Introduction

When the members of the CSG Healthy States National Task Force began work in January 2019, they could not have predicted the arrival of the COVID-19 virus. However, the task force did anticipate that states should begin to prepare themselves in the areas of health innovation, technology, affordability, capacity, preparedness and access to ensure that state health systems were prepared to meet any challenge. With the arrival of 2020, these topics already being explored by the task force members became not only policy areas that required future planning, but became vital, critical and immediate. The ultimate impacts of the COVID-19 virus on state health systems likely will not be fully known for some time. We do know one thing for sure: state leaders will be able to use lessons learned through innovation and from one another to guide the recovery process and maximize preparedness for future events.

The recommendations in this report reflect two years of the thoughtful work of our task force members studying best state practices in areas of health while also navigating a global pandemic. The task force concentrated efforts into four specific areas of health:

What’s Next? Leveraging Innovation; State Health Systems Return on Investment; Capacity, Preparedness and Resiliency (CPR); and Interventions to Save Lives Subcommittee.

Each of these identified subcommittee areas had a bipartisan and diverse composition of state leaders within both the legislative and executive branches who provided both personal and professional insights.

The first of the four subcommittees, The What’s Next? Leveraging Innovation Subcommittee, focused on analyzing policies aimed at removing barriers to health care access by encouraging and supporting the adoption and implementation of emerging innovations. Telehealth was one of the most discussed innovations and it became even more relevant during the pandemic. State and federal actions helped to increase access to telehealth during a time in which Americans were being encouraged to stay home. Other topics of discussion included policies related to health data and records, the application of 5G networks to improve services, rural health availability and medical education and licensure.

The State Health Systems Return on Investment Subcommittee also recognized the potential that telehealth has in overcoming the social determinants of health that can create inequities and in improving care delivery. Additionally, the subcommittee suggested that enhanced

linkages between clinicians and communities, the removal of barriers to treatment for underserved populations and evidence-based initiatives to prevent chronic disease were keys to improving health outcomes and reducing costs.

Preparedness for events like the pandemic was central to the work of the Capacity, Preparedness and Resiliency (CPR) Subcommittee, which examined how better research, planning and communication can help states build resilient communities capable of preventing, mitigating, responding to and recovering from weather-related disasters and public health crises alike. Topics of discussion also included crisis communications, vaccine education and investment in public health infrastructure.

The Interventions to Save Lives Subcommittee prioritized barriers and outcomes related to mental health as well as physical health. Its focuses included bloodborne diseases, substance use disorders and chronic diseases such as diabetes. The subcommittee also considered behavioral health issues such as parity, treating and preventing adverse childhood experiences and suicide prevention.

The work of this task force started before the onset of a global pandemic, and while its findings and recommendations are applicable now more than ever, it also provides a

comprehensive look at the state of health care across the U.S. and the potential for problem solving and improvement. The themes of this report extend far beyond the country’s current health crisis and seek to examine the full scope of the nation’s health care system and the state policy considerations that can help guide it in the years ahead. In considering innovative technology-enabling strategies, investmentworthy protocols, resiliency-building practices and life-saving interventions, the members of the CSG Healthy States Task Force hope this report and its findings will serve to inform state policymakers on the universe of possibilities as they seek to build a healthy future for all their citizens.