Health Care

Research Studies

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• The Business Case for Wellness Programs in Public Employee Health Plans

  This brief examines the growth of wellness plans and documents the health and financial benefits they have produced. (9/27/12)

• State Health Plans in Fiscal Austerity: The Challenge of Improving Benefits While Moderating Costs

  Like all employers, state and local governments must control health care costs while still offering competitive benefit packages that will attract and retain talented employees. Eight states that have adopted innovative practices to reduce costs and improve employees’ health are featured in this publication, which comes out of a joint Center for Excellence-North Carolina State University symposium that addressed both national trends and a rich variety of lessons learned from state innovations. (8/12)

• Health Insurance for Active and Retired City Employees: Asheville, Denver, and Oklahoma City

  Public and private employers face the same challenge: how to control the continuing growth in health care costs? This brief examines how three city governments — Asheville, Denver, and Oklahoma City – have responded to rising health care costs. (9/11)

• Health Insurance for Active and Retired State Employees: California, North Carolina, and Ohio

  This brief finds that California, North Carolina, and Ohio rely on a combination of wellness programs and cost containment to rein in cost increases, and analyzes the cost of providing health insurance, along with changes in health plans the states have adopted to slow cost increases. (6/11)

• How Local Governments are Addressing Retiree Health Care Funding

  This brief finds that the economy has slowed the ability of local governments to address long-term funding of their retiree health care obligations. (8/10)

Surveys

• Health Reform Brings Workforce Challenges for States

  State officials say they have the expertise but not enough employees to meet federal deadlines for health care reform. (9/10)

• Security: What Americans Want from a Job

  It’s not just the money: New Center for Excellence poll finds Americans want health insurance and security; pay ranks farther down list. (1/3/08)

Fact Sheets

• The Impending Shortage in the State and Local Public Health Workforce

  Over the next five years, the United States will face a serious shortage of skilled public health personnel that will directly affect the ability of states and localities to protect public health. Focusing on recruitment, retention, and training can help assure that our nation has the talent it needs to respond to emergencies, prevent the spread of disease, and ensure that our water and food are safe. (3/08)

Case Studies

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• A Multi-disciplinary Approach to Community Health and Well-Being in Fulton County, Georgia

  Fulton County, Georgia, is the largest county in the state of Georgia and the only one to integrate health care and wellness programs with other services offered by community and health centers for a comprehensive approach to meeting residents’ needs. (8/10)

• Good Health! at Goodwill: Innovations in Community Health in San Antonio, Texas

  A partnership among the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District (Metro Health), Goodwill Industries, and Bexar County’s University Health System that offers affordable and accessible preventive health care to underserved and underinsured San Antonio residents. (8/10)

• OK Health, Health Improvement, and Wellness for Oklahoma State Employees

  OK Health teaches state employees to change their lifestyles and improve their health, while it reduces health care utilization and lowers insurance premiums. (8/10)

• A Comprehensive Wellness Program in Gainesville, Florida

  The LifeQuest approach to health, diet, and fitness. (8/09)

• Employee Wellness in the Commonwealth of Virginia

  Health and wellness education for employees of state agencies, departments, and local governments throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. (12/09)

Articles

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• Understanding Finances and Changes in Retiree Health Care

  This Government Finance Review article from Center vice president for research Joshua Franzel and Center researcher Alex Brown advises governments to understand what has been done thus far to address OPEB liabilities so they can assess their own efforts and determine if their retiree health care programs are sustainable. (2/2012)

• How Should California Pay for Retiree Health Benefits?

  Center President and CEO Elizabeth Kellar writes on California Healthline that the state will want to continue to offer this benefit, even as it is challenged to fund it. (10/5/09)

• Health Care, a 50-State Challenge for Nation’s Public Health Administrators

  Health care reform is stretching the capacity of state workforces, but it also offers an opportunity to tackle problems (PA Times). (November/December 2010)

• Managing the Public Health Workforce in San Antonio, Texas

  Dr. Bryan Alsip, assistant director for clinical and population-based services of the San Antonio, TX, Metropolitan Health District, discusses his strategic approach to workforce management. His goals: ensuring that that his department can meet the growing needs of the community and attract grants to maintain and improve services. (5/13/10)

• H1N1 Readiness: A Conversation with Dr. Reuben Varghese

  The Washington Post reports that many cities and counties are unprepared for the onset of H1N1. A conversation with Dr. Reuben K. Varghese, public health officer of Arlington County, Virginia, and chairman of Metropolitan COG’s Health Officials Committee, about how his county and the region are preparing for H1N1.