Office of Health Policy & Planning

The mission of the Office of Health Policy and Planning (OHPP) is to improve access to quality health care for all Virginia residents. OHPP has a longstanding history of collaboration with other state agencies, non-profit groups, and private companies. Such partnerships have allowed OHPP to:

• contribute to the development of health policy through
  analyses and research of the issues affecting the cost, quality, and accessibility of health care;
• assist rural and medically underserved communities and
  populations to improve healthcare systems; and
• develop and administer programs to increase and strengthen
  the healthcare workforce.

In 2004, OHPP received a State Planning Grant from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration. This grant funds activities to decrease the number of working uninsured in Virginia. The grant application process consisted of collaboration by the Virginia Primary Care Association, the Virginia Rural Health Association, the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association, the Virginia Healthcare Foundation, the Community Access Project grantees, the Department of Medical Assistance Services, the Office of the Governor, the Medical College of Virginia, the Edward Via School of Osteopathic Medicine, and many other healthcare leaders.

Statewide Governor’s Conference Makes a Business Case for Covering the Uninsured
The Second Annual Governor’s Conference on Covering the Uninsured was one of the successful grant activities. The conference was a very successful first step in engaging the business community in dialogue about health care and health policy issues. Virginia led the nation as the first of its kind statewide summit, bringing together members of business associations, business owners, insurers, health care providers, legislators and others to develop strategies to increase the number of workers with health insurance. More than 300 people attended the conference, about 20 percent of them representing the business community.

OHPP Collaborates with Virginia Health Care Foundation
Another State Planning Grant partnership success is one with the Virginia Health Care Foundation. By leveraging existing resources, the partnership has yielded the largest and most comprehensive survey on the uninsured ever undertaken in Virginia. The survey will not only provide data that will guide the State Planning Grant process but will allow state health policymakers to make data-driven resource allocation decisions.

OHPP Helps Partner Secure Federal Resources
Underserved communities are eligible for a number of federal resources if they have been federally designated as having limited health care resources. OHPP’s partnership with the Virginia Primary Care Association has enabled OHPP to initially designate or redesignate 74 geographic areas last year. These designations have resulted in new federal resources, such as the $3,507,874 awarded to Virginia Primary Care Association members under the President’s Community Health Center initiative.

In its commitment to ensuring all Virginians’ access to quality health care, OHPP continues to work with its partners to develop solutions that address the needs of medically underserved, vulnerable, and uninsured populations.