Policy Basics

In April, HPIO released the fifth edition of its biennial Health Value Dashboard. The 2023 Dashboard found that Ohio ranks 44^th in the nation in health value, a combination of population health and healthcare spending. That means that Ohioans are less healthy and spend more on health care than people in most other states. Ohio is one of only two states, along with West Virginia, to rank in the bottom quartile in both population health and healthcare spending (as displayed in the graphic below).

The Dashboard identified three specific areas of strength on which Ohio can build to create opportunities for improved health value in the state:

• Strengthen Ohio’s workforce: Ohio can build upon recent success in attracting employers in high-growth industries to strengthen the workforce and reduce poverty.
• Foster mental well-being: Ohio can build upon expertise with, and community response to, the addiction crisis to become a national leader in behavioral health.
• Improve healthcare effectiveness: Ohio can build upon strengths in access to care to reinvigorate approaches to improving outcomes and controlling healthcare spending.

Population health and healthcare spending

• Combinations of State-Based Health Care Policies to Constrain Commercial Prices and Rebalance Market Power – Catalyst for Payment Reform
• The New Crisis of Increasing All-Cause Mortality in U.S. Children and Adolescents – JAMA
• Making Health Care More Affordable: A Playbook for Implementing a State Cost Growth Target – Milbank Memorial Fund
• The Health Costs of Gun Violence: How the U.S. Compares to Other Countries – Commonwealth Fund

Social and economic environment

• Social Drivers of Infant Mortality: Recommendations for Action and Accountability in Ohio – HPIO
• Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation – U.S. Surgeon General’s office
• Anti-poverty programs may help reduce disparities in brain development and mental health symptoms in children – National Institutes of Health

Physical environment

• How Health Systems Can Reduce Their Risk from and Impact on Climate Change – Commonwealth Fund
• Catalyzing Change: How State Medicaid Agencies Can Lead Health Care to Reduce Harmful Greenhouse Gas Emissions – Mathematica
• How Climate Change Affects Our Mental Health, and What We Can Do About It – Commonwealth Fund

Access to care

• Financial Impact of Telehealth: Rural Chief Financial Officer Perspectives – RAND Corporation
• Inequities in Health Insurance Coverage and Access for Black and Hispanic Adults – Commonwealth Fund
• The Long Unwinding Road: States Prepare for the End of the Medicaid Continuous Coverage Requirement – National Academy for State Health Policy
• Filling Behavioral Health Gaps in Rural Communities – Commonwealth Fund

Healthcare system

• State of Ohio Integrated Behavioral Health Dashboard – Recovery Ohio
• The Health of U.S. Primary Care: A Baseline Scorecard Tracking Support for High-Quality Primary Care – Milbank Memorial Fund
• Quality Measurement in Crisis Services – National Council for Mental Wellbeing
• Crisis Systems Landscape Analysis 2023 – Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services

Public health and prevention

• Ready or Not 2023: Protecting the Public’s Health from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism – Trust for America’s Health
• Restoring Trust in Public Health: Lessons from Three Local Health Coalitions – Commonwealth Fund
• State Approaches for Distribution of National Opioid Settlement Funding – National Academy for State Health Policy

Health equity

• Disparities in Health and Health Care: 5 Key Questions and Answers – Kaiser Family Foundation
• Leading Practices to Advance Equity and Support of Underserved Communities throughout Health and Human Services Programs – Mathematica
• Health Equity Tools Are Key to Improved Policies and Outcomes – Pew Charitable Trusts

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To see the most current edition of the Ohio Health Value Review click here