What Are You Reading? Our Most Popular Reports So Far This Year

We wanted to know what our readers were most interested in—and took a look at our latest reports in 2016 to see what you’re reading.  So far this year, the publications listed here are our most popular.  All three were commissioned by the Reforming States Group, which had identified these as topics of interest to policymakers.  If you missed them earlier, you can read them here…

1.  Medicaid Coverage of Social Interventions: A Road Map for States
We weren’t surprised that this report was our most popular. There’s been increased recognition of the link between the social determinants of health and improved health outcomes. And we knew that state health policymakers were interested in ways that federal regulations could be used to address social interventions. Written by Deborah Bachrach and colleagues at Manatt, and published with support from the New York State Health Foundation, this issue brief is a practical guide for policymakers who want to know when and how states can use Medicaid to facilitate access to services, such as employment, food, and housing. It offers a road map of the legal authorities upon which policymakers can rely to extend Medicaid coverage to social interventions.

2.  Evolving Models of Behavioral Health Integration: Evidence Update 2010-2015
One of our earlier reports on this topic, published in 2010, “Evolving Models of Behavioral Health Integration in Primary Care,” is one of our top downloaded reports.  With that in mind, we asked researcher Martha Gerrity to update it. Since 2010, the field of behavioral health integration has advanced conceptually—and there has been a proliferation of research. Policymakers continue to be interested in the topic as they struggle with how best to deliver care and support recovery for people with mental illness or substance abuse disorders.

3.  Investing in Social Services for States’ Health: Identifying and Overcoming the Barriers
Like number one above, this report focuses on the social determinants of health and their contribution to health and well-being. Written by Erika Rogan and Betsy Bradley, the report looks at the challenges states face improving population health through social interventions. Based on focused discussions with state and local public health leaders, it identifies the root causes for states not making overall budget and policy decisions that optimize their population’s health and summarizes four states where communities are investing in social services. The report was recently covered in Governing magazine.