New Report Serves as Evaluation Tool as States Assess Coverage Expansions

WASHINGTON, March 2 - As states seek to assess whether their health coverage programs and expansions are meeting their intended objectives - to reduce the number of uninsured and plan for future efforts - many have discovered that evaluation is a complex process that does not always yield a clear path to follow.

To help guide states through the evaluation process, The State Coverage Initiatives program commissioned a report, "Evaluating State Health Coverage Expansions: Tools for State Policymakers." Written by Marsha Gold, Sc.D., senior fellow at Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. in Washington, D.C., this manual probes the realities states face in assessing their expansions and provides a framework for questions to ask and ways states may use analysis to learn from experience.

States' evaluation challenges include obtaining accurate and timely data that reflect the true impact of the program and securing the financial resources or manpower to conduct needed assessments. In addition, given the changing political and economic environments in the states, isolating which factors are affecting program participation is also a difficult task.

"States that are creative can leverage diverse sources of funds to enhance the quality of information available to support evaluation," says Gold. "Even the most resource-constrained policymakers can benefit by creating some internal evaluation capacity that will help them translate their needs into work that is practical, timely, and relevant."

The manual discusses evaluation concepts and technical tools, identifies different kinds of evaluations and how they relate to specific needs, and provides ingredients for good evaluation designs, including how to frame questions so that impact can be clearly determined. It also identifies ways states can respond and overcome the limitations to evaluation.

To receive a copy of "Evaluating State Health Coverage Expansions: Tools for State Policymakers," contact LeAnne DeFrancesco at LeAnne.DeFrancesco@academyhealth.org.

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Alpha Center (www.ac.org) is a non-profit health policy center dedicated to improving access to affordable, quality health care. Based in Washington, D.C., Alpha Center serves as the national program office for State Coverage Initiatives.

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