National Policy Institute Launches to Develop and Disseminate Research to Support State and Local Public Sector Employees and Retirees

The National Institute for Public Employee Health Care Policy will work to advance the knowledge base on key issues impacting public sector purchasers, their health care plans, and the state and local government employees they serve.

WASHINGTON, June 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, a new organization – the National Institute for Public Employee Health Care Policy – launches to advance and safeguard the interests of public sector employees, retirees, and their dependents by developing and disseminating research that supports their access to affordable, comprehensive, high-quality health care in the United States.

Over 15 percent of the American workforce is employed by state and local public sector entities, including millions of individuals serving in critical roles such as teachers, firefighters, and law enforcement. As health care costs continue to rise, development and dissemination of research and analyses to support the preservation of the high-quality health care benefits that public sector employees, retirees, and their dependents rely on has never been more important.

Today, the newly formed National Institute for Public Employee Health Care Policy officially launches to answer that call. Through the development of public policy research and analysis, the Institute aims to raise awareness and advance the knowledge base on key issues impacting public sector purchasers and their health care plans, with an initial special focus on research to assess the following areas:

• Rising pharmaceutical costs and prices
• Public sector group Medicare Advantage plan options
• Hospital and provider competition

By examining these three initial areas, the Institute will produce data and corresponding research products, including white papers and issue briefs, host educational events, and develop key partnerships in order for policymakers and stakeholders to better understand the benefits provided to public sector employees, retirees, and their dependents.

"Across the country, employees and retirees face rapidly rising health care costs. This is particularly challenging for public sector employees, who generally earn less than their private sector peers," said Katrina Daniel, Institute Board Chair, and the Chief Health Care Officer for the Teacher Retirement System of Texas. "Producing evidence-based research to better understand and safeguard their health benefits is critical to preserving their financial and retirement security."

The Institute's Board of Directors, made up of a diverse set of state public sector entity leaders and allied organizations, along with the Institute's member organizations and policy experts, will work together to produce independent, nonpartisan innovative research and educational materials. The organization's work will be guided by Institute Senior Policy Advisor, Marta Green, Former Chief of Health Plan Research and Administration at the California Public Employees' Retirement System, who now serves as Senior Advisor at Healthsperien, LLC, a nationally recognized health care policy and business strategy consulting firm.

"Public sector purchasers have a fiduciary duty to offer comprehensive, high-quality benefits at an affordable cost," said Marta Green, Senior Policy Advisor at the Institute. "We look forward to collaborating on these important issues and developing stronger evidence-based research to achieve better health care value and outcomes for public sector employees, retirees, and their dependents and to educate the policymakers and national stakeholders alike."

Later this summer, the Institute will release its first research product, an issue brief exploring how state and local public sector purchasers are addressing rising pharmaceutical costs and deploy solutions to ensure continued access to critical medications for those they serve. Results from a recently launched survey of specialty drug costs and strategies to mitigate spending, conducted in partnership with the Public Sector HealthCare Roundtable and with data collected from dozens of state public sector health plans on their cost-containment approaches, will inform the paper. 

For more information about the Institute, visit our website.

National Institute for Public Employee Health Care Policy
The National Institute for Public Employee Health Care Policy (the Institute) is a non-profit (501)(c)(3), nonpartisan, national policy institute focused on public policy areas impacting health care plans available to public sector employees, retirees, and their beneficiaries. The Institute conducts research, develops authored papers and issue briefs, and hosts events to raise awareness and educate the Washington, D.C. policy community. Visit our website at healthcarepolicy-institute.org.

SOURCE National Institute for Public Employee Health Care Policy