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Abstract
This study evaluates three policy frameworks targeting critical public health problems. Each analysis investigates how specific content contained in policy implementation frameworks impacts policy objectives. The first essay investigates the impact of parity guidelines on Medicaid plans that carve out behavioral health services versus those that carve-in these benefits. Specifically, I will investigate the impact on utilization and spending on Medicinal Assisted Treatments (MATs) commonly prescribed for Opioid Use Disorder. The second essay investigates the relationship between medical cannabis legislation (MCL) implementation and age-adjusted opioid overdose mortality rates. In order to conduct this analysis, a regression analysis is estimated for states that implemented MCLs against a control group of states that did not. An analysis is also conducted to determine the effect that the amount of policy specificity has on the efficacy of MCLs. This was done by counting the number of words in each state’s MCL. Additionally, each state’ cannabis policy was categorized according to a taxonomy of complexity and discretion. The third essay will examine the effect of state-level campus sexual assault policies that include mandatory reporting provisions requiring university employees to report sexual assault incidents to university administrators or law enforcement. The analysis also examines the impact of mandatory reporting provisions on Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) outcomes.