On February 7-8, 2008, the State Coverage Initiatives (SCI) program, a national initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, hosted a winter meeting attended by more than 85 participants from 31 states and the District of Columbia. The meeting, which took place in Nashville, included an update from the states of Tennessee, Vermont, and Maryland about their recent health care reforms as well as a session devoted to presenting ideas about the best ways to organize health reform in order to move from the idea stage to enactment to implementation.
Emerging issues related to Medicaid and SCHIP programs and state strategies to address access and affordability in the small group market were examined. Additional sessions focused on how states are developing options for cost containment and systems improvement, how data can be used to understand access and quality issues, and how the evaluation of state health care reforms can help policymakers determine if their programs are achieving their desired goals. To view the agenda and presentations, please visit: http://www.statecoverage.net/0208agenda.htm.
