Policy

With the insight and perspective of our members, the Quality Institute’s policy work spans areas such as payment reform and child and maternal health. We advise legislators and other decision makers on insurance policy, health care technology, and strategies to improve patient care and population health. We help mayors create a culture of health in their communities and we facilitate family and community conversations about end-of-life care.

Our policy team works to promote the long-term sustainability of innovative models like HealthySteps, CenteringPregnancy and CenteringParenting, including understanding current payment structure and building a payment strategy that would allow for program growth across the state. Our maternity work is supported by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The Burke Foundation, and NJAAP.

Maternal and Child Health

Maternity Action Plan (MAP)

The Quality Institute released the Maternity Action Plan (“MAP”), a holistic approach to combatting maternal mortality and morbidity. The MAP is a guide to implementing and accelerating the goals of Nurture NJ.

The MAP provides a directional path forward in four critical ways to address New Jersey’s maternal health crisis, which is particularly devastating for Black women, who experience maternal mortality and morbidity at 7 times higher rates than their white counterparts. By using the MAP and advancing Nurture NJ’s goals, together we will make New Jersey the safest and most equitable place for pregnant individuals to give birth and raise children.

Read the Maternity Action Plan and Resources

Integrated Care for Kids (InCK)

Hackensack Meridian Health (HMH), in partnership with New Jersey Medicaid, New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute and the Visiting Nurse Association of Central Jersey, has entered into a collaborative agreement with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to establish the NJ Integrated Care for Kids (InCK) model. Working with those who provide primary care to children in Monmouth and Ocean Counties, NJ InCK will test an Alternative Payment Model (APM), for NJ Family Care programs, by providing payment for screening and provision of integrated community-based core child health services.

Learn More

Maternal Infant Health Hub

To work toward implementing the Delivering Better Care: Midwifery Practice in New Jersey recommendations, the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute and The Burke Foundation will launch the Maternal Infant Health Hub as a policy and learning collaborative to strengthen midwifery practice and promote birth equity and justice in New Jersey. The Hub will convene midwives, advocates, and MIH stakeholders to create a shared learning space and provide educational resources focused on maternal health policy. The Hub will work with participants to help design a policy-and advocacy-focused midwifery fellowship to assist early-career midwifery leaders.

New Jersey Reproductive Health Access Project (NJ-RHAP)

NJ-RHAP is a statewide initiative created to empower New Jersey patients, their providers, and payers, to identify the reproductive health services that are best for themselves and their families and to expand access to the full range of contraceptive options available. NJ-RHAP seeks to analyze and improve state laws, regulations, and contracts while increasing providers’ understanding of key policies that impact service delivery for reproductive health services, specifically contraceptive care. The goal of NJ-RHAP is to reduce the policy and payment system barriers that prevent individuals from accessing their preferred birth control methods through provider education efforts and to promote policy change that supports patient-centered reproductive health care.

NJ-RHAP Description

In Summer 2020, the Quality Institute released the NJ-RHAP PACT, an engaging and informative resource for providers. The NJ-RHAP PACT provides education and support for the implementation of best practices to increase access to reproductive health services, including long-acting reversible contraception (LARC), using shared-decision making and the promotion of reproductive justice. The toolkit covers topics such as billing and coding for contraceptive services, same-day access to LARC, and community engagement strategies.

NJ-RHAP Toolkit

NJ-RHAP Overview
NJ-RHAP Press Release
NJ-RHAP Full Toolkit
NJ-RHAP Tool 1 – Billing and Coding
NJ-RHAP Tool 2 – LARC Statement of Principles
NJ-RHAP Tool 3 – 10 Steps to Verify Coverage
NJ-RHAP Tool 4 – Resources of Uninsured and Underinsured
NJ-RHAP Tool 5 – Buy and Bill Model
NJ-RHAP Tool 6 – Front Desk Staff Worksheet
NJ-RHAP Tool 7 – Same-day LARC Access
NJ-RHAP Tool 8 – Community Engagement Worksheet
NJ-RHAP Tool 9 – Pledge
NJ-RHAP Resource – Maximizing Access to Contraceptive Care via Telehealth

COVID-19 Action Plan

The COVID-19 pandemic pushed us to be more resourceful, resilient, and collaborative — and provides opportunities to emerge with a stronger and more equitable health care system. To assess and further positive change, BioNJ and the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute joined forces to bring health care experts throughout the State together to create, “Emerging from COVID-19: An Action Plan for A Healthier State.”