NCSL Legislative Video Resource Center

Many factors impact behavioral health outcomes for populations, including economic circumstances and social environments. Policies to improve these economic and social factors may lead not only to better physical health but also to improved emotional resiliency and behaviors for individuals within populations. Hear how state policies and actions addressing environmental factors may improve behavioral health outcomes within your community.

The costs to states resulting from the treatment of infectious diseases are impressive. The estimated cost of providing health care services to people living with hepatitis C, for example, is $15 billion annually and recent hepatitis A outbreaks have cost at least $270 million since 2016. In 2019, HIV care and treatment cost the U.S. more than $20 billion. However, many cost-effective strategies exist that can prevent transmission of these diseases altogether. This webinar highlights these strategies and provides insight from states that have effectively implemented them.

Adverse events that occur in childhood can lead to negative psychological, social and physical outcomes later in life–and can even affect future generations. New and exacerbated stressors during the pandemic underscore concern for the risks and long-term health effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), particularly for groups already disproportionately affected by COVID-19. Certain interventions can help mitigate negative outcomes from ACEs and, according to research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, prevent them from occurring in the first place. This webinar will provide an overview of ACEs, including considerations during the pandemic, and examples of state action to reduce their harmful effects.