New on the Web 34: October 2006
From the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality: "Changes in Children’s Health Insurance Status, 1996-2005: Estimates for the U.S. Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population under Age 18"
From the Center for Economic and Policy Research: "The Origins of the Doughnut Hole: Excess Profits on Prescription Drugs"
From the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: "The Number of Uninsured Americans Is at an All-Time High," "The Illusion of Choice: Vulnerable Medicaid Beneficiaries Being Placed in Scaled-Back 'Benchmark' Benefit Packages," "GAO Study Confirms Health Savings Accounts Primarily Benefit High-Income Individuals"
From the Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative (CAHMI): "Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health"
From the Child Health Insurance Research Initiative (CHIRI): "SCHIP Enrollees with Special Health Care Needs and Access to Care"
From the Citizens’ Health Care Working Group: "Health Care that Works for All Americans: Health Report to the American People"
From the Commonwealth Fund: "Promising Practices for Patient-Centered Communication with Vulnerable Populations: Examples from Eight Hospitals," "Squeezed: Why Rising Exposure to Health Care Costs Threatens the Health and Financial Well-Being of American Families"
From Health Affairs: "Access to Cancer Drugs in Medicare Part D: Formulary Placement and Beneficiary Cost-Sharing in 2006"
From the Kaiser Family Foundation: "Early Experiences of Medicare Beneficiaries in Prescription Drug Plans: Insights from Medicare State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) Directors," "Health Coverage and Access to Care for Hispanics in 'New Growth Communities' and 'Major Hispanic Centers'"
From the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust: "Employer Health Benefits 2006 Annual Survey"
From Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. and the Connecticut Health Foundation: "Seeking Solutions: Enhancing Health Care Delivery for People in Connecticut with Limited English Proficiency"
From the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
The State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), created in 1997, has been a major factor in improving health coverage rates for children. Changes in Children’s Health Insurance Status, 1996-2005: Estimates for the U.S. Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population under Age 18 examines trends in children’s health insurance coverage by race/ethnicity and finds that improvements have been particularly dramatic for minority children. (September 2006)
From the Center for Economic and Policy Research
The Origins of the Doughnut Hole: Excess Profits on Prescription Drugs describes how the Medicare Part D coverage gap, also known as the “doughnut hole,” increases drug costs for seniors while ensuring profits for the pharmaceutical and private insurance industries. (August 2006)
From the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
According to recent data from the Census Bureau, 46.6 million Americans lack health insurance. The Number of Uninsured Americans Is at an All-Time High discusses the increased number of uninsured, the decline in employer-sponsored coverage, and changes in Medicaid and SCHIP enrollment. (August 2006)
The Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) allows states, with federal approval, to move certain groups of Medicaid beneficiaries into “benchmark” plans that do not provide all of the benefits covered by regular Medicaid. The Illusion of Choice: Vulnerable Medicaid Beneficiaries Being Placed in Scaled-Back “Benchmark” Benefit Packages explains that in certain states, groups of vulnerable beneficiaries that were declared exempt from this law—including the elderly, pregnant women, and people with disabilities—are being placed in scaled-back benchmark plans. (September 2006)
Many health and tax policy analysts suspected that Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) would be used as tax shelters for high-incomes individuals. GAO Study Confirms Health Savings Accounts Primarily Benefit High-Income Individuals indicates that HSAs are disproportionately used by affluent individuals. The report also explains how HSAs and high-deductible plans reduce costs for healthy people while increasing out-of-pocket costs for less healthy people. (September 2006)
From the Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative (CAHMI)
CAHMI has launched the Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health, which provides national, state, and regional data on children’s health care. The site allows users to view state profiles and search the National Survey of Children’s Health and the National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs. (September 2006)
From the Child Health Insurance Research Initiative (CHIRI)
SCHIP Enrollees with Special Health Care Needs and Access to Care found that, in general, these children are able to obtain both care from a primary health care provider and routine specialty services. However, state restrictions make it difficult for some children with special health care needs to obtain specialty services. (August 2006)
From the Citizens’ Health Care Working Group
Health Care that Works for All Americans: Health Report to the American People outlines current health care policy issues and formulates recommendations based on the input of thousands of Americans who participated in community meetings held across the country. The report offers insight into many health care issues, including rising costs, quality shortcomings, and access problems. (September 2006)
From the Commonwealth Fund
Patient populations have become increasingly diverse. Promising Practices for Patient-Centered Communication with Vulnerable Populations: Examples from Eight Hospitals identifies promising practices for health care organizations to communicate effectively across cultural, language, and health literacy barriers. (August 2006)
Squeezed: Why Rising Exposure to Health Care Costs Threatens the Health and Financial Well-Being of American Families examines the implications of rising out-of-pocket costs for all privately insured Americans. The report also analyses the experiences of adults with employer-sponsored coverage compared to those insured through the individual market. (September 2006)
From Health Affairs
Access to Cancer Drugs in Medicare Part D: Formulary Placement and Beneficiary Cost-Sharing in 2006 found that Part D greatly expanded Medicare beneficiaries’ access to cancer treatments. An analysis of nearly 3,000 Part D plans found that virtually all plans cover generic cancer drugs and the majority of brand-name drugs. Copayments for cancer drugs are relatively low, but prior-authorization requirements may limit access to some brand-name treatments. A subscription is necessary to view the full article. (September 2006)
From the Kaiser Family Foundation
Early Experiences of Medicare Beneficiaries in Prescription Drug Plans: Insights from Medicare State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) Directors explores early experiences with the Part D drug benefit based on the observations of SHIP directors who work closely with Medicare beneficiaries and CMS. SHIP directors reported problems and concerns relating to enrollment, premium payments, dual eligibles, authorization requirements, data system errors, and the “doughnut hole.” (August 2006)
Health Coverage and Access to Care for Hispanics in "New Growth Communities" and "Major Hispanic Centers" finds that as the Hispanic population grows and moves beyond urban centers, Hispanics in “new growth communities” face greater barriers to health care than those in “major Hispanic centers.” Much of this disparity is linked to the accessibility of community health centers and safety-net hospitals. (September 2006)
From the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust
Employer Health Benefits 2006 Annual Survey investigates trends in employer-sponsored health coverage, including changes in premiums, cost-sharing, employee contributions, and the prevalence of high-deductible health plans. The study found that insurance premiums are increasing more than twice as fast as workers’ wages and overall inflation. (September 2006)
From Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. and the Connecticut Health Foundation
Seeking Solutions: Enhancing Health Care Delivery for People in Connecticut with Limited English Proficiency addresses the state’s increasingly diverse population and the need for culturally and linguistically appropriate health care. The report looks at the cost of providing interpreters for Medicaid recipients with limited English proficiency and the steps states have taken to make this possible. The report is also available in Spanish. (August 2006)
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