Capitol Ideas is a periodic listing of story ideas and background information from new NCSL research. For more information, contact NCSL's Press Team.

Sequestration and the States

Which state-fed programs are on the sequestration chopping block and which have been spared? NCSL answers these questions with a pair of new reports. One assesses how the federal sequester will impact state budgets in fiscal year (FY) 2013, while the other analyzes the White House’s sequestration report. More

Discrimination Against the Unemployed

Those who have been unemployed for a lengthy period may be at a disadvantage in the job market, as many help-wanted ads indicate the employer will only accept applications from the currently employed or recently unemployed. A number of states addressed discrimination against the unemployed during the 2011 and 2012 legislative sessions. More

Dealing with Diabetes

Diabetes afflicts more than 25 million Americans. As a means to assess how states are responding to the diabetes epidemic, NCSL conducted a 50-state analysis of appropriations for FY 2012. The survey compares diabetes treatment, prevention, and education programs across the states. More

Medical Home Model of Care

As Medicaid spending continues to overwhelm state budgets, the medical home model of care offers one method of transforming the health care delivery system. According to NCSL research, 41 states have policies promoting the medical home model for certain Medicaid or CHIP beneficiaries. More