New on the Web December 2012
From the Alliance for Health Reform: “Medicaid Expansion Briefing: What’s at Stake for States?”
From the Commonwealth Fund: “Insurers’ Responses to Regulation of Medical Loss Ratios,” “State Trends in Premiums and Deductibles, 2003-2011: Eroding Protection and Rising Costs Underscore Need for Action,” “Jobs without Benefits: The Health Insurance Crisis Faced by Small Businesses and Their Workers”
From the Employee Benefit Research Institute: “Self-Insured Health Plans: State Variation and Recent Trends by Firm Size”
From Enroll America: “State Profiles”
From the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families: “Eligibility and Enrollment Systems: An Advocate’s IT Toolkit”
From the Journal of the American Medical Association: “Medicare’s Role and Future Challenges”
From the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured: “Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services Programs: 2009 Data Update,” “The Cost and Coverage Implications of the ACA Medicaid Expansion: National and State-by-State Analysis,” “Faces of the Medicaid Expansion: Experiences of Uninsured Adults Who Could Gain Coverage,” “The Role of Medicaid for Adults with Chronic Illnesses”
From the Kaiser Family Foundation: “A Comparison of the Availability and Cost of Coverage for Workers in Small Firms and Large Firms: A View from the 2012 Employer Health Benefits Survey,” “Medicare Advantage 2013 Spotlight: Plan Availability and Premiums”
From Mathematica Policy Research: “The Narrative Communications Project: Takeaway Findings on a Message-Framing Approach”
From the National Women’s Law Center: “Job Loss: The Hidden Cost of Medicaid Cuts to Women”
From the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Urban Institute: “Medicaid/CHIP Participation among Children and Parents,” “Progress in Implementing Selected Medicaid Provisions of the Affordable Care Act: A 10-State Analysis,” “Uninsurance Is Not Just a Minority Issue: White Americans Are a Large Share of the Growth from 2000 to 2010”
From the Alliance for Health Reform:
Medicaid Expansion Briefing: What’s at Stake for States? discusses the financial impact of the Medicaid expansion on states, the role the federal government will play in paying for the expansion, and the effect it will have on providers. (November 2012)
From the Commonwealth Fund:
Insurers’ Responses to Regulation of Medical Loss Ratios finds that, although insurers reduced administrative costs in response to the medical loss ratio rule in the Affordable Care Act, these reduced costs were offset by increased profits for insurance companies. (December 2012)
State Trends in Premiums and Deductibles, 2003-2011: Eroding Protection and Rising Costs Underscore Need for Action explains that premiums for job-based family coverage increased by 62 percent, employee premium contributions increased by 74 percent, and deductibles more than doubled. It includes state-level data on premiums for family coverage and a map that shows the increase in the cost of premiums as a percentage of household income across the states. (December 2012)
Jobs without Benefits: The Health Insurance Crisis Faced by Small Businesses and Their Workers explains how the Affordable Care Act will help small business employees, who are more likely to be uninsured than workers in large firms, with new coverage options, tax credits, the medical loss ratio rule, and protection from coverage denials for pre-existing conditions. (November 2012)
From the Employee Benefit Research Institute:
Self-Insured Health Plans: State Variation and Recent Trends by Firm Size examines state-level data on self-insurance, which may be appealing to small employers who think that the Affordable Care Act will drive up the cost of health coverage. It finds that, although more workers in large firms are enrolled in self-insured plans, the percentage of small business employees in these plans has remained consistent. (November 2012)
From Enroll America:
State Profiles provides information on each state’s exchange implementation status, including the amount of federal funding the state has received to create an exchange, the decisions it has made related to outreach and enrollment, and links to other state-specific resources. The profiles will be regularly updated to reflect progress in creating exchanges. (November 2012)
From the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families:
Eligibility and Enrollment Systems: An Advocate’s IT Toolkit provides background information and key questions to ask about the use of information technology (IT) for enrollment in Medicaid and coverage through exchanges. It also includes strategies that advocates can use to ensure that IT systems are well-designed for consumers and promote the objectives of streamlined, simplified access to health coverage. (November 2012)
