Do you want to keep up with health care policy issues at the state and federal level? The Institute for Health Policy and Leadership publishes policy briefs on legislation that affects patients and providers. Each brief summarizes the issue under consideration, the history of policy changes surrounding the issue, the reasoning behind the proposed policy changes, and the law’s potential impacts, and it reveals which groups support and oppose the legislation.

Recent policy briefs have covered Maternal Mental Health (AB 577), Reinstatement of the Individual Mandate and Penalty in California (SB 78), Immunizations: Medical Exemptions (SB 276), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services rule on “Protecting Statutory Conscience Rights in Health Care.” All policy briefs prepared by the Institute can be accessed at https://ihpl.llu.edu/resources/policy-briefs.

Wonha Kim, MD, director of the Institute for Health Policy and Leadership, said, “We started creating these policy briefs because one of the three main functions of the Institute is ‘education and engagement,’ and we wanted people to learn more about relevant health policies through informative, easy-to-read briefs so that they can stay engaged with what is happening in the current health care landscape. The policy briefs also align with the Institute’s vision, which is to provide education, leadership, and research regarding policies aimed at preventing disease, promoting wellness, and restoring human wholeness.”