State Health Policy Leadership

As health departments brace for potential additional funding losses, Morgan McDonald calls on state and local staff and policymakers on all sides of the aisle to communicate the impact of the cuts, particularly with their federal delegations. More

With federal funding cuts affecting local health departments, running a strong ground game is more challenging now than ever.   More

For decades, the program has connected lower-income older adults and people with disabilities to the kind of care that helps them live with independence and purpose. More

In collaboration with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Milbank Memorial Fund convened the second of two virtual meetings in support of the multi-state Secretary’s Postpartum Maternal Health Collaborative. More

In the spring of 2021, my favorite T-shirt to wear on the soccer sidelines sported an image of Dolly Parton singing “Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vacceeeeeene” to the tune of “Jolene.” Parton herself sang the rewritten lyrics repeatedly urging Tennesseans to accept the COVID-19 vaccine. It prompted countless conversations about how the vaccine was made, where people could get it, and how safe it was. As a state public health official, my colleagues and I were rejoicing at how quickly the Trump administration had indeed delivered on a several vaccine options less than a year into the pandemic. More

The first time Utah state Rep. Steve Eliason was asked what he was going to do about a rash of youth suicides in his suburban Salt Lake County… More

Some payers are pursuing strategies beyond traditional health care systems by focusing on public benefit programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). However, there is an intuitive but underutilized partner for payers seeking to increase SNAP and WIC uptake among their members: grocery stores. More