From the Journal of the American Medical Association:
Medicare’s Role and Future Challenges is an infographic that illustrates the characteristics of Medicare beneficiaries, the types of services they use each year, and the fact that health care spending per person is growing more slowly for Medicare than for private insurance. (November 2012)
From the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured:
Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services Programs: 2009 Data Update summarizes the key trends in expenditures and participation in the three main Medicaid home and community-based services programs. It also highlights results from a 2011 survey on provider reimbursement policies and participant eligibility and enrollment. (December 2012)
The Cost and Coverage Implications of the ACA Medicaid Expansion: National and State-by-State Analysis estimates the impact of the Affordable Care Act on federal and state Medicaid costs, Medicaid enrollment, and the number of uninsured. It finds that states could significantly reduce the number of uninsured residents, and the cost of expanding Medicaid for states would be offset by increased federal funding. (November 2012)
Faces of the Medicaid Expansion: Experiences of Uninsured Adults Who Could Gain Coverage provides insight into the potential impact of expanding Medicaid by highlighting the struggles that uninsured adults face. It includes an overview brief that explains what’s at stake, as well as profiles of 10 people who would gain coverage if their states choose to expand Medicaid. (November 2012)
The Role of Medicaid for Adults with Chronic Illnesses provides data on spending, utilization, and access to care among Medicaid beneficiaries with chronic illnesses. Understanding the role of Medicaid for these enrollees can help policy makers design programs to meet their needs. It includes four fact sheets that focus on adults with diabetes, respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, and behavioral health conditions. (November 2012)
From the Kaiser Family Foundation:
A Comparison of the Availability and Cost of Coverage for Workers in Small Firms and Large Firms: A View from the 2012 Employer Health Benefits Survey compares whether firms offer coverage, how much plans cost, and how much cost-sharing workers are responsible for. It finds that workers in small firms generally pay a higher share of premiums and higher cost-sharing than workers in large firms. (December 2012)
Medicare Advantage 2013 Spotlight: Plan Availability and Premiums examines trends in the Medicare Advantage market, including the options available and premium levels. It finds that almost all of the plans that were available this year will be offered again in 2013, and premiums for beneficiaries who stay in their current plans will increase by 10 percent (on average). (December 2012)
From Mathematica Policy Research:
The Narrative Communications Project: Takeaway Findings on a Message-Framing Approach emphasizes the importance of effective communications and messaging by highlighting the successes of state advocates who received grants to help with their messaging strategies. These advocates said that effective messaging helped shift media coverage from focusing on weaknesses in children’s insurance programs to emphasizing how well the programs work. (November 2012)
From the National Women’s Law Center:
Job Loss: The Hidden Cost of Medicaid Cuts to Women analyzes the importance of Medicaid for women’s employment in the health sector. It includes state-level data on the number of Medicaid-supported health sector jobs that are held by women. (December 2012)
From the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Urban Institute:
Medicaid/CHIP Participation among Children and Parents finds that eligibility for and participation in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) increased for children from 2008 to 2010, but participation among adults remained low. It includes state-level data on participation rates. (December 2012)
Progress in Implementing Selected Medicaid Provisions of the Affordable Care Act: A 10-State Analysis assesses state progress with modernizing eligibility and enrollment systems, integrating payment for dual eligibles, expanding Medicaid early, and implementing the basic health program. It focuses on experiences in 10 states: AL, CO, MD, MI, MN, NM, NY, OR, RI, and VA. (November 2012)
Uninsurance Is Not Just a Minority Issue: White Americans Are a Large Share of the Growth from 2000 to 2010 compares changes in health coverage across racial and ethnic groups. It finds that nearly half of uninsured Americans are white, and the uninsurance rate among whites and blacks increased while the rate for Hispanics remained constant. (November 2012)
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