To apply to NASHP’s State Policy Institute to Improve Care for People with Serious Illness, please complete this online application.
The National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP), supported by The John A. Hartford Foundation, invites state applications to participate in its 2023-2025 State Policy Institute to Improve Care for People with Serious Illness.
This institute will engage up to five teams of state leaders for two years to develop and/or strengthen policies and strategies to improve access to palliative care. Best practices and lessons learned from the policy institute’s work will be shared with other states.
- What’s in it for states? Each state team will receive customized technical support from NASHP and subject matter experts on serious illness and palliative care policy during the two-year period. Topics can include advanced care planning, care management, reimbursement, managed long-term services and supports, regulations, and licensure and more. The Institute will provide state leaders with opportunities for peer-to-peer discussion, access to national expertise, and the option for developing a Medicaid palliative care benefit customized to their state’s data and needs.
- What is the unique opportunity of this institute? Free of charge, states have the opportunity to work with well-respected and experienced actuaries specializing in palliative care to develop a Medicaid palliative care benefit structure. If states are interested in developing a Medicaid palliative care benefit, these actuaries can help with data analysis. If states are interested in embedding palliative care within current health care initiatives, technical assistance can be provided.
Team Composition
State applications may include a team of up to four members, comprised of at least two senior state officials or administrators (such as Medicaid officials, governor’s health policy leaders, legislators, etc.). The team may include additional state staff and others who can directly support team goals (e.g., serious illness advocacy organizations, palliative care taskforce members or providers, etc.).
Key Dates
Application opens: January 3, 2023
Informational webinar: January 24, 2023, 3–4 p.m. ET. Watch the webinar recording.
Applications due: February 24, 2023, 5 p.m. ET
Selected states notified: March 7, 2023
Institute begins: March 21, 2023
To Apply
Interested applicants should fill out the online application. Applications are due February 24, 2023 at 5 p.m. ET.
Informational Webinar
Interested state officials are encouraged to participate in an informational webinar on Tuesday, January 24, 2023, 3—4 p.m. ET. Watch the webinar recording.
State Support of Palliative Care
The goal of NASHP’s Institute is to assist states working to develop, implement, and enhance policy and systems supporting care for individuals with complex conditions and serious illness. NASHP’s role is to assist states in connecting with peers and experts, identify and share strategies and solutions, and help provide insights and best practices for other state leaders who seek to improve care for people with serious illness.
Over the course of the institute, states will be supported in the following ways over two years:
- Gain knowledge about state policy strategies to support palliative care and care for people with serious illness from other states and national experts
- Develop a workplan for implementing key policy or programmatic priorities in their state
- Receive technical assistance from subject matter experts including the option to develop a custom-made Medicaid palliative care benefit
Application Requirements
Team composition: State applicants may identify a core team of up to four members to participate in the institute, including at least two state officials or administrators who can implement the state’s specific goals and project activities. Additional members may include other state staff, or representatives from serious illness advocacy organizations, community-based organizations, providers, or other key organizations that can support the state’s goals. Applicants should also identify a team lead who can provide overall leadership and serve as the primary point of contact. The team lead must be a state official.
The institute will provide:
- Development of a state serious illness policy work plan to support key state priorities
- Individualized technical support from NASHP and expert consultation from national and state leaders in palliative care
- Four virtual workshops and peer-to-peer learning opportunities
- Bimonthly customized virtual state team meetings with technical experts
State goals: Applicants should describe specific and measurable policy goals and a realistic timeline and activities to achieve these goals. Strong candidates will demonstrate foundational planning and policy changes to address serious illness care (e.g., a taskforce or commission, planning meetings, legislation, concept paper, initial policy planning, etc.).
Use of resources: Applicants should describe how they will use the technical assistance provided by the institute to make progress on their goals within the institute and after the institute concludes. Applications can include the entire age spectrum including pediatric populations, but must include older adults and cannot solely include pediatric populations.
Technical assistance needs: Applicants should describe what specific expertise, technical support, and other resources would be helpful in making progress.
Submission: To apply to NASHP’s State Policy Institute to Improve Care for People with Serious Illness, please complete this brief application. Interested state teams are encouraged to participate in an informational webinar on Tuesday, January 24, 2023 from 3—4 p.m. ET. NASHP will notify each state of the status of its application no later than March 7, 2023. For questions or inquiries, please contact Salom Teshale (steshale@nashp.org) or Wendy Fox-Grage (wfgrage@nashp.org).
About NASHP
NASHP is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization with over three decades of experience in helping state policymakers lead. NASHP provides expertise, convenes states, shares innovations and best practices, and supports state policymakers in making concrete and sustainable health system reform. Learn more about NASHP’s work in palliative care policy analysis.
