Human Services

It is well known that in the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States much of the devastation was concentrated in nursing homes. In addition to the staggering death toll, isolation and suffering from COVID-19 among nursing home residents, the pandemic introduced new challenges for nursing home staff and exacerbated ongoing challenges.

Nutrition assistance programs have been shown to increase children’s health and well-being and decrease the risk of child maltreatment. At the same time, food insecurity rose in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Improving health equity in the United States is a priority for the Biden-Harris Administration in order to address longstanding disparities in health outcomes. Health inequities can be conceptualized and measured as drivers of differences in health outcomes.

This brief introduces the HHS Roadmap for Behavioral Health Integration, which advances the President’s Strategy to Address our National Mental Health Crisis. It provides a general overview of the approach HHS is taking to drive toward integrated care within the three pillars of the President’s Strategy and highlights selected programs and policy actions that will get us there.

This factsheet provides descriptive information on child care eligibility and receipt. Of the 12.5 million children potentially eligible for child care subsidies under federal rules, 16 percent received subsidies. Of the 8.7 million children eligible for child care subsidies under more restrictive state rules, 23 percent received subsidies.

The COVID-19 pandemic had wide-ranging impacts on health care delivery, particularly services that require in-person interactions. For patients needing access to medications to treat pain or certain substance use disorders, the COVID-19 pandemic presented particular challenges for continuity of treatment.

This report provides current HHS projections of the number of individuals predicted to lose Medicaid coverage at the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) due to a change in eligibility or due to administrative churning.

Opioid use was very common among the long-term care (LTC) residents in our sample. Perhaps reflecting their post-acute rehabilitative needs, discharged residents were more likely to have opioid use prior to LTC admission and at the beginning of the LTC stay.

This Data Point examines new Health Interview Survey data to assess recent changes in coverage, finding that the uninsured rate declined throughout 2021 and early 2022 – reaching a historic low of 8.0% by the first quarter of 2022. This reflects 5.2 million people gaining coverage since 2020.

This ASPE report discusses disparities in health and health care experienced by American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) populations, the role of the federal government in financing and providing health care services to these populations, and how enhanced funding could help further the Indian Health Service’s mission in ensuring that tribal communities have access to high quality health care s