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Liz Gipson, senior program officer at the Center for Health Care Strategies, discusses a case study about New Jersey contraception legislation that ASTHO partnered on; Catherine Jones, ASTHO senior analyst for Government Affairs, says the federal...
Liz Gipson, senior program officer at the Center for Health Care Strategies, discusses a case study about New Jersey contraception legislation that ASTHO partnered on; Catherine Jones, ASTHO senior analyst for Government Affairs, says the federal government is beginning to have discussions about the rapidly aging U.S. population; and an ASTHO blog article offers several perspectives on how a diverse public health workforce can be beneficial.
ASTHO Webpage: Contraception Access Learning Community – Resources
ASTHO Blog Article: Federal Discussions on Aging Move Center Stage
JANSON SILVERS:
This is the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition for Monday, May 20, 2024. I'm Janson Silvers. Now, today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
LIZ GIPSON:
We wanted to explore how state health officials are working to advance access to contraceptive care, and we knew that New Jersey was doing some exciting stuff.
SILVERS:
Liz Gipson with the Center for Health Care Strategies tells us about a case study that her organization and ASTHO partnered on. It looked at two pieces of New Jersey legislation related to contraception.
GIPSON:
The first is Senate Bill 413. This bill required Medicaid and private insurance to cover a 12-month supply of contraception dispensed at one time. So, what this means functionally is that instead of having to pick up your birth control pills every single month, you could go once a year and get a full 12-month supply in one visit instead of having to go 12 times.
SILVERS:
The second bill was Senate Bill 275.
GIPSON:
This bill was enacted in 2023 and allows pharmacists to provide self-administered hormonal contraception without a prescription from a clinician.
SILVERS:
Gibson says enacting the legislation took work from everyone.
GIPSON:
Once it was passed and went to the state to actually implement. There was a huge focus on collaboration across state agencies and across state departments. And we saw that happen from the very highest level of executive leadership within the state all the way down.
SILVERS:
You can find a link to the case study in the show notes.
As the U.S. population continues to age, ASTHO's Catherine Jones says that currently, we aren't equipped to deal with the changes.
CATHERINE JONES:
With increasing numbers of older Americans comes a greater need for healthcare services and workforce to serve this demographic. We simply don't have enough healthcare providers, nurses, aides, pharmacists, social workers and specialists to deal with our aging population. Increased health services also equate to higher healthcare costs, which include Medicare and Medicaid expenses.
SILVERS:
Some good news is that the federal government has recently had discussions on the issue. In January and March, there were hearings about long-term care and the reauthorization of the Older Americans Act. Additionally, Jones says two rules related to nursing home care are also getting a lot of attention.
JONES:
One is the Ensuring Access to Medicaid Services CMS final rule, commonly referred to as 80-20, which is aimed at improving job quality and salaries for direct care workers. 80% of Medicaid payment must go to the workers as opposed to overhead or any other expenses.
SILVERS:
The other looks at staffing.
JONES:
A second rule sets a minimum staffing ratio for registered nurses and nurse aides in nursing homes. A nurse must be on site 24 hours, seven days a week, and nurses must work a certain number of hours based on the number of patients.
SILVERS:
Jones authored a blog on these federal discussions about aging. You can find that link in the show notes. Also this morning, several perspectives on how a diverse public health workforce can be beneficial are now available. O'Keyla Cooper has more.
O'KEYLA COOPER:
In a recent ASTHO blog article, DELPH scholars from Connecticut, New York, and Tennessee emphasize the importance of a diverse public health workforce for equitable access to care and addressing social and political health determinants. The article states that the public health agencies thrive when they reflect their communities diversity, enhancing connections, and resource sharing. Read the full article by clicking the link in the show notes.
SILVERS:
Finally, this morning, stay connected to all the latest public health news when you sign up for ASTHO's Public Health Weekly email newsletter. The link is in the show notes.
That will do it for today. We're back tomorrow morning with more ASTHO news and information. I'm Janson Silvers. You're listening to the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition. Have a great day.
