New on the Web 33: August 2006
From the Commonwealth Fund: "Health Care Disconnect: Gaps in Coverage and Care for Minority Adults," "Health Savings Accounts: Why They Won’t Cure What Ails U.S. Health Care"
From the Kaiser Family Foundation: "The Role of Employer-Sponsored Health Coverage for Immigrants: A Primer," "Prescription Drug Trends"
From KaiserEDU.org: "Medicare Academy," "Private Health Insurance 101"
From Lake Research Partners and the California Endowment: "Experiences with Medicare Part D: Stories from Low-Income, Ethnically Diverse and Medically Needy Californians"
From the National Academy of Social Insurance: "A New Strategy to Combat Racial Inequality in American Health Care Delivery"
From the National Council of Jewish Women: "Facing the Crisis in Women’s Health Care"
From the National Health Law Program: "HealthCareCoach.com"
From the National Health Law Program and the National Association of Community Health Centers: "Role of State Law in Limiting Medicaid Changes"
From the Urban Institute: "The Role of Medicaid and SCHIP as an Insurance Safety Net"
From The Commonwealth Fund
Health Care Disconnect: Gaps in Coverage and Care for Minority Adults investigates racial disparities found in the analysis of the 2005 Commonwealth Fund Biennial Health Insurance Survey. The survey indicates that Hispanic and African American adults are up to three times more likely to be uninsured than white adults. Only 20 percent of white adults were uninsured at some point during 2005, compared to 33 percent of African Americans and 62 percent of Hispanics. (August 2006)
Health savings accounts (HSAs) and high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) have been promoted by the Administration as part of the solution for the problems facing the U.S. health care system. Health Savings Accounts: Why They Won’t Cure What Ails U.S. Health Care presents expert testimony that encouraging Americans to join HSAs will only exacerbate the nation’s health care woes. Current evidence shows that HSAs suffer from low enrollment, low satisfaction, high out-of-pocket costs, and cost-related access problems. (June 2006)
From the Kaiser Family Foundation
Employer-sponsored health insurance is especially important for immigrant families because their eligibility for public coverage, including SCHIP and Medicaid, is restricted. The Role of Employer-Sponsored Health Coverage for Immigrants: A Primer examines the importance of employer-based coverage and the specific hurdles immigrants face in obtaining health insurance. The primer is available in both English and Spanish. (June 2006)
In light of rising drug costs and implementation of the new Medicare drug benefit, Prescription Drug Trends provides updated data on prescription drug expenditures. The fact sheet indicates that the key factors contributing to rising prescription spending are increases in utilization and prices, and changes in the types of drugs used. (June 2006)
From KaiserEDU.org
A new tutorial entitled Private Health Insurance 101 provides an overview of the private health insurance system. The tutorial outlines basic concepts, including risk spreading, risk selection, and regulation. It also discusses eligibility, coverage, and costs for consumers. (August 2006)
The National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI) recently hosted the Medicare Academy for interns and students of public policy. The presentations are available through webcasts and include discussions of current policy issues in Medicare, the financial future of the program, and the new prescription drug benefit. (July 2006)
From Lake Research Partners and the California Endowment
Experiences with Medicare Part D: Stories from Low-Income, Ethnically Diverse and Medically Needy Californians examines early experiences with Medicare Part D through in-depth interviews with 35 "vulnerable" Medicare beneficiaries. This is the first of several sets of interviews that will track beneficiary experiences through the first year of Part D operations. The report focuses on choosing and enrolling in Part D plans, as well as using the new prescription drug coverage. (June 2006)
From the National Academy of Social Insurance
A New Strategy to Combat Racial Inequality in American Health Care Delivery addresses indisputable evidence of racial inequality in American health care. The author proposes a new strategy to combat discrimination using Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. (August 2006)
From the National Council of Jewish Women
Facing the Crisis in Women’s Health Care addresses the special challenges that many American women face in affording and obtaining comprehensive health care. The article discusses women’s health needs and barriers to care, the growing number of uninsured, and the emerging issues for women in Medicaid and Medicare. (Summer 2006)
From the National Health Law Program
HealthCareCoach.com provides health care consumers with up-to-date information on everything from insurance coverage to patient care. The Web site includes do-it-yourself tips, informative articles, and links to additional web resources.
From the National Health Law Program and the National Association of Community Health Centers
The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) provides states with the authority to impose new premium and cost-sharing requirements on certain groups of Medicaid beneficiaries. The DRA also permits states to substantially redefine and limit covered services and benefits. Role of State Law in Limiting Medicaid Changes provides state-by-state analyses of regulatory requirements for modifying each state’s Medicaid program. The study also investigates how the DRA has affected family planning Medicaid benefits in each state. (revised August 2006)
From the Urban Institute
Between 2001 and 2005, Americans have seen a significant decline in employer-sponsored health coverage. Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) were created to provide assistance for low-income families who are especially vulnerable because they cannot afford to purchase private health coverage. The Role of Medicaid and SCHIP as an Insurance Safety Net examines data from across the states to assess the two programs’ effectiveness in offsetting declining employer-sponsored coverage for low-income children and adults. (August 2006)
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