Hilltop Senior Policy Analyst Charles Betley, MA, is a co-author of this article published in the journal BMC Geriatrics. The article presents the findings of a study, funded by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which sought to examine whether Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation and benefit levels are associated with reduced subsequent hospital and emergency department utilization in low-income older adults who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid (dual eligibles). Researchers found that while participation in SNAP did reduce hospitalizations, it did not reduce ED visits. The research team is a collaboration led by Benefits Data Trust (BDT) including BDT, Hilltop, the Johns Hopkins Schools of Nursing and Public Health, and Northwestern University. Organizational partners include the Maryland Departments of Health and Human Resources.
This is the eleventh issue brief in a series published by the Hospital Community Benefit Program. This brief discusses the fact that payment reform focusing on value and quality is driving change that is redefining the hospital’s role in the continuum of care and the health of the broader population. This brief also identifies opportunities for state policymakers to encourage the evolution of hospital community benefit policy in ways that complement and support the realignment of the hospital business model, proactively address the social determinants of health, and ultimately improve the health of the entire community.
Hilltop Policy Analyst Jessica Skopak, JD, PhD, presented a poster at the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Society of Prevention Research, Comprehensive and Coordinated Prevention Systems: Building Partnerships and Transcending Boundaries, held May 27-30, 2014, in Washington, DC. This poster describes Hilltop’s evaluation of the partnership component of the Maryland Asthma Control Program.
This is the ninth issue brief in a series released by Hilltop’s Hospital Community Benefit Program. This brief continues the program’s examination of state-level community benefit oversight by focusing on the ten states that require hospitals to develop implementation strategies.
Policy Analyst Jessica Skopac, JD, MPH, gave this panel presentation at the 27th Annual Conference of the American Evaluation Association (AEA) October 19, 2013.
This is the eighth issue brief in a series published by Hilltop’s Hospital Community Benefit Program. This brief focuses on updating significant points concerning community health needs assessment (CHNA) and other aspects of community benefit discussed in the earlier briefs, as well as on identifying and exploring more recent developments and emerging issues. Specifically, this brief discusses the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS’s) 2013 proposed rules, “Community Health Needs Assessments for Charitable Hospitals,” and their potential impact on nonprofit hospital needs assessment, community benefit planning, and collaborative approaches to community health improvement.
Hilltop Hospital Community Benefit Program Policy Analyst Gayle D. Nelson, JD, MPH, gave a presentation at a National Association of Counties (NaCo) webinar titled “Using the Community Health Needs Assessment to Inform Policymaking” on May 30, 2013. In her presentation, Nelson provided a legal context for community health needs assessment (CHNA); described CHNA’s role in community health improvement; and discussed CHNA requirements and processes for nonprofit hospitals.
Hilltop Long-Term Services and Supports Policy and Research Director Donna C. Folkemer, MA, gave this presentation at the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) Fall Forum Pre-Conference Meeting on December 5, 2012, in Washington, DC. Folkemer discussed eight things legislators should know about quality. The pre-conference meeting was attended by legislators and legislative staff from across the country.
This is the fifth issue brief in a series resleased by Hilltop’s Hospital Community Benefit Program. It discusses hospital community building activities and their importance in addressing the root causes of poor health and disability. It explores hospitals’ community benefit activities that go beyond the provision of health care services to focus on “upstream” social, economic, and environmental factors—education, employment, income, housing, community design, family and social support, community safety, and the environment—that are major contributors to community health. IRS Form 990, Schedule H is the vehicle hospitals use to report these activities.The other issue briefs in the Hospital Community Benefits after the ACA series are The Emerging Federal Framework, Building on State Experience, Partnerships for Community Health Improvement, and Schedule H and Hospital Community Benefit—Opportunities and Challenges for the States.
Hilltop Hospital Community Benefit Program Director Martha H. Somerville, JD, MPH, presented as part of a plenary town hall panel in a session titled Community Health Assessments: Opportunities for Collaboration, at the National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI) Annual Conference of May 23, 2012 in New Orleans, Louisiana. In her presentation, Somerville outlined community benefit requirements under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and related reporting requirements (Internal Revenue Service Form 990, Schedule H). The discussion focused on the ACA’s community health needs assessment requirement, how it can relate to public health department accreditation, and how Public Health Institutes can facilitate community partnerships of hospitals, health departments, and community-based organizations to conduct needs assessment and community health improvement planning, as well as develop initiatives to improve community health.