From 2000 to 2005, the Health Resources and Services Administration’s State Planning Grant (SPG) program gave grants to 47 states, the
District of Columbia, and four territories, to plan and pilot coverage expansions. In its new report, Lessons from the HRSA State Planning Grant Program, AcademyHealth details the five-year program. A total of $76 million was distributed which went to support data collection, community and stakeholder engagement, and to develop comprehensive strategies to reduce the number of uninsured individuals. The SPG program enabled the passage of bills, changes in states’ policy environments, created a cohesive stakeholder process, and allowed for lessons to be shared between states and with the federal government. The report describes the policy environment of SPG states during the five-year period, examines the policy approaches that were taken to reduce the number of uninsured, and analyzes the lessons learned.
To read the full issue brief and learn more about individual state efforts in the program, please click here.
