New on the Web 12: August 2002
We've collected information on several new reports and other resources available on the Web that we hope you'll find interesting and useful. Descriptions and links appear below.
Center for Studying Health System Change: "Tax Credits and the Affordability of Individual Health Insurance," "Who Do You Trust? Americans' Perspectives on Health Care, 1997-2001"
Community Voices: "What About Men? Exploring the Inequities in Minority Men's Health"
Consumer Reports: "The Perils of Buying Your Own Policy"
Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured: "State Budgets Under Stress: How Are States Planning to Reduce the Growth in Medicaid Costs?"
Kaiser Family Foundation: "Federal Policies Affecting the Cost and Availability of New Pharmaceuticals"
Kaiser Family Foundation, the Commonwealth Fund, and the Tufts-New England Medical Center: "Seniors and Prescription Drugs: Findings from a 2001 Survey of Seniors in Eight States"
National Conference of State Legislators-Health Policy Tracking Service: "State Long-Term Care: Recent Developments and Policy Directions"
National Council on Disability: "National Disability Policy: A Progress Report"
The National Alliance for Caregiving and the United Hospital Fund of New York: "Hospital Discharge Planning: Helping Family Caregivers Through the Process"
Center for Studying Health System Change
Who Do You Trust? Americans' Perspectives on Health Care, 1997-2001 presents the results of a national study tracking consumer confidence in the health care system. Among the study's findings is that, in 2001, 20 percent of consumers in fair to poor health worried about getting needed referrals to specialists, compared with nearly 13 percent of people in good health. One of the study's authors noted that "It's clear that people in poorer health are less trusting of the health care system, and recent marketplace changes have not eased their concerns." (August 2002)
Tax Credits and the Affordability of Individual Health Insuranceexamines tax credit proposals from the White House and from a group of senators (known as the REACH Act) and provides estimates by age, income, and health status of the impact of tax credits on the affordability of individual insurance. The authors conclude that, while tax credits would help make individual insurance more affordable for young, healthy people, they do little to make insurance affordable for older people, for sicker people of any age, and for low-income people. (July 2002)
Community Voices
What About Men? Exploring the Inequities in Minority Men's Healthattempts to answer the following question: What is it about the medical system that seems to keep men of color away? The report begins by detailing the scope of the health care crisis affecting men of color. It then goes on to outline 12 public policy strategies aimed at overcoming the obstacles facing men of color in accessing appropriate health care. (June 2002)
Consumer Reports
The Perils of Buying Your Own Policy examines the individual the health insurance market and how four common traps of the market affect coverage decisions and premiums. The report notes that in the private market, consumers face high copayments and many exclusions-and policies with higher premiums don't always mean better coverage than policies with lower premiums. The article also offers practical advice for consumers navigating the individual health insurance market. (September 2002) click on Consumer Advice and then on Perils of individual health insurance
Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured
Medicaid is one of the largest items in most state budgets, and Medicaid spending has increased significantly. State Budgets Under Stress: How Are States Planning to Reduce the Growth in Medicaid Costs?presents preliminary results of a survey of all 50 states and the District of Columbia that focused on the cost-cutting strategies that states reported they plan to take. The full survey will be released in September. (July 2002)
Kaiser Family Foundation
Federal Policies Affecting the Cost and Availability of New Pharmaceuticalsexamines several ways in which the federal government influences the availability and cost of prescription drugs. These ways include the following: 1) intellectual property protection-the laws and policies that regulate and influence patents and generic competition (include the Hatch-Waxman Act); 2) federal support for drug research and development; 3) federal tax subsidies, primarily various tax credits available to pharmaceutical firms; and 4) reimportation of drugs produced in the U.S. from other countries. (July 2002)
Kaiser Family Foundation, the Commonwealth Fund, and Tufts-New England Medical Center
Seniors and Prescription Drugs: Findings from a 2001 Survey of Seniors in Eight Statespresents the results of a 2001 survey of seniors in the following states: CA, CO, IL, MI, NY, OH, PA, and TX. The survey found wide variation in the available sources of drug coverage, the depth of that coverage, and the extent to which seniors are subject to high out-of-pocket expenses. The survey also assessed how frequently seniors skip doses or had to forgo filling prescriptions because of cost. (July 2002)
National Conference of State Legislators-Health Policy Tracking Service
State Long-Term Care: Recent Developments and Policy Directionsanalyzes states' long-term care policies and their efforts to deal with the rising costs of caring for the elderly, people with disabilities, and others requiring long-term care. It takes an in-depth look at long-term care budgets, legislation, and planning in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The report also cites a trend toward providing people with greater choices through opportunities for home- and community-based care services. (July 2002)
National Council on Disability
National Disability Policy: A Progress Reportidentifies six health-related issues of particular significance to people with disabilities: 1) a patients' bill of rights; 2) mental health parity; 3) America's law enforcement and mental health project; 4) pain relief promotion vs. assisted suicide; 5) Medicare; and 6) telemedicine. The report also discusses barriers to adequate health care and the status of issues designed to advance access and equity in the nation's health system, and it makes several recommendations to remove these barriers. (July 2002)
The National Alliance for Caregiving and the United Hospital Fund of New York
Hospital Discharge Planning: Helping Family Caregivers Through the Processis a companion guide to a booklet for family caregivers. Written for discharge planners from a variety of disciplines, the guide is intended to make discharge planning a little smoother by providing insight into the family's perspective. The guide also includes a list of other organizations that work on this issue. (July 2002)
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