State-University Partnership Learning Network

The State-University Partnership Learning Network (SUPLN) is an ongoing collaboration that works to facilitate peer-to-peer learning and dialogue among state-university partnerships through various ways including hosting meetings and bi-monthly web conferences with the goal of improving the cost and quality of care of the Medicaid program.

The State-University Partnership Learning Network (SUPLN), managed by AcademyHealth’s Evidence-Informed State Health Policy Institute, collaboratively works to support evidence-based state health policy and practice with a focus on transforming Medicaid-based health care, including addressing health inequities and improving the patient experience, health of populations, and efficiency in health care.

Building a learning community of partnerships to share and spread best practices and relevant health projects.
Facilitating dialogue between state government and state university research centers to improve partnership efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability.
Supporting state government’s capacity to conduct high-quality policy and data analysis.
Informing state university centers’ research with the practical expertise of state officials and promoting state considerations in the research questions and methods.
Providing a mechanism for comparative studies across states (addressing questions that would benefit from a multi-state perspective).
Exploring and supporting the development of new partnerships.

AcademyHealth’s Evidence-Informed State Health Policy Institute engages the SUPLN for the following projects:

The Medicaid Outcomes Distributed Research Network (MODRN):

AcademyHealth’s Medicaid Outcomes Distributed Research Network (MODRN) is a collaborative effort to analyze data across multiple states to facilitate learning among Medicaid agencies. Participants from AcademyHealth’s State-University Partnership Learning Network (SUPLN) and the Medicaid Medical Director Network (MMDN) developed MODRN to allow states to participate in valuable and timely, multi-state data analyses while retaining their own data and analytic capacity.

Examining the Quality of Opioid Use Disorder Treatment for Medicaid Enrollees:

AcademyHealth's Evidence-Informed State Health Policy Institute, in collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh, leverage the Medicaid Outcomes Distributed Research Network to produce a comprehensive assessment of OUD treatment performance in 13 state Medicaid programs.

Analysis of Use of Non-Opioid Controlled Substances and Treatment of Non-Opioid Substances Use Disorders Among Medicaid Beneficiaries:

With support from the Medicaid and CHIP Payment & Access Commission, AcademyHealth’s Evidence-Informed State Health Policy Institute in collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh leverages SUPLN and the existing MODRN-OUD project infrastructure to explore the use of non-opioid controlled substances and the treatment of non-opioid substance use disorders

Analyzing Sexually Transmitted Disease Testing in Medicaid Populations:

With support from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Foundation, AcademyHealth’s Evidence-Informed State Health Policy Institute in collaboration with the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill assesses syphilis testing among pregnant Medicaid beneficiaries as well as rates of STI testing of state Medicaid beneficiaries on PrEP.

The Role of Homelessness and Supportive Housing in Health Care Disparities among Adults in Medicaid

With support from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD), Rutgers University and the University of Pittsburgh, in collaboration with AcademyHealth, aim to examine the potential of permanent supportive housing programs to mitigate health disparities among Medicaid enrollees experiencing homelessness.

Partnerships: Access the SUPLN members-only website here.