The U.S. health care system is currently undergoing significant change. Much of the change happening today is focused on finding ways to pay for and deliver care that will lead to improved quality, better outcomes and lower costs. Governors know that improving the health of citizens is not only essential to ensuring they live productive lives, but also to controlling health care costs and balancing budgets; as a result, states are leading on a wide array of health reform initiatives.
NGA Resources
2026 Health Policy Leadership Forum
The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) convened state and territory governors’ health policy advisors in Charlotte, North Carolina, July 8-10 for the 2026 Health Policy Leadership ...
Strengthening Partnerships to Prevent Overdose: Key Actions in a Multi-State Learning Collaborative
The United States continues to face a severe and evolving overdose crisis, underscoring the need for comprehensive overdose prevention strategies. While overdose deaths have declined in recent years, the number ...
Rural Health in Focus at NGA Health Policy Leadership Forum
Governors’ health advisors collaborate to sustain the rural health workforce, leverage the Rural Health Transformation Program and boost preventive care Charlotte, N.C. – The National Governors Association (NGA) this week ...
2026 Governors’ Health and Human Services Policy Advisors Institute
Health and human services policy advisors from states and territories across the country gathered in New Orleans for NGA’s annual HHS Policy Advisors Institute. Over one and a half days, ...
Healthcare Priorities in Governors’ 2026 State of the State Addresses
Across the country, Governors from coast to coast made healthcare a centerpiece of their 2026 legislative addresses—identifying common challenges around rural access, workforce shortages, rising costs, and behavioral health, and ...
2026 State Health Policy Forecast
On January 15, 2026, NGA convened Governors' health advisors to review critical health policy developments for the year ahead, including federal grant funding and implementation of major Medicaid reforms. Key ...
2025 Health and Human Services Policy Advisors Institute
October 28-29, the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) brought together Governors’ health and human services policy advisors representing 28 states and territories in Santa Fe, New ...
Demystifying Federal Authorities: State Considerations for Addressing Health-Related Social Needs in Medicaid
States are increasingly looking to integrate HRSN initiatives into their Medicaid programs and they now have many options to receive federal matching funds for initiatives designed to meet their unique ...
State Strategies to Support Marketplace Plan Enrollment as the Medicaid Continuous Coverage Requirement Winds Down
Just as states have customized their Medicaid programs and State-Based Marketplaces to meet the needs of their populations, they have been developing innovative approaches to prepare for the unwinding of ...
State-Driven Initiatives to Support Moving to Value-Based Care in the Era of COVID-19
This issue brief summarizes four key areas where state-driven strategies can standardize and streamline broader adoption of value-based payment models, supplemented by case examples and priority areas where additional federal ...
