The Hirsh Law and Policy Program at The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation launched Health Reform GPS, a comprehensive Web portal that offers users the information and insights needed to cover, analyze, and implement recently passed health reform legislation.
Health Reform GPS will be a valuable resource for policymakers as well as journalists, researchers, policy analysts, and health reform stakeholders looking for comprehensive information about all phases of the law and the process of implementation.
"At its core, health reform legislation is an instruction manual for the health care system. This project is designed to translate that manual and create a useful tool for people who desire a better understanding of the law and its implementation," said Ms. Sara Rosenbaum, J.D., professor and chair of the department of health policy at The George Washington University. "The materials available at Health Reform GPS will provide a roadmap covering all major provisions of the law and the federal implementation process, as well as expert and public commentary. Information and dialogue are the project’s twin goals."
The portal will offer regularly posted short essays, called "Health Reform Implementation Notes," that provide background about the legislation, explain the changes made by the law, describe the federal implementation process and timetable, and identify the questions and challenges policymakers will be grappling with in the months ahead. Once posted, health policy experts and the public will be invited to comment.
The portal will also offer an online "library," consisting of resources such as federal agency regulations and guidelines, analyses and studies, and other materials from key stakeholders. In addition, the site will offer a health reform glossary of terms and will be searchable through a topical index.
"Implementation of this law will be enormously complex, and how it’s done will have a great impact on the health and health care of all Americans," said John Lumpkin, M.D., M.P.H, senior vice president and director of the Health Care Group at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). "Therefore, RWJF has engaged the best and the brightest to help guide stakeholders through this process."
For more information about the project, a list of contributors, and to take a tour of the new Web portal visit, www.healthreformGPS.org.
