States Focused in 2001 on Maintaining Public Health Coverage Levels, Not Expanding Coverage, Report Finds:

In 2001, state lawmakers and policy officials continued to address public health coverage, but shifted the focus from expanding public health programs to efforts that maintained current coverage levels, according to Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's "State of the States 2002" report. The report, released this week, was created by the foundation's State Coverage Initiatives program. The report looks at insurance market reforms in 2001, as well as at how the Bush administration affected states' efforts to expand public health coverage. The report also discusses 25 states' experiences with planning or demonstration grants from the State Coverage Initiatives program and HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration. Vickie Gates, director of RWJF's State Coverage Initiatives program and vice president of the Academy for Health Services Research and Health Policy, which oversees the program, said, "Despite a faltering economy, rising state budget deficits, and the shattering Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, states continued to bring new solutions to bear on coverage challenges last year" (Academy for Health Services Research and Health Policy release, 1/21). The report is available online. Note: You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the report.