Publications: 2003
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The new Medicare prescription drug legislation creates a temporary drug discount card program that is projected to start in June 2004 and end by January 1, 2006, when a new, permanent drug benefit would begin. The New Medicare Prescription Drug Discount Card: A Very Flawed Program discusses the flaws in the program and how they are likely to affect Medicare beneficiaries. (December 19, 2003)
The Immigrant Children's Health Improvement Act (ICHIA): A Good Investment in America's Future | en Español 2 pp. Free (December 11, 2003)
The Trade Act Health Insurance Subsidy: An Update from the States: This Issue Brief analyzes the implementation of the new subsidy offered by the Trade Adjustment Assistance Reform Act of 2002 (TAARA) and suggests changes that might strengthen the existing program. 28 pp. $5.00 (December 2003)
What's Wrong with Tax-Free Savings Accounts for Health Care? Tax-free personal savings accounts for health care have become the latest cure-all for the problems facing our health care system. This Issue Brief uses a hypothetical company to examine how such accounts undermine the pooling of risk--the basis for insurance. 6 pp. Free (November 2003)
A Shelter in the Storm: How a Subsidy Could Help Unemployed Workers Get Health Insurance: The rise in unemployment over the past three years has contributed to a substantial increase in the the number of uninsured Americans. This Issue Brief discusses the Trade Adjustment Assistance Reform Act of 2002 (TAARA) health insurance subsidy as one possible model for providing financial assistance to unemployed workers for the purchase of health coverage. 12 pp. Free (October 2003)
FEHBP Rates Increase as Much as $4,572.12 a Year: Is This Really A Model for Medicare? examines whether the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), a model used by the House Medicare prescription drug bill, is a good model for the seniors and people with disabilities that Medicare serves. 4 pp. Free (September 30, 2003)
The House Medicare Drug Bill's Doughnut Hole: A Chasm for Low-Income Beneficiaries? discusses the large gap in drug coverage low-income Medicare beneficiaries would experience under the House Medicare drug bill. 2 pp. Free (September 26, 2003)
Private Plans: A Bad Choice for Medicare discusses the role of private plans in Medicare up to this point. According to the piece, the evidence so far indicates that, for seniors and people with disabilities, particularly those living in rural areas, the traditional Medicare program works better than private plans. 2 pp. Free (September 26, 2003)
Prescription Drug Cost-Sharing and Low-Income People: Five Good Reasons to Keep It Minimal makes the point that prescription drugs aren't the only health expenses Medicare beneficiaries must pay for out of pocket. It goes on to assert that any final Medicare prescription drug bill should not raise cost-sharing amounts above the limits in the current Senate and House bills. 2 pp. Free (September 12, 2003)
More Red Tape for the Poor? Dual Eligibles in the Medicare Rx Bill describes the potential problems that the Senate's Medicare prescription drug bill, which would not cover dual eligibles (low-income people who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid), could create for such beneficiaries and for Medicare and state Medicaid programs. 4 pp. Free (September 3, 2003)
Congress Passes the "SCHIP Fix"! 2 pp. Free | Fact Sheet | Table of State-by-State Estimates (August 7, 2003)
What's in the House and Senate Medicare Prescription Drug Bills? provides a side-by-side comparison of the two bills, examining basic drug benefits, premiums, out-of-pocket spending, and gaps in coverage for Medicare beneficiaries. 4 pp. (July 17, 2003)
Immigrant Provisions of the Senate Prescription Drug Bill: A Good Investment in America's Future discusses the provisions of the Medicare prescription drug bill, which would give states the option of offering Medicaid and SCHIP coverage to children and pregnant women who are legal U.S. residents. (July 14, 2003)
A large percent of those enrolled in Medicare are considered low-income. Who Are Medicare's Low-Income Beneficiaries? examines the group’s demographics and their ability to obtain affordable health services. (July 14, 2003)
Tax-Free Savings Accounts for Medical Expenses: A Tax Cut Masquerading as Help to the Uninsured: This Issue Brief discusses Health Savings Accounts and Health Savings Security Accounts, two kinds of personal savings accounts that were created by a bill attached to the House Republican Medicare prescription drug legislation. 4 pp. Free (July 2003)
Out of Bounds: Rising Prescription Drug Prices for Seniors documents the price increases for the top 50 prescription drugs sold to seniors. The report examines the price increases that occurred from January 2002 to January 2003 for each of these 50 drugs. On average, those prices rose almost three-and-one-half times the rate of inflation. 23 pp. $15.00 (July 2003)
Low-Income Medicare Beneficiaries Are Most in Need of Prescription Drug Coverage
2 pp. Free (June 17, 2003)
Top Dollar: CEO Compensation in Medicare's Private Insurance Plans documents the lavish salaries and compensation offered to the top executives in the leading health care plans currently serving Medicare enrollees. The report compares the annual compensation packages for the highest-paid executives in 11 publicly traded, private health insurance companies. 35pp. $15 (June 2003)
The National Governors Association Medicaid Block-Grant 2 pp. Free (June 2003)
Capping Medicaid Funding: The Problem with Block Grants 2 pp. Free (June 2003)
Private Plans: A Bad Choice for Medicare 4 pp. Free (June 2003)
