New on the Web 37 (June 2007)
From the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: “Comparing Public and Private Health Insurance for Children,” “Curbing Medicare Overpayments to Private Insurers Could Benefit Minorities and Help Expand Children’s Health Coverage”
From The Commonwealth Fund: “Improving the Medicare Part D Program for the Most Vulnerable Beneficiaries,” “Resident Physicians' Preparedness to Provide Cross-Cultural Care: Implications for Clinical Care and Medical Education Policy,” “Too Sick to Work, Too Soon for Medicare: The Human Cost of the Two-Year Medicare Waiting Period for Americans with Disabilities,” “Women and Health Coverage: The Affordability Gap”
From Health Services Research: “Socioeconomic and Racial/Ethnic Differences in the Discussion of Cancer Screening: ‘Between-‘ versus ‘Within-‘ Physician Differences”
From the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured: “Resources on Children and Family Health Coverage”
From the Kaiser Family Foundation: “Giving Voice to the People of New Orleans: The Kaiser Post-Katrina Baseline Survey”
From the Medicare Rights Center: “Too Good to Be True: The Fine Print in Medicare Private Health Plan Benefits”
From Pediatrics: “Health Insurance across Vulnerable Ages: Patterns and Disparities from Adolescence to the Early 30s”
From the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
In considering the pending reauthorization of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), some have recommended that Congress use federal funds to subsidize the purchase of private health insurance rather than to expand public health programs such as Medicaid or SCHIP. Comparing Public and Private Health Insurance for Children provides evidence that public health coverage is less expensive than private insurance and provides comparable, and in some cases better, access to health care for children. (May 2007)
A proposal under consideration in Congress would help finance an expansion of children’s health coverage by reducing the overpayments to private health insurance companies that participate in Medicare. Insurance companies are waging an aggressive campaign to defend these overpayments, arguing that low-income and minority beneficiaries rely disproportionately on the private health plans in Medicare and that the overpayments are used to provide extra benefits not available through regular Medicare. Curbing Medicare Overpayments to Private Insurers Could Benefit Minorities and Help Expand Children’s Health Coverage argues that just the opposite may be true. (May 2007)
From The Commonwealth Fund
The Medicare prescription drug program has improved access to needed medications for millions of Americans. However, an estimated 3.3 million of the 13.2 million beneficiaries eligible for the low-income subsidy are not receiving that help. Improving the Medicare Part D Program for the Most Vulnerable Beneficiaries argues that administrators must find better ways to reach out to these beneficiaries, simplify the enrollment process, and provide hands-on assistance in navigating that process. (May 2007)
Resident Physicians' Preparedness to Provide Cross-Cultural Care: Implications for Clinical Care and Medical Education Policy reports that few residents in a national study felt unprepared to care for patients from racial and ethnic minority groups and from diverse cultures. Far more residents, however, felt unprepared to care for patients with specific cultural characteristics, including those who mistrust the U.S. health care system or who have health beliefs or practices that are at odds with Western medicine. This gap indicates shortcomings in graduate medical education that need to be addressed. (May 2007)
In the United States, nearly 7 million people under the age of 65 qualify for Medicare due to severe and permanent disabilities. However, these individuals must wait two years after they are deemed eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) to receive this coverage. Too Sick to Work, Too Soon for Medicare: The Human Cost of the Two-Year Medicare