National Organizations of State and Local Officials: State Health Services and Financing

This notice announces the opportunity to apply for funding under the National Organizations of State and Local Officials (NOSLO) Program: State Health Services and Financing to fund a national level organization with an in-depth understanding of, and experience with, providing technical assistance and support to State Medicaid Directors and other health care payment officials. The purpose of the NOSLO program is to assist state and local authorities in a) improving public health, health care and health care delivery, b) building capacity to address public health issues and support and enforce regulations intended to improve the public’s health, and c) promoting health equity to preserve and improve public health. To fulfill the purpose, the NOSLO program has the following objectives: 1) facilitate communication and data/information-sharing between HRSA and state, territorial, and/or local officials, 2) improve understanding of state, territorial, and/or local needs, priorities, and perspectives, and 3) support capacity-building activities at the state, territorial, and/or local levels that strengthen the health care safety net and advance public health goals. The term “capacity-building” includes actions that build, strengthen, and maintain the necessary competencies and resources to improve health services delivery to people who are geographically isolated and/or economically or medically vulnerable. The NOSLO: State Health Services and Financing cooperative agreement assists states in leveraging HRSA programs and collaborating with Medicaid, including initiatives, models, and data strategies, to improve access to quality health care for people who are medically and economically vulnerable, with a special emphasis on maternal health disparities, geographically isolated people in rural areas, health care needs of people leaving the criminal justice system, individuals with HIV, people with unmet behavioral health needs, including youth, and the health care workforce. The successful recipient is expected to provide tailored technical assistance to State Medicaid Directors and other health care payment officials to address HRSA’s priorities through: • Communication and information sharing between HRSA and State Medicaid Directors and other health care payment officials, and • Training; data collection, sharing, and analysis; publication development; convenings, (e.g., learning exchanges on priority topics); and other activities that enable State Medicaid Directors and other health care payment officials to operate in a responsive, coordinated, and effective manner. Program Objectives • Engage multiple states and their State Medicaid Directors and other health care payment officials to develop detailed implementation plans for policy initiatives that will improve access to quality health care for their highest-need populations that intersect with HRSA programs. Where feasible, these initiatives can be shared across multiple states to achieve a nationwide impact. • Implement technical assistance activities and tools on health care financing policies, models, and data strategies that will improve access to quality health care to address the following: maternal health needs, access to mental health and substance abuse disorder services, health care workforce, healthcare needs of people leaving the criminal justice system, individuals with HIV, and other vulnerable people. For more details, see Program Requirements and Expectations.