New on the Web 35 (February 2007)
From the Center for Studying Health Systems Change: “Behind the Slow Growth of Employer-Based Consumer-Driven Health Plans”
From the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: “Medicaid Costs Are Growing More Slowly than Costs for Medicare or Private Insurance”
From The Commonwealth Fund: “The Cost of Privatization: Extra Payments to Medicare Advantage Plans—Updated and Revised”
From Démos and the Access Project: “Borrowing to Stay Healthy: How Credit Card Debt Is Related to Medical Expenses”
From the Employee Benefit Research Institute and The Commonwealth Fund: “The 2nd Annual EBRI/Commonwealth Fund Consumerism in Health Care Survey 2006”
From the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute Center for Children and Families and Lake Research Partners: “Election Survey Finds Broad Support for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)”
From Health Affairs: “Employers’ Views on Incremental Measures to Expand Health Care Coverage,” “The Uninsured and the Affordability of Health Insurance Coverage”
From the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured: “Citizenship Documentation Requirements in Medicaid,” “Medicaid Enrollment in 50 States,” “Resuming the Path to Health Coverage for Children and Parents,” “SCHIP Program Enrollment—June 2005 Update,” “State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) at a Glance”
From the Kaiser Family Foundation: “Medicare Part D Plan Characteristics,” “The Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit”
From Kaisernetwork.org: “Kaiser Health Disparities Report”
From Mathematica Policy Research: “2006 Medicare Advantage Benefits and Premiums”
From the Center for Studying Health System Change
Behind the Slow Growth of Employer-Based Consumer-Driven Health Plans finds that employees who use a consumer driven health plan (CDHP) are less likely to be given a choice of plans. Also, employers pay approximately the same amount for employees’ CDHPs as they do for traditional plans, but employees in CDHPs are faced with much higher out-of-pocket costs than those in traditional plans. (December 2006)
From the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Health care in the United States has become very expensive, and health care costs in the private and public sectors alike have been rising at a rapid clip. However, Medicaid Costs Are Growing More Slowly than Costs for Medicare or Private Insurance reports new data showing that Medicaid expenditures did not grow at all in fiscal year 2006 and are expected to grow only modestly in 2007. (November 2006)
From The Commonwealth Fund
The Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) of 2003 sharply increased payments to private Medicare Advantage plans. The Cost of Privatization: Extra Payments to Medicare Advantage Plans—Updated and Revised indicates that private plans did not reduce Medicare costs in 2005 because MMA policies explicitly pay private plans more than traditional fee-for-service Medicare. In addition, these extra payments represent a potential source of funds that could be used to at least partially offset the costs of improved benefits for all Medicare enrollees. (December 2006)
From Démos and the Access Project
The high costs associated with health care for people both with and without health insurance are leading many patients to turn to credit cards to cover health expenses. Borrowing to Stay Healthy: How Credit Card Debt Is Related to Medical Expenses examines this phenomenon and the makeup of the population of those with medical credit card debt. (January 2007)
From the Employee Benefit Research Institute and The Commonwealth Fund
The 2nd Annual EBRI-Commonwealth Fund Consumerism in Health Care Survey finds that enrollment in consumer-directed health plans (CDHPs) and high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) is virtually unchanged since 2005. These plans are making little headway in reducing the number of uninsured, and they are still plagued by low levels of satisfaction and high out-of-pocket costs that deter beneficiaries from seeking care. (December 2006)
From the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute Center for Children and Families and Lake Research Partners
Election Survey Finds Broad Support for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) notes that more than eight in 10 voters favor increasing spending on the SCHIP. This summary outlines the results of the survey and describes the outcomes of other public opinion surveys about health coverage for children. (December 2006)
From Health Affairs
Employers’ Views on Incremental Measures to Expand Health Coverage examines employers’ views on the importance of health benefits and their perspective on policies aimed at improving employees’ access to coverage and quality care. Employers of all sizes hold a positive view of the value of health benefits in attracting and retaining workers and in improving workers’ health and productivity. (A subscription is necessary to view the full article.) (November 2006)
The Uninsured and the Affordability of Health Insurance Coverage indicates that more than half of the nation's uninsured are ineligible for public programs and do not have enough resources to purchase coverage themselves. Childless adults made up the largest block of those who are uninsured and ineligible for public coverage, which the study attributes to a lack of eligibility for public programs such as Medicaid. (A subscription is necessary to view the full article.) (November 2006)
From the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured
Since the enactment of the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) of 2005, most U.S. citizens and nationals applying for or renewing their Medicaid coverage face a new federal requirement to provide documentation of their citizenship status. Citizenship Documentation Requirements in Medicaid provides up-to-date information on these requirements and discusses the implications for Medicaid beneficiaries and states. (January 2007)
Medicaid Enrollment in 50 States provides data on Medicaid enrollment by state, including information updated through June 2005. (December 2006)
The slide presentation Resuming the Path to Health Coverage for Children and Parents consists primarily of charts showing the state of health insurance access for families. States have shown renewed enthusiasm for covering the uninsured, especially children, but the DRA has also caused some setbacks. (January 9, 2007)
SCHIP Program Enrollment: June 2005 Update tracks changes in enrollment in the SCHIP program from June 2004 to June 2005. Economic improvements allowed many states to relax restrictions on enrollment, resulting in a net increase in enrollment nationwide. Some states that still have heavy restrictions continued to show large decreases in enrollment. (December 2006)
State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) at a Glance provides basic information about SCHIP, including eligibility information as of June 2006. (January 2007)
From the Kaiser Family Foundation
Medicare Part D Plan Characteristics provides new state-specific summary data about available Medicare drug benefit options. It illustrates the number of stand-alone plans with coverage in the "doughnut hole," as well as the number of plans available at no cost to qualifying beneficiaries. (November 2006)
The Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit provides the latest information and data about the Medicare Part D program. These data include a breakdown of the standard benefit, updates on additional low-income assistance, and the latest 2006 enrollment data. (November 2006)
From Kaisernetwork.org
Kaiser Health Disparities Report: A Weekly Look at Race, Ethnicity and Health is a new resource available through a free weekly e-mail. It summarizes and synthesizes news coverage of minority health issues and highlights studies, initiatives, and journal articles that generally do not receive mainstream news coverage. It also provides a calendar of upcoming events related to health disparities. (January 2007)
From Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.
2006 Medicare Advantage Benefits and Premiums analyzes the benefits and premiums of Medicare Advantage plans in 2006, including trends in relation to prior years, differences by plan type, and the level of financial protection provided to beneficiaries by the diverse types of plans. (November 2006)
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