Issue Briefs , Webinars | Jan 1, 2014

Integrating Physical and Behavioral Health: Strategies for Overcoming Legal Barriers to Health Information Exchange

 Manatt, Phelps & Phillips—Robert Belfort, William Bernstein, and Susan Ingargiola

This brief explores the strategies states use to address barriers that impede data-sharing efforts among providers to integrate physical and behavioral health care. The first step for states interested in more and better data exchange is to understand legal barriers to sharing such data and to directly confront misperceptions about those barriers withproviders, health plans, and other stakeholders.

The webinar based on this issue brief explains the legal barriers to sharing behavioral and physical health care information, dispels misconceptions about those barriers, and recommends strategies to reduce real barriers where they exist. effective care coordination requires robust data exchange among physical and behavioral health providers, who are often reluctant to freely share data for fear of violating health information privacy laws. State officials with experience integrating physical and behavioral health care in their states also offer insight.



Expert Perspectives

September 22, 2023

States of Unwinding: How State Officials Are Innovating to Support Coverage

As states are working diligently to operationalize the unwinding of the Medicaid continuous coverage requirement, State Health and Value Strategies has been tracking the creative strategies states are implementing to minimize coverage losses. This expert perspective highlights all the hard work states are engaged in and spotlights innovative strategies other states may want to consider adopting. SHVS will continue to track and share state efforts to support coverage through the unwinding period. If your state is implementing a new effort to reach enrollees, or if you have questions about how you can implement an example included in this EP, please be in touch.

State Reporting to Monitor the Unwinding of the Medicaid Continuous Coverage Requirement

The unwinding of the Medicaid continuous coverage requirement represents the largest nationwide coverage transition since the Affordable Care Act, with significant health equity implications. Given the intense focus on coverage transitions during the unwinding, some states are publishing their data to monitor progress. To date, 44 states (including the District of Columbia) have released unwinding data in either an interactive dashboard or static pdf format, or are making public their required CMS Monthly Unwinding Data reports. This expert perspective includes an interactive map with links to state dashboards and reports to CMS. SHVS will continue to update this EP as more states publish their unwinding data.

September 15, 2023

2023 State Legislative Sessions’ Health Highlights

States are traditionally laboratories for policy innovation and the 2023 legislative session was no exception. The expansion of health coverage was a major priority for states, particularly for low-income populations, children, postpartum individuals and individuals of undocumented status. As the high cost of care continued to be a major barrier for consumers, states bolstered their efforts to enhance healthcare affordability. States also used the 2023 legislative session as an opportunity to study system innovations to expand health coverage and affordability. This expert perspective explores these trends in state healthcare policy reflected in innovative legislation enacted this year.