore: Walking the Continuum, Jennifer Ryan
What Have You Done for Me Lately? Assessing Hospital Community Benefit, Eileen Salinsky
Shrinking Inpatient Psychiatric Capacity: Cause for Celebration or Concern?, Eileen Salinsky and Christopher Loftis
Trading Places: Real Choice Systems Change Grants and the Movement to Community-Based Long-Term Care Supports, Cynthia Shirk
Submissions from 2006
Medicare Physician Payments and Spending, Laura A. Dummit
Updating Medicare's Physician Fees: The Sustainable Growth Rate Methodology, Laura A. Dummit
Medicare and Mental Health: The Fundamentals, Christopher Loftis and Eileen Salinsky
Health Benefits in Retirement: Set for Extinction?, Mark Merlis
Value-Based Coverage Policy in the United States and the United Kingdom: Different Paths to a Common Goal, Wilhelmine Miller
A Report from the Forum Session "Complexity, Coordination and Compromise: States and the Medicare Drug Benefit" (August 4, 2006), Lee Partridge
EPSDT: Medicaid's Critical but Controversial Benefits Program for Children, Christie Provost Peters
Medicaid in 2006: A Trip Down the Yellow Brick Road?, Jennifer Ryan
Effects of Food Marketing to Kids: I'm Lovin' It?, Eileen Salinsky
LA Story: Improving Care Management for the Chronically Ill and Chronically Underserved, Eileen Salinsky and Jessamyn Taylor
The Vaccine Industry: Does It Need a Shot in the Arm?, Eileen Salinsky and Cole Werble
Rebalancing Long-Term Care: The Role of the Medicaid HCBS Waiver Program, Cynthia Shirk
Premium Assistance in Medicaid and SCHIP: Ace in the Hole or House of Cards?, Cynthia Shirk and Jennifer Ryan
Fitness, Knowledge, Progress: Assessing Physician Qualification, Lisa Sprague
Personal Health Records: The People's Choice?, Lisa Sprague
The Electronic Health Record in Practice: Why, How, and What Next?, Lisa Sprague and Sally Coberly
A Closer Look at the Medicare Part D Low–Income Benchmark Premium: How Low Can It Go?, Mary Ellen Stahlman
The Nuts and Bolts of PDPs, Mary Ellen Stahlman
Don't Bring Me Your Tired, Your Poor: The Crowded State of America's Emergency Departments, Jessamyn Taylor
Updating the WIC Food Packages: It's About Time, Jessamyn Taylor
Submissions from 2005
Specialty Hospitals: Can General Hospitals Compete?, Laura A. Dummit
Redesigning Practice to Improve Care Delivery (Boston), Laura A. Dummit and Lisa Sprague
Health Savings Accounts: The Fundamentals, Beth Fuchs and Julie A. James
Health Insurance Coverage for Small Employers, Dawn Gencarelli
One Pill, Many Prices: Variation in Prescription Drug Prices in Selected Government Programs, Dawn Gencarelli
Mental Health and Juvenile Justice: Moving Toward More Effective Systems of Care, Jane Koppelman
Fundamentals of Underwriting in the Nongroup Health Insurance Market: Access to Coverage and Options for Reform, Mark Merlis
Keeping Track of Care: Quality and Technology at LifeBridge Health System (Baltimore), Judith Moore
A Report from the Forum Session “Implementing the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit: Continuing Challenges for States”, Lee Partridge
Children with Special Health Care Needs: Minding the Gaps, Christie Provost Peters
Medicare Advantage SNPs: A New Opportunity for Integrated Care?, Christie Provost Peters
Local Coverage Initiatives: Solution or Band-Aid for the Uninsured?, Jennifer Ryan
Clinical Preventive Services: When Is the Juice Worth the Squeeze?, Eileen Salinsky
Exploring California's Rural Health System: From the Redwood Forests to the Baja Border, Eileen Salinsky and Jessamyn Taylor
Hospital Oversight in Medicare: Accreditation and Deeming Authority, Lisa Sprague
Caring for "Ryan White": The Fundamentals of HIV/AIDS Treatment Policy, Jessamyn Taylor
Submissions from 2004
The Promise and the Reality of Long-Term Care Insurance, Randy Desonia
Consumer Cost Sharing in Private Health Insurance: On the Threshold of Change, Veronica V. Goff
The Provider System for Children's Mental Health: Workforce Capacity and Effective Treatment, Jane Koppelman
Medicaid's Disproportionate Share Hospital Program: Complex Structure, Critical Payments, Robert E. Mechanic
A Report from the Forum Session "Implementing the New Medicare Drug Benefit: Challenges and Opportunities for States", Judith D. Moore
