New on the Web 30: March 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 California Endowment: “The Path to Accessing Health Coverage: Outreach, Enrollment, Retention and Utilization,” “Reaching Out and Reaching In: Understanding Efforts to Identify and Enroll Uninsured Children into Health Insurance Programs”
From the Commonwealth Fund: “Medicare at Forty”
From the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General: “Dual Eligibles’ Transition: Part D Formularies’ Inclusion of Commonly Used Drugs”
From the Government Accountability Office: “Federal Employees Health Benefits Program: First-Year Experience with High-Deductible Health Plans and Health Savings Accounts”
From the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured: “The Uninsured: A Primer”
From the Kaiser Family Foundation: “Kaiser Health Poll Report—Selected Findings on 2006 State of the Union Address and Health Care,” “Kaiser Health Poll Report Survey—Selected Findings on Seniors' Views of the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit”
From Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.: “Understanding Enrollment Trends and Participant Characteristics of the Medicaid Buy-In Program, 2003-2004”
From the Urban Institute: “Open and Operating? An Assessment of Louisiana Nonprofit Health and Human Services after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita”
From the California Endowment
California has more than 800,000 uninsured children. The Path to Accessing Health Coverage: Outreach, Enrollment, Retention and Utilization outlines the expansion of public coverage programs, program and system improvements, and the expanding role of the public and private sectors. The report also identifies future challenges and opportunities and puts forth principles to strengthen outreach, enrollment, retention, and utilization in California. (January 2006)
In California, many counties and their private partners and funders are refining and expanding their existing outreach and enrollment efforts to more effectively reach a broader range of families. Reaching Out and Reaching In: Understanding Efforts to Identify and Enroll Uninsured Children into Health Insurance Programs provides a review of what is known about the effectiveness of local outreach and enrollment strategies and a framework for ways to evaluate future such efforts. (January 2006)
From the Commonwealth Fund
Medicare, now in its 40th year, has achieved its two basic goals—protecting elderly and disabled Americans from burdensome medical bills and ensuring that they get needed health care. Medicare at Forty looks back at Medicare's successes, describes its challenges as health care costs rise and waves of baby boomers face retirement, and suggests policy options to ensure the health and financial security for all Americans. (Winter 2005-2006)
From the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General
According to Dual Eligibles’ Transition: Part D Formularies’ Inclusion of Commonly Used Drugs, 18 percent of dual eligibles were enrolled in plans that cover all commonly prescribed medications, while 30 percent were enrolled in plans that cover less than 85 percent of commonly prescribed drugs. In total, drug plans cover an average of 92 percent of the 178 medications most commonly prescribed to dual eligibles. (January 2006)
From the Government Accountability Office
Enrollees in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) High-Deductible Health Plans (HDHP) were younger and earned higher federal salaries than other FEHBP enrollees, according to Federal Employees Health Benefits Program: First-Year Experience with High-Deductible Health Plans and Health Savings Accounts. For example, 43 percent of HDHP enrollees employed by the federal government earned salaries of $75,000 or more, compared to 23 percent of all those enrolled in FEHBP plans. (January 2006)
From the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured
The Uninsured: A Primer profiles the 45.5 million Americans under age 65 without health insurance. The report reviews how they receive and pay for medical care, explains why the number of uninsured individuals has changed recently, and describes options for expanding coverage. (January 2006)
From the Kaiser Family Foundation
The Kaiser Health Poll Report—Selected Findings on 2006 State of the Union Address and Health Care showed that the health messages in President Bush’s State of the Union address have yet to register with most Americans. For example, despite extensive news coverage before and after the speech about the President’s proposals for expanding the use of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), 71 percent of those polled said they had not heard of the term “health savings account” or did not know what the term meant. (February 2006)
Kaiser Health Poll Report Survey—Selected Findings on Seniors’ Views of the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit found that 45 percent of seniors said they had enrolled or planned to enroll in a drug plan, 29 percent said they did not intend to enroll in a drug plan, and another 23 percent said they were uncertain. The majority of those who did not plan to enroll said they had another program or plan that helps pay for their prescriptions. Overall, seniors’ views about the Medicare drug benefit were more unfavorable than favorable. (February 2006)
From Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.
Inadequate access to private health insurance, which can be expensive and may not cover needed services, is a critical barrier to employment for people with disabilities. Understanding Enrollment Trends and Participant Characteristics of the Medicaid Buy-In Program, 2003-2004 describes enrollment and participation in the Medicaid Buy-In program, part of the federal effort to make it easier for people with disabilities to work without losing health benefits. (January 2006)
From the Urban Institute
Open and Operating? An Assessment of Louisiana Nonprofit Health and Human Services after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita presents survey results detailing the operating status and needs of Louisiana’s health and human services agencies in the 37 parishes most affected by the hurricanes. Particularly important to recovery efforts, these organizations construct and manage affordable housing, provide reliable emergency services, and administer quality health care. (February 2006)
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