New on the Web 29: February 2006
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.
From The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality: "National Healthcare Disparities Report 2005"
From The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: "New Requirement for Birth Certificates or Passports Could Threaten Medicaid Coverage for Vulnerable Beneficiaries: A State-by-State Analysis"
From The Commonwealth Fund: "Early Experience with High-Deductible and Consumer-Driven Health Plans: Findings from the EBRI/Commonwealth Fund Consumerism in Health Care Survey," "On the Fringe: The Substandard Benefits of Workers in Part-Time, Temporary, and Contract Jobs"
From Health Affairs: "Medicaid/SCHIP Cuts and Hospital Emergency Department Use," "A Widening Rift in Access and Quality: Growing Evidence of Economic Disparities"
From The Journal of Ambulatory Care Management: "Translating Research to Action: Improving Physician Access in Public Insurance"
From The Journal of General Internal Medicine: "Patients' Attitudes toward Health Care Providers Collecting Information about Their Race and Ethnicity"
From The Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured: "Displaced by Hurricane Katrina: Issues and Options for Medicare Beneficiaries," Medicaid Benefits: Online Database, State Medicaid Fact Sheets, "What Happens When Public Coverage Is No Longer Available?"
From The Kaiser Family Foundation: "Prospects for Retiree Health Benefits as Medicare Drug Coverage Begins: Findings from the Kaiser/Hewitt 2005 Survey on Retiree Health Benefits"
From kaisernetwork.org: "Ask the Experts: State Health Care Initiatives" (Webcast)
From Mathematica Policy Research: "Coordinating Care for Medicare Fee-for-Service Beneficiaries: An Early Look"
From Medical Care Research and Review: "The Effects of Medicaid Reimbursement on the Access to Care of Medicaid Enrollees: A Community Perspective"
From The Urban Institute: "Low-Income Working Families," "Lowering Financial Burdens and Increasing Health Insurance Coverage for Those with High Medical Costs"
From The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
The National Healthcare Disparities Report annually monitors various aspects of racial and economic inequality in America. The 2005 report estimates that the inequality gap between the poor and the affluent is rapidly increasing, much more so than the gap between ethnic groups. Hispanics report the most inequality of any of the ethnic groups that were surveyed. (January 2006)
From The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
The budget conference agreement passed by the Senate in December and the House in February contains a provision that would require all people applying or reapplying for Medicaid to produce a passport or birth certificate to prove that they are U.S. citizens. The Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services has deemed this new requirement unnecessary. New Requirement for Birth Certificates or Passports Could Threaten Medicaid Coverage for Vulnerable Beneficiaries: A State-by-State Analysis estimates that an overwhelming number of applicants would be negatively affected by significant enrollment barriers created by this new requirement. (January 2006)
From The Commonwealth Fund
Americans enrolled in "consumer-directed" health plans—a relatively new type of health coverage that is purportedly designed to make people more cost-conscious—are less satisfied with their coverage than those with comprehensive health insurance, according to Early Experience with High-Deductible and Consumer-Driven Health Plans: Findings from the EBRI/Commonwealth Fund Consumerism in Health Care Survey. The survey also found that those enrolled in consumer-directed plans are more likely to pay high out-of-pocket costs and receive little or no information about their health care. (December 2005)
Nonstandard workers—those employed on a part-time, temporary, or contractual basis—are far more likely than regular, full-time employees to lack health care coverage, experience gaps in their coverage, or depend on their spouse's employer coverage or on public insurance programs, according to On the Fringe: The Substandard Benefits of Workers in Part-Time, Temporary, and Contract Jobs. The report estimates that in 2001, only 21 percent of nonstandard workers received health insurance through their employers, compared to 74 percent of standard workers. The report also offers policy options for reaching these uninsured, nonstandard workers and their families. (December 2005)
From Health Affairs
Medicaid/SCHIP Cuts and Hospital Emergency Department Use finds that Medicaid and SCHIP eligibility cuts would increase emergency department visits by the uninsured. This suggests that cost containment actions based on cutting public coverage will achieve cost savings largely by reducing access and shifting costs. (January 2006) MUST PURCHASE ONLINE
The nation's inability and unwillingness to ensure equal access to high-quality health care is fueling a widening rift between rich and poor, according to A Widening Rift in Access and Quality: Growing Evidence of Economic Disparities. The report states that most of the investments and initiatives that are designed to expand coverage are occurring in more affluent areas where people have employer-based health care coverage and not in low-income communities where people are more likely to rely on Medicaid. (December 2005)
From The Journal of Ambulatory Care Management
Policymakers continue to struggle with how to ensure adequate access to physician services in public programs such as Medicaid and SCHIP. Translating Research to Action: Improving Physician Access in Public Insurance provides the framework for identifying and measuring barriers to access, where and why problems exist, and how to intervene. (January/March 2006) MUST PURCHASE ONLINE
From The Journal of General Internal Medicine
While most patients agree that it is important for health care providers to collect and track data on race and ethnicity, many are uncomfortable when asked for this information. According to Patients' Attitudes toward Health Care Providers Collecting Information about Their Race and Ethnicity, patients become more at ease with providing such information when health care providers inform them that it will be used to monitor the quality of care. (October 2005)
From The Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured
The Medicaid Benefits: Online Database provides Medicaid benefits survey data from 2003 and 2004, including information about benefits covered, limits, copayments, and reimbursement methods for each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the Territories. Users can search by state or by service, and this tool provides figures and tables that can be easily printed or e-mailed as customized fact sheets. (2006)
State Medicaid Fact Sheets provide key information for each state's Medicaid program and the population it serves, allowing for easy comparison between states. This tool is continuously updated based on state health data and provides figures and tables that can easily be printed as customized fact sheets. (January 2006)
In the face of prolonged budge difficulties, a number of states have cut eligibility or are considering such cuts in public coverage. What Happens When Public Coverage Is No Longer Available? concludes that no more than 9 percent of low-income adults would have access to an alternative source of insurance in the absence of public coverage. (January 2006)
Selected changes to current Medicare policies and practices could help ensure further access to health care and contribute financial security for the nearly 200,000 Medicare beneficiaries displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Displaced by Hurricane Katrina: Issues and Options for Medicare Beneficiaries identifies issues and challenges for individuals on Medicare who were affected by Hurricane Katrina and offers options to address the problems they have encountered. The brief also identifies areas to be considered in future disaster planning efforts. (November 2005)
From The Kaiser Family Foundation
Four in five businesses that now provide retiree health benefits will accept government subsidies for continuing to provide retiree drug coverage that is at least as good as Medicare's coverage when the new drug benefit starts in 2006, according to Prospects for Retiree Health Benefits as Medicare Drug Coverage Begins: Findings from the Kaiser/Hewitt 2005 Survey on Retiree Health Benefits. The survey examined 300 of the nation's largest private-sector employers that provide retiree health benefits. (December 2005)
From kaisernetwork.org
A panel of experts answers questions about how states are working to make health care more accessible during Kaiser's Ask the Experts: State Health Care Initiatives webcast. Topics discussed include prospects for reform in the coming year, approaches states are taking, and the barriers they face. (January 2006)
From Mathematica Policy Research
The Medicare Coordinated Care Demonstration (MCCD) aims to improve health outcomes and reduce Medicare costs for chronically ill beneficiaries by encouraging adherence to self-care and medication regimens and improving communication among physicians. Coordinating Care for Medicare Fee-for-Service Beneficiaries: An Early Look evaluates the first three years of the program and concludes that it may be difficult to change beneficiaries' adherence to such regimens. (December 2005)
From Medical Care Research and Review
The Effects of Medicaid Reimbursement on the Access to Care of Medicaid Enrollees: A Community Perspective shows that high Medicaid acceptance rates by physicians in a community are more important than fee levels per se in affecting enrollees' access to medical care. Although high fee levels increase the probability that individual physicians will accept Medicaid patients, high fee levels do not necessarily lead to high levels of physician acceptance of Medicaid patients in an area. (December 2005) REQUIRES SUBSCRIPTION
From The Urban Institute
This resource center on Low-Income Working Families provides a foundation for better understanding the dynamics of the working families who often lead a precarious existence. It provides basic statistics, as well as research on employment, income and expenses, and immigrant families. Forthcoming research will address unemployment, unemployment insurance, child care, and housing assistance. (January 2006)
Mounting empirical evidence, policy research, and reports in the popular press attest to the fact that the U.S. health care system is inadequate when it comes to ensuring access to care for those with the greatest health care needs. Lowering Financial Burdens and Increasing Health Insurance Coverage for Those with High Medical Costs shows that many adults and families are contending with considerable financial burdens when it comes to paying for health care, even when they have health insurance. (December 2005)
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