United States Of Care Campaign

TO ENSURE THAT EVERYONE HAS ACCESS TO QUALITY, AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE REGARDLESS OF HEALTH STATUS, SOCIAL NEED, OR INCOME.

POLICY AND EXTERNAL AFFAIRS -OUR TEAM HELPED TO ADVANCE PROGRESS TOWARDS A MORE AFFORDABLE, EQUITABLE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM NATIONWIDE. WE SUCCESSFULLY ADVOCATED FOR KEY PRIORITIES COVID-19 RESPONSE PRIORITIES, INCLUDING ROBUST FEDERAL FUNDING FOR CONTACT TRACING EFFORTS. WE SUCCESSFULLY ADVOCATED FOR HISTORIC, BIPARTISAN INVESTMENTS OF $42 BILLION IN BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE TO MODERNIZE THE COUNTRY'S INTERNET SYSTEMS, WHICH ARE CRITICAL TO VIRTUAL CARE ACCESS AND UTILIZATION. WE DROVE A SUCCESSFUL MULTI-STATE EFFORT TO EXPAND COVERAGE THROUGH THE PUBLIC OPTION, CREATING NEW COVERAGE CHOICES FOR PEOPLE IN NEVADA AND COLORADO. WE PROVIDED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, MEDIA AND COMMUNICATIONS SUPPORT, AND UTILIZED OUR IN-STATE CONNECTIONS TO EXPAND GRASSTOPS SUPPORT AND HIGHLIGHT BUSINESSES' SUPPORT. COLORADO'S LAW TO CREATE A NEW INSURANCE OPTION CONTAINS SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS FOR HEALTH PLANS TO BE DESIGNED TO REDUCE RACIAL DISPARITIES AND IMPROVE HEALTH EQUITY. IN PARTICULAR, THE LAW SPECIFIES THAT NETWORKS MUST BE "CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE," WHICH MEANS THAT THE PLANS MUST BE INFORMED BY AND RESPONSIVE TO THE UNIQUE CULTURAL NEEDS OF DIVERSE COLORADANS. THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, WE SHARED OUR LESSONS FROM THIS WORK WITH ADVOCATES ACROSS THE COUNTRY. USOFCARE BROUGHT TOGETHER APPROXIMATELY THIRTY KEY LEADERS INCLUDING LEGISLATORS, ADVOCATES, STRATEGISTS AND RESEARCHERS TO SHARE KEY TAKEAWAYS AND LESSONS FROM 2021 LEGISLATIVE SESSIONS, AND PRODUCED ACTIONABLE RESOURCES TO HELP PARTNERS SHAPE FUTURE EFFORTS. WE ALSO BROUGHT TOGETHER MORE THAN A DOZEN ORGANIZATIONS TO COLLABORATE ON RESPONDING TO KEY CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES' REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ON THE PUBLIC OPTION AND SHARED PROGRESS AND LESSONS FROM STATES, INCLUDING STRATEGIC AND MESSAGING BEST PRACTICES. ADDITIONALLY, USOFCARE AFFORDABILITY STANDARD LEARNING COLLABORATIVE BROUGHT TOGETHER EXPERTS FROM 5 STATES (COLORADO, CONNECTICUT, RHODE ISLAND, MASSACHUSETTS AND VERMONT) TO COLLABORATE AND SHARE BEST PRACTICES AS THEY IMPLEMENT NEW WAYS TO MEASURE AND IMPROVE AFFORDABILITY.

