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The New Jersey Health Policy Environment: Analysis of Critical Policy Issues & Opportunities for Intervention

Authors
Koller, Margaret
Silberberg, Mina
Uddin, Syeda
Reinhard, Susan C.
Cuite, Cara L.
Davis, Denise A.
Adams-Zackary, Amina
Date of Publication
February, 2002
Publication Type
Report
Focus Area
Cross-Cutting and Other Projects
Source
Rutgers Center for State Health Policy

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY


This white paper was prepared for the New Jersey Health Initiatives (NJHI) as a continuation of an environmental health scan that was conducted in Spring 2001, at the request of NJHI. The purpose of this project is twofold: to revisit the list of health and health care issues identified by members of the spring focus groups convened by the Center for State Health Policy and determine if they still represent the most critical policy challenges, and to evaluate each policy area and determine its compatibility with NJHI's grantmaking strategy. 
The CSHP project team reached out to a group of stakeholders representing a variety of con­stituencies including NJ state government, community based health organizations, academic institutions and practicing health care providers. These interviews confirmed that the most vexing health policy challenges in New Jersey are those that the focus groups highlighted: coverage and access to care for the uninsured, the underutilization of preventive health services, racial dispari­ties and cultural competency, and health care workforce issues. In an attempt to determine which of these four policy areas present the most promise for NJHI strategic grant programs, we consid­ered each area along six dimensions: 

•    Potential impact
•    Partnership opportunity
•    Capacity building
•    Leverage
•    Cost
•    Evaluability

We found that programs that address the issue of the uninsured represent little if any oppor­tunity for NJHI to have demonstrable impact on the problems, while programs designed to increase the utilization of preventive health services offer limited promise. In addition, given the context noted above, there is slightly more opportunity for funding programs that address racial disparities and cultural competency. However, the most promise is offered when the disparity and cultural competency issues are examined within the context of healthcare workforce policy, as we believe that workforce is the policy area that is most compatible with NJHI's strategic grantmaking goals.