National Policy Publications
Impact of State Laws Governing Physical Education on Attendance among U.S. High School Students, 2003-2017
by Ruopeng An, PhD; Mengmeng Ji, MS; Caitlin Clarke, PhD; Chenghua Guan, PhD | January 2020
Schools play a critical role in promoting physical activity among children through physical education (PE), which helps students gain necessary knowledge, skills, and confidence to practice sports and adopt an active lifestyle. Government policies and regulations profoundly influence local schools’ decisions and practices in delivering PE and promoting physical activity among students. This policy brief assessed the influence of state laws governing PE on weekly PE class attendance among U.S. high school students.
Medicaid Work Requirements: The Relationship between Work and Health
by Linda Li, MPH, Abigail Barker, PhD, Leah Kemper, MPH, Timothy McBride, PhD | February 2019
Whether work requirements in Medicaid promote health and align with the aims of the program has become a central question in the current policy debate. In this third of three briefs, we assess the relationship between work and health by using longitudinal data to analyze the effects of employment and health status over time. We evaluate the effect of health on work and then examine whether work improves health. Policy implications of current Medicaid work requirements and recommendations follow based on our findings.
Social Risk and Dialysis Facility Penalties Under the End-Stage Renal Disease Quality Incentive Program
by Andrew C. Qi BS, Anne M. Butler PhD, Kristine Huang BA, and Karen E. Joynt Maddox MD, MPH | September 2019
Introduced in 2012, Medicare’s End-Stage Renal Disease Quality Incentive Program (ESRD QIP) is a mandatory pay-for-performance program for U.S. dialysis facilities that penalizes facilities up to 2% of their Medicare payments based on their performance on a set of quality measures. This program has had an impact on dialysis facilities in low-income areas and those with high proportions of Black or dually Medicare and Medicaid enrolled patients. The analysis showed that facilities serving these vulnerable populations have lower quality scores and higher financial penalties. Consequently, the ESRD QIP could cause facilities to avoid caring for high-risk patients, or could worsen facility quality by taking away valuable resources. However, the penalties could also spur facilities to improve quality, which could reduce disparities. The impact of the program needs to continue to be monitored to ensure the program is as equitable as possible.