By Nduka Vernon According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 29% of non-elderly adults (adults below the age of 65) covered by Medicaid have a mental illness.[1] In addition, of all non-elderly adults with mental illness, Medicaid covers 23% of this population. While the burden of mental health disease appears to be significant among the low-income [...]
By Shiya John, Sri Krishna Kaashyap Madabhushi, Nishitha Chidipothu, Jim Samuel. The opioid crisis is affecting all levels of American society regardless of class, ethnicity, gender, or career [...]
by Amanda Hinton Health care is a hot-button topic for people across the country and New Jersey is no exception. The importance of access to health care cannot be understated and many New Jersey residents feel the effects of being unable to receive high-quality health care services. The New Jersey State Policy Lab teamed up [...]
by Heather Butler and Aakanksha Deoli The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic engendered a precarious environment that significantly exacerbated existing mental health disorders and triggered new ones. According to Mental Health America, roughly one in five American adults suffered from a mental health condition in 2019. In the same year, the American Academy of Family [...]
by Amanda Hinton Medicaid enrollees of color, specifically Black and Hispanic patients, are less likely to be able to access care because racial disparities exist within the Medicaid program. A 2020 study examined primary care physician (PCP) Medicaid acceptance rates in Virginia. The researchers found that in communities with high percentages of Hispanic residents there [...]
by Edgar Romero and Anita Franzione Fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth services and virtual care rapidly expanded and allowed health care providers to continue delivering patient care. However, it is important to address the underlying issues that restrict people from accessing these services due to income or no means to access connectivity. These barriers [...]
by Amanda Hinton Medicaid has long been a vital program that provides a safety net for low-income individuals to obtain health insurance. In 2020, Medicaid covered 17.8 percent of the population in the United States. Although Medicaid covers a large portion of the population across the country, issues accessing care still exist for beneficiaries. Medicaid [...]
by Nduka Vernon M.D., M.P.H In New Jersey, most behavioral health services for Medicaid patients are reimbursed by NJ FamilyCare–New Jersey’s Medicaid. NJ FamilyCare/Medicaid reimbursement for a myriad of behavioral health services is enabled through the Medicaid State Plan and the NJ Comprehensive 1115 Medicaid waiver, enacted in 2012. This category of waivers allows states [...]
by Jinah Yoo (PhD student), Leonor Camarena, PhD, and Federica Fusi, PhD The growing demands for workplace flexibility coupled with technological advancements have made telework a key element of flexible work arrangements with public organizations. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic sped up the proliferation of telework due to pressures for working-from-home options to contain the spread [...]
by Gavin Rozzi Efforts to collect statewide data on the opiate crisis in New Jersey have been underway since 2014 when former Attorney General John J. Hoffman issued a directive requiring local law enforcement to report all deployments of Narcan™ (Naloxone), the lifesaving overdose reversal drug.[1] Since then, officials at the New Jersey State Police, [...]
