CVS has withdrawn the petition for writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court thereby ending litigation on this matter! CVS Health, the American Association of People with Disabilities, the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, and the National Council on Independent Living today announced that they are working together to seek policy solutions to protect equitable access to health care for all Americans and continue to protect the fundamental rights of people with disabilities.

First Focus on Children is proud to release the Children’s Budget Book 2021, which provides a comprehensive analysis of the share of spending allocated to kids across more than 250 government programs in the federal budget. The book tracks domestic and international spending on children including both mandatory and discretionary funding across twelve federal departments and numerous agencies and bureaus. You can take a look at the budget through this fact sheet or the full report here.

Policymakers can use a new resource from Child Trends and the Equity Research Action Coalition at the UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute to advance equity in policy and programs for Black families and babies. The Protect, Promote, Preserve Framework (the 3Ps) highlights policy approaches with the potential to protect Black families and babies from harm and trauma; promote their health, wealth, and educational access; and preserve their family units, cultural heritage, language, and positive racial identity. While some policies—such as expanded income eligibility for health insurance and state earned income tax credits—may reduce disparities for Black families and babies, there is a need for more research and analyses that use a racial equity lens to uncover policies that are anti-Black.  

This issue brief by the Center for Health Care Strategies and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials highlights 3 key takeaways that can advance health equity: 1) advance internal-facing health equity work, 2) leverage data to drive health equity efforts, and 3) engage community members authentically.

“Interviewees recognized the importance for Medicaid and public health agencies to meaningfully engage community members in policy and program design and be accountable to the community for their actions. Interviewees noted that moving from a checkbox mentality for consumer engagement to a more intentional partnership is critical for driving long-term health equity efforts by state Medicaid and public health agencies.”

Notably, the brief indicates that despite this recognition and articulation of methods/ ideas for engagement, interviewees still “cited the need for guidance to operationalize and sustain that engagement with an equity lens.”

For our Family-to-Family Health Information Center (F2F) readers, this is another chance to take the Family Engagement in Systems Assessment Tool (FESAT) and knock on some doors! You can guide operationalization and sustainability.

Health providers have widely used telehealth to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 infection and to improve access to health care services thanks in large part to policy changes and regulations. This brief explores how state and territorial health agencies (S/THAs) are responding to COVID-19 through telehealth policy and operational changes, as well as how telehealth has quickly emerged as a tool to improve health equity.

Written by the Commonwealth Fund, this blog offers resources and tools for state policymakers. States have an important role to play through insurance regulation, state-funded programs, and coverage of services under Medicaid. Additionally, the Commonwealth Fund partnered with the Council of State Governments to create a mental health resource guide based on state priorities, best practices, and insights from leaders in the field of mental health.

As a new phase of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign begins for children ages 5 to 11 years old, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy released a Community Toolkit for Addressing Health Misinformation - PDF to help Americans navigate the serious threat of health misinformation, especially online. Earlier this year, Dr. Murthy issued the first Surgeon General’s Advisory of this administration warning people about the urgent threat of health misinformation and calling for a whole-of-society approach to address it.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) announced an additional $143 million in American Rescue Plan money to support vaccine confidence work in states. In the press release, Secretary Becerra specifically stated that the “investments are part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s continued efforts to leverage trusted local messengers and support community-based efforts to vaccinate more Americans against COVID-19. We have seen great progress in vaccination rates in recent months, but we know our work isn’t done in addressing misinformation and ensuring equitable access in underserved communities.”

The first program is a new $66.5 million funding opportunity to support community-based organizations that will provide information and education on COVID-19 vaccines to the medically vulnerable or underserved, including racial and ethnic minority groups with low vaccination rates. The second program consists of $77 million to award nine additional community-based organizations under the previously announced funding opportunity to mobilize community outreach workers to educate and assist individuals in accessing and receiving COVID-19 vaccinations.

Hosted in October by the Arc Center Future Planning, watch the recording of #Free Britney: Lessons for People with ID/DD and Their Families, with presentations by Shawn Ullman of the ARC and Morgan Whitlatch of Quality Trust.

On Wednesday, November 10, State Health and Value Strategies hosted a webinar that provided an overview of strategies for states seeking to ensure that eligible enrollees are able to keep or transition to new affordable health coverage when the Medicaid continuous coverage requirement ends. During the webinar, experts from Manatt Health and McKinsey & Company discussed how states can prepare now for the end of the continuous coverage requirement by deploying strategies to update enrollee contact information and make other eligibility and enrollment technology changes to better serve their residents. You can find a recording of the webinar and other materials here.

Hosted by the National Academies of Medicine, this webinar recording and materials bring together perspectives from emergency management, public administration, public health, and disaster science to discuss lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and how those lessons can inform future planning and policy for emergencies and disasters.

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Family Voices is a national organization and grassroots network of families and friends of children and youth with special health care needs and disabilities that promotes partnership with families--including those of cultural, linguistic and geographic diversity--in order to improve healthcare services and policies for children.