COMMUNICATIONS -WE CONTINUED OUR ROLE AS A LEADER IN THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC RESPONSE, WHICH EVOLVED WITH THE COUNTRY'S SHIFTING NEEDS. WE IDENTIFIED AN URGENT NEED TO ADDRESS VACCINE HESITANCY IN THE EARLY DAYS OF 2021 AND LAUNCHED A HIGHLY SOUGHT-AFTER VACCINE RESEARCHERS' CONSORTIUM THAT BROUGHT TOGETHER LEADING RESEARCHERS TO QUICKLY COLLABORATE ON RESEARCH TO INCREASE VACCINE UPTAKE AND DISSEMINATE KEY FINDINGS. PARTICIPANTS INCLUDE THE KAISER FAMILY FOUNDATION, AD COUNCIL, DEBEAUMONT FOUNDATION, ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION, FEDERAL LIAISONS FROM HHS, AND OTHERS. WE HAVE PUBLISHED REGULAR INTERESTED PARTIES MEMOS FOR OUR LARGE NETWORK OF LEADERS, CONSOLIDATING THE STRONG RESEARCH FROM THIS GROUP. WE PROVIDED NATIONAL AND STATE LEADERS WITH EVIDENCE BASED TALKING POINTS SO THEY CAN INSTILL CONFIDENCE WITH THE MOST HIGHLY VULNERABLE OR VACCINE HESITANT PEOPLE.WE ALSO CONTINUED TO DISSEMINATE THE UNIQUE INSIGHTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF OUR TEAM AND NETWORK. WE PRODUCED AND DISSEMINATED MORE THAN 70 PIECES OF RESEARCH, POLICY ANALYSIS, AND OTHER CONTENT TO 12,000 PEOPLE AND MORE THAN 1,800 POLICYMAKERS. WE HOSTED 9 VIRTUAL EVENTS, WITH TOPICS RANGING FROM INCREASING COVID-19 VACCINE CONFIDENCE TO BRINGING THE PERSPECTIVES OF PEOPLE TO CMMI FEATURING THOUGHT LEADERS AND EXPERTS FROM ACROSS HEALTH CARE.

PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT -CENTRAL TO ALL OF USOFCARE'S WORK IS THE IDEA THAT IMPROVING HEALTH CARE SHOULD BEGIN WITH LISTENING TO PEOPLE. WE COMPLETED OVER TWO YEARS OF DEEP LISTENING AND PUBLIC OPINION RESEARCH, WHICH INCLUDED TALKING TO PEOPLE ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO UNDERSTAND SHARED AND DIVERSE NEEDS, WITH A PARTICULAR INTEREST IN POPULATIONS THAT HAVE EXPERIENCED INEQUITIES IN THEIR HEALTH CARE. IN 2021, WE HELD FOUR FOCUS GROUPS, FIELDED A NATIONAL SURVEY, AND HOSTED A REMESH SESSION A RESEARCH TECHNIQUE THAT ALLOWED US TO GATHER BOTH QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE PERSPECTIVES AS PARTICIPANTS RESPONDED TO A SERIES OF QUESTIONS. STARTING WITH MORE THAN 70 POLICY APPROACHES, WE IDENTIFIED AND TESTED SOLUTIONS THAT RESONATE ACROSS DEMOGRAPHICS, ALL OF WHICH CAN HELP ADDRESS SYSTEMIC INEQUITIES. THIS APPROACH HELPED US TO IDENTIFY 4 GOALS AND 12 SOLUTIONS THAT BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER ACROSS DEMOGRAPHICS, THE RESULT OF WHICH WAS A ONE OF A KIND ROADMAP FOR A MORE EQUITABLE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM READY TO LAUNCH IN 2022.WE CONDUCTED FOCUSED LISTENING AND RESEARCH EFFORTS THIS YEAR ON THE USE OF VIRTUAL CARE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IS WORKING WELL AND THE CHALLENGES PEOPLE ARE EXPERIENCING BEFORE AND DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. OUR EFFORTS ARE FOCUSED ON THOSE WHO HAVE HISTORICALLY FACED BARRIERS TO ACCESSING CARE IN TRADITIONAL SETTINGS, INCLUDING OLDER ADULTS, PEOPLE IN RURAL COMMUNITIES, PEOPLE WHO USE SAFETY NET PROVIDERS AND THOSE SEEKING MENTAL HEALTH AND/OR SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER CARE AND TREATMENT. WE USED THESE FINDINGS TO PUBLISH A PLAYBOOK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH WEST HEALTH THAT LOOKED AT OLDER ADULTS' EXPERIENCE WITH VIRTUAL CARE, AS WELL AS RESOURCES IN COLLABORATION WITH THIRD HORIZON STRATEGIES THAT EXPLORE THE ROLE OF VIRTUAL CARE IN PROVIDING EFFECTIVE, TIMELY, AND QUALITY BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CARE -- INCLUDING TREATMENT FOR MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER.