News & Updates — FORE Announcements

FORE today announced it is awarding grants to two nonpartisan organizations that work to inform policymakers about evidence-based practices and health policy solutions.
It is awarding $650,468 to the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) to support state policymakers as they explore ways of optimizing funding from opioid settlements dollars and other government funding sources to promote innovation and address gaps in the continuum of care. The new grant builds on two previous FORE awards, which launched NASHP’s State Policy Center for Opioid Use Disorder Treatment and Access. The center serves as a forum for leaders in the executive and legislative branches of state governments to discuss how state-specific policies can facilitate or impede access to prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery supports.

The new funding will allow NASHP to continue supporting state policymakers as they come together to identify and implement best practices for expanding access to opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment and other OUD-related services. NASHP will engage state officials through its webinars, online platforms, and convenings including through peer-to-peer networks enabling people from different state agencies to advise NASHP about state priorities, areas of concern, and emerging state innovations, and to develop and implement strategies for maximizing the impact of settlement funds and cross-agency collaboration. The new funding will also allow NASHP staff to maintain the State Approaches for Distribution of National Settlement Funding Tracker, a public tool with up-to-date information on state-level opioid settlements and priorities, and develop practical resources for state leaders who use it to compare their policies to other states.

FORE is also awarding $350,000 to Health Affairs to support the creation of an issue of the health policy journal that will be dedicated to the opioid and overdose crisis. The journal’s readership includes national and state policymakers, clinicians, health system and health plan leaders, and researchers. The issue will draw attention to this critical issue by disseminating timely research, analysis, and policy solutions to leaders and decisionmakers in the public and private sector. It will be co-funded by FORE, along with Vital Strategies and additional funders.

FORE’s goal is to support helped policymakers as they navigate a challenging policy environment. “State policymakers are navigating a challenging policy environment as they make important decisions about how to best allocate a range of available public funds, including through settlements, to connect more people to services and reduce overdoses,” said Karen A. Scott, MD, MPH, President of FORE. “Having access to practical resources, timely research, analysis and policy solutions is key to their success.”