Health & Human Services Summit 2017

The election of President Donald Trump, coupled with Republican control of the House and Senate, brings the potential for big changes to federal health and human services policies. Although initial efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act have failed, discussions continue about eliminating or modifying the landmark healthcare legislation. Administration officials also have raised the possibility of Medicaid block grants, employment requirements for aid recipients and other significant shifts.

Against this backdrop of uncertainty, how should states and localities make critical decisions around improving HHS systems and programs to meet the needs of their citizens and communities? The answer is take the long view. Federal politics surrounding the ACA and social programs may swing wildly before an equilibrium is reached. But there are fundamental strategies for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of HHS programs that will continue to drive transformation regardless of where the political debate may lead.

Governing’s 2017 HHS Summit will examine those issues and highlight innovative examples and practical advice for advancing more integrated, person-centered, and evidence-based healthcare and social service models. Join state and local HHS officials, policy leaders, frontline practitioners and industry innovators to gain thought-provoking new insights and add your voice to the conversation.

Key Topics May Include:

Focusing on outcomes and effectiveness: HHS officials must continue to develop techniques for measuring the impact or effectiveness of health and human services programs. Building the capacity evaluate program outcomes is a bipartisan issue, and the ability to show effectiveness will likely play a larger role in project funding going forward. Gaining these capabilities demands more data sharing and increased analytics sophistication.

Implementing rapid cycle improvement: Not only must HHS programs gauge their effectiveness, they must be able to act rapidly on that information. Agencies will need to develop policies and implement supporting tools that give them quick feedback to support evidence-based iterative improvements.

Addressing social and environmental determinants of health: There is growing understanding that factors like socioeconomic status, education, physical environment and employment have a significant impact on an individual’s health and wellbeing. Smart policies and programs designed to address these issues could be key to lowering healthcare costs -- and those savings could become even more important if Medicaid reform and other changes ultimately result in fewer federal dollars flowing to HHS programs.

Continuing the commitment to modularity: The federal government still offers financial incentives and a policy framework for moving toward modular system design in health and human services. Many states already have committed to this approach, and activity in this area should persist based on its potential benefits. This will drive efforts on agile procurement, modular deployment techniques, technology and data standards, cloud-based alternatives and other innovations.