Slashing Medicaid: The Hidden Effects of the President's Block-Grant Proposal shows that the President's recent Medicaid proposal, masquerading as fiscal relief for the states, will actually reduce funding for Medicaid and SCHIP by nearly half a trillion dollars over the next 10 years. The report includes year-by-year reductions in spending as well as state-by-state examples of what the most severe reductions (taking place in 2013) would mean--both in terms of dollars and in terms of the impact on people--if they were implemented today. 16 pp. $5.00. (May 2003)
Individual Tax Credits Do Not Work. This fact sheet discusses why the tax credits proposed by the Bush Administration wouldn't help people purchase health coverage in the individual market. 2 pp. Free (May 2003)
Share of Medicaid and SCHIP Funding Paid by the Federal Government, State by State (Rev. May 29, 2003 to reflect changes in tax bill) 2 pp. Free | By Dollars | By Percents
What a Temporary Increase in Federal Assistance Will Mean for Your State, 2003-2004 4 pp. Free (Revised May 16, 2003)
Managed Care Plans Offer No Real Choice for Rural Medicare Beneficiaries 4 pp. Free (May 2003)
Staging a Successful Press Event: The Ins and Outs of Putting Together a Press Conference ImPRESSive, A Media Tip Sheet for Advocates. 12pp. Free. (Spring 2003)
The Health Insurance Tax Credit in the Trade Adjustment Assistance Reform Act of 2002 This Issue Brief defines the TAARA tax credit and discusses who is eligible for it. It also provides answers to many other questions about how the tax credit will be administered, what kinds of insurance quality insurance will be provided, and the role states have in implementing the credit. Includes advocate suggestions for shaping the credit. 16 pp. Free. (April 2003)
Issue Brief: WHY FEHBP Isn't a Good Option For MedicareThe Federal Employees Health Benefit Program (FEHBP) has frequently been pointed to as a model for Medicare. An FEHBP-style overhaul is favored by many, but before it is seen as a panacea for Medicare, it is worth considering how well its basic structure fits Medicare--a fit that is not the best. 9 pp. Free. (March 2003)
Going Without Health Insurance: Nearly One in Three Non-Elderly AmericansThis report found that 74.7 million Americans-nearly one out of three of those under the age of 65-were without health coverage for all or part of 2001-2002. Of these, almost two-thirds were uninsured for six months or more. The report provides national and state-by-state estimates of how many people were uninsured during all or part of the 2001-2002 two-year period. 53 pp. $15.00. (March 2003)
Proposed Fiscal Relief to States, FY2003-2004—How Does Your State Fare? compares how states would fare under bipartisan fiscal relief legislation introduced in the Senate and the plan offered by President Bush. 4 pp. (February 21, 2003)
Issue Brief: Preliminary Analysis of New Bush Proposal to Block-Grant Medicaid discusses a proposal from the Bush Administration to radically restructure the Medicaid program. The plan would combine Medicaid and SCHIP funds in the form of a federal block grant and would likely result in reduced access to health care for low-income people. 4 pp. (February 12, 2003)
The Bush Administration's Fiscal Year 2004 Budget: Analysis of Key Health Care Provisions 4 pp. Free. (February 7, 2003)
Protecting Consumers from Unfair Rate Hikes: The Need for Regulation of Health Insurance Renewal Premium Increases This Issue Brief examines the insurance industry practice of re-underwriting at renewal and discusses current efforts to regulate the practice at the federal and state levels. 7 pp. Free. (February 2003)
Collusion and Other Anticompetitive Practices: A Survey of Class Action Lawsuits Against Drug Manufacturers This updated report summarizes recent and pending class action lawsuits alleging antitrust and consumer fraud violations by pharmaceutical manufacturers. 33 pp. $5.00. (January 2003)
Medicaid: Good Medicine for State Economies This report determines the aggregate impact of Medicaid spending on each state's economy. Using an economic model from the U.S. Department of Commerce, the report calculates the new economic activity that will be generated by Medicaid spending in the following three areas: 1) business activity (the increased output of goods and services); 2) employment (the number of new jobs created); and 3) employee earnings (wages and salaries). 25 pp. $15.00 (January 2003)
Medicaid: Good Medicine for California's Economy This report covers the same territory as the national report, but it also includes some additional information. The California report takes recent proposals by Gov. Davis to cut Medicaid spending and uses the economic multipliers to calculate the consequences of those cuts to California's economy. These calculations are done for the governor's December 2002 proposals (see Table 3 in the report) and for his January 10, 2003 proposals. 19 pp. $10.00. (January 2003) Supplemental Table
Preserving Medicaid in Tough Times: An Action Kit for State Advocates, 2003 Update
Designed to help advocates respond state budget cuts and the effects these cuts may have on Medicaid beneficiaries. Kit includes background information, discussion of options, state-based strategies, case studies, and other resources. $20.00 (January 2003)
Prescription Drug Cost and Coverage: What Can States Do? An Action Kit for Advocates Designed to help advocates respond state budget cuts and the effects these cuts may have on Medicaid beneficiaries. Kit includes background information, discussion of options, state-based strategies, case studies, and other resources. $20.00 (January 2003)
Health Action 2003 Tool Kit
A large binder filled with materials from Families USA and other sources (government agencies and other nonprofit organizations) with the latest on people without health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, managed care, and children's health coverage. Includes a section on skills and resources. $50.00. (January 2003)
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