537: Presidential Reflections, Medicaid Successes

ROBERT JOHNSON: 

This is the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition for Thursday, November 2, 2023. I'm Robert Johnson. Now, today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

ANNE ZINK: 

My time at ASTHO was really, in many ways, the pinnacle of my career to date.

JOHNSON: 

Alaska Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Anne Zink ended her term as ASTHO President last week.

ZINK: 

I was in this role for a combination of 32 months as the president-elect and then serving as the president. And it's just really meaningful to think back to where we were 32 months ago when I stepped into the space and to think about where we're at now. And I think the future and the path is bright. And that's what I've been really reflecting on the past couple weeks.

JOHNSON: 

Zink counts among her achievements, a board that found ways to work together.

ZINK: 

We passed five gigantic policy statements as a board, we were incredibly productive this past year. And what I loved about it is that there was a diversity of opinions and ideas that were able to be brought together, people were able to find common ground and we were able to get work done.

JOHNSON: 

Zink says the year flew by, adding she would have liked more time to engage on a variety of issues.

ZINK: 

I think that the place that was harder than I expected was just really creating the space and time to have more conversation, both on a public sphere as well as kind of internally on what that looks like. There's just so much doing that happens that it really takes mindful effort to break out and carve out a space and time to really talk about what's happening in the future. So things just went by quickly.

JOHNSON: 

Kentucky Health Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack is ASTHO's new president. You can hear his comments reported Thursday and Friday last week. We have links to those episodes of the newscast in the show notes.

Cooperation is helping North Carolina make the most of its Medicaid dollars. Assistant Public Health Secretary Dr. Susan Kansagra says her agency works with the state's Medicaid office to find new ways to help people there.

SUSAN KANSAGRA: 

Now, we're at a very unique time in North Carolina because we are moving forward with Medicaid expansion and also we have transitioned to managed care and both those things have created opportunities to think about collaborations and how we work together.

JOHNSON: 

And Sagara says the cooperation benefits many program areas.

KANSAGRA: 

Lots of collaborations across public health, across Medicaid, really to support this whole-person view. We look at it in many different ways and across many different topical areas from HIV and communicable disease to tobacco and cancer.

JOHNSON: 

North Carolina has a Section 1115 waiver allowing Medicaid dollars to support needs that can help people get healthy.

KANSAGRA: 

You can use those funds to support first month's rent. So, being able to use those Medicaid dollars in a way that supports that whole individual's health and their opportunity to be healthy, beyond just what we're doing in the clinic walls, I think is what makes this most unique and most exciting.

JOHNSON: 

ASTHO has a report about the role of public health in the health safety net system. You can download the document using the link in the show notes. 

Also today, ASTHO has identified strategies to include maternal and child health in emergency plans. O'Keyla Cooper has more.

O'KEYLA COOPER: 

ASTHO, in collaboration with the CDC's National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, interviewed former state and territorial health officials to identify challenges in maternal and child health during infectious disease emergencies. The interviews revealed a need for sustainable funding, inclusion, data improvement, and communication. Click the link in the show notes for maternal and child health emergency planning and response recommendations.

JOHNSON: 

Finally, this morning, eight health equity fellows assigned to work in agencies during the pandemic have graduated from the two-year program supported by ASTHO, Lead for America, and the Kellogg Foundation. The fellows' work is discussed in a new ASTHO blog article now online. There's a link in the show notes.

Before we go, we'd like to remind you to follow this newscast on your podcast player and ASTHO on social media. We're on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.

That'll do it for today. We're back tomorrow morning with more ASTHO news and information. I'm Robert Johnson. You're listening to the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition. Have a great day.