Quality Improvement in Maryland: Partnerships and Progress, Judith D. Moore and Lisa Sprague
Fundamentals of the Prescription Drug Market, Christie Provost Peters
The Health Care Safety Net in South Carolina: A Test of Tenacity, Jennifer Ryan and Randy Desonia
Necessary but Not Sufficient? Physician Volunteerism and the Health Care Safety Net, Eileen Salinsky
Tick-Tock: Preparing for the Next Influenza Pandemic, Eileen Salinsky
Electronic Health Records: How Close? How Far to Go?, Lisa Sprague
Veterans' Health Care: Balancing Resources and Responsibilities, Lisa Sprague
The Economics of Quality: Changing Incentives in Cincinnati, Lisa Sprague and Nora Super
Medicare's Chronic Care Improvement Pilot Program: What Is Its Potential?, Nora Super
Fundamentals of Community Health Centers, Jessamyn Taylor
Submissions from 2003
Is Community Care a Civil Right? The Unfolding Saga of the Olmstead Decision, Randy Desonia
WIC Reauthorization: Opportunities for Improving the Nutritional Status of Women, Infants, and Children, Harriette Fox, Margaret McManus, and Harry Schmidt
Medicaid Prescription Drug Coverage: State Efforts to Control Costs, Dawn Gencarelli
The Medicare Prescription Drug Proposals and Health Insurance Risk, Dawn Gencarelli
Reauthorizing Head Start: The Future Federal Role in Preschool Programs for the Poor, Jane Koppelman
Bridging Silos, Part II: DI, SSI, Medicare, and Medicaid Issues and Initiatives, Karen Matherlee
Bridging Silos, Part I: Linkages among the DI, SSI, Medicare, and Medicaid Programs, Karen Matherlee
The U.S. Health Workforce: Definitions, Dollars, and Dilemmas, Karen Matherlee
Sailing SCHIP through Troubled Waters, Jennifer Ryan
Doing It RIte: Exploring a Decade of Health Coverage Innovation (Rhode Island), Jennifer Ryan and Ginger P. Parra
Dually Eligible for Medicare and Medicaid: Two for One or Double Jeopardy?, Jennifer Ryan and Nora Super
Obesity in America: A Growing Threat, Eileen Salinsky and Wakina Scott
Medical Response for Terrorist and Public Health Threats: One Region's Experience (Pittsburgh), Eileen Salinsky and Lisa Sprague
Shaping Public Programs through Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Waivers: The Fundamentals, Cynthia Shirk
Converging on Nursing Home Quality, Lisa Sprague
Disease Management to Population-Based Health: Steps in the Right Direction?, Lisa Sprague
Rural Health Care in the Electronic Age (Danville, PA), Lisa Sprague and Nora Super
Who Will Pay for the Adverse Events Resulting from Smallpox Vaccination? Liability and Compensation Issues, Robin J. Strongin and Eileen Salinsky
The Geography of Medicare: Explaining Differences in Payment and Costs, Nora Super
Submissions from 2002
Running on Empty: The State Budget Crisis Worsens, Randy Desonia
Expanding Health Coverage for the Uninsured: Fundamentals of the Tax Credit Option, Beth Fuchs and Julie James
Average Wholesale Price for Prescription Drugs: Is There a More Appropriate Pricing Mechanism?, Dawn Gencarelli
Depression: A Decade of Progress, More to Do, Veronica V. Goff
Pharmacy Benefits: New Concepts in Plan Design, Veronica V. Goff
Federal Child Care Funding for Low-Income Families: How Much Is Needed?, Jane Koppelman
Promoting Marriage as Welfare Policy: Looking at a Public Role in Private Lives, Jane Koppelman
From Diagnosis to Payment: The Dynamics of Coding Systems for Hospital, Physician, and Other Health Services, Karen Matherlee
Managing Advanced Illness: A Quality and Cost Challenge to Medicare, Medicaid, and Private Insurers, Karen Matherlee
The Federal-State Struggle over Medicaid Matching Funds: An Update, Karen Matherlee
Prescription Drugs in Nursing Homes: Managing Costs and Quality in a Complex Environment, Dan Mendelson, Rajeev Ramchand, Richard Abramson, and Anne Tumlinson
1115 Ways to Waive Medicaid and SCHIP Rules, Jennifer Ryan
Improving Oral Health: Promise and Prospects, Jennifer Ryan
SCHIP Turns Five: Taking Stock, Moving Ahead, Jennifer Ryan
Welfare Reform in Maryland: Flexibility in Action, Jennifer Ryan and Judith D. Moore
Child and Family Health Initiatives in the Bay Area, Jennifer Ryan and Wakina Scott
Public Health Emergency Preparedness: Fundamentals of the "System", Eileen Salinsky
Will the Nation Be Ready for the Next Bioterrorism Attack? Mending Gaps in the Public Health Infrastructure, Eileen Salinsky