To apply to NASHP’s Aging Policy Academy, please complete this online application.
Summary
The National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP), in partnership with West Health and the Milbank Memorial Fund (Milbank), invites state applications to participate in its 2023 Aging Policy Academy.
This policy academy will engage up to five teams of state leaders to strengthen policies for an aging population and the direct care workforce that supports them. The Aging Policy Academy will have the following three policy priority tracks:
- Home and community-based services
- Nursing home system reform
- Direct care workforce
States can choose in their application to work on the three topics together and holistically OR states can opt to work on one or more of the topics individually.
By elevating aging as a priority — including Governor-level attention and emphasis — states can accelerate measurable progress on policies that will address the needs of older adults, while optimizing state spending and capacity. Best practices and lessons learned from the policy academy’s work will be shared with other states.
What’s in it for states? Each state team will receive technical assistance from the NASHP team and expert consultants and will engage in peer-to-peer learning opportunities with other states. By the end of the Academy, participating states can expect to have a plan in place with specific activities and goals for their chosen policy priority track(s) and receive technical assistance to make progress on these goals.
Team composition: State applications should include a team of up to five members, comprised of state Medicaid directors, aging directors, health and human services secretaries or commissioners, governor’s health policy advisors, and other relevant team members. States may choose to include others such as state legislators. States should identify a team lead who should be a senior state employee with policy decision-making authority.
Key Dates
Application opens: January 10, 2023
Applications due: February 21, 2023, 5 p.m. ET
Selected states notified: February 28, 2023
Policy academy begins: March 14, 2023
The policy academy is funded through December 2023. However, NASHP will pursue funding for 2024 to allow states to continue this important work through 2024.
- To apply: Interested applicants should fill out the online application.
- Informational webinar: January 26th from 3-4 p.m. ET. Watch the webinar recording.
Support to States on Aging Policy
The goal of NASHP’s Aging Policy Academy (academy) is to assist states with accelerating measurable progress on policies that will address the needs of older adults, while optimizing state spending and capacity. NASHP’s role within the academy is to connect state officials 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 aging policy. The state policymakers within the academy will also serve as thought leaders on ways to engage federal leaders in dialogue on aging-related policy topics.
Technical Assistance within the Policy Priority Tracks
- Home and community-based services such as coverage, assessment, equity, and operations in Medicaid waivers, Older Americans Act services, and state-funded programs
- Nursing home system reform such as cost reporting, nursing home reimbursement, quality incentive programs, nursing home bed supply, and repurposing existing nursing homes
- Direct care workforce such as recruitment and retention approaches, workforce research and strategy, registries, licensure, training, and career ladders
Anticipated Support
Over the course of the academy, states will be supported in the following ways from March–December 2023, with potentially more activities in 2024:
- Expert consultants to provide customized, individual technical assistance for the state’s identified policy priority area(s), including assistance with plan development, data and analysis, and cost and payment reporting, when applicable
- An in-person site visit for each state conducted by NASHP staff and expert consultants
- Monthly virtual meetings with each state team
- Quarterly virtual meetings with the entire Academy to exchange insights and promising practices and troubleshoot any barriers as well as to engage federal leaders (when applicable)
- Potential meetings with federal officials
Application Requirements
Team Composition
State applicants may identify a core team of up to 5 members to participate in the policy academy who can identify and implement the state’s specific goals and project activities. Team members should include:
- State Medicaid directors
- Aging directors
- Health and human services commissioners
- Governor’s health policy advisors
- Other team members across all required state agencies
States may opt to include additional members such as state legislators and other partners such as university researchers, local government entities, community-based organizations, and others, if applicable.
Applicants should identify a team lead who can provide overall leadership and serve as the primary point of contact. The team lead must be a senior state official with policy decision-making authority.
State teams will:
- Set measurable goals in one or more of the three policy priority area(s) of focus for improvement and identify the levers that they wish to use to improve performance
- Engage with technical assistance providers in policy priority area(s) to develop plans and take action to meet those goals
- Participate in monthly meetings to track progress and troubleshoot any barriers
- Attend quarterly all-state calls with the 5 state teams to share best practices, and
- Agree to be featured in joint NASHP/Milbank publications
Application Elements
Team membership: Names and roles of team members if selected.
State goals: After reviewing their current landscape of aging policies and services, applicants should describe specific and measurable policy goals they want to achieve in this Academy across the relevant aging priority areas — home and community-based services, nursing home system reform and the direct care workforce. This should include identifying current challenges and how they are seeking to address them. Applicants should also include a realistic timeline and suggested activities to achieve these goals.
Capacity: Strong candidates should demonstrate foundational planning and capacity to address one or more of the following three aging priority areas: home and community-based services, nursing home system reform, and the direct care workforce.
Use of resources: Applicants should describe how they will use the technical assistance provided by the academy to make progress on their goals.
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 Aging Policy Academy, please complete this application form by February 21, 2023.
Webinar: Interested state teams are encouraged to participate in an informational webinar on January 26th, 2023 from 3-4 p.m. ET. Watch the webinar recording.
NASHP will notify each state of the status of its application no later than February 28, 2023.
For questions or inquiries, please contact Kimberly Hodges (khodges@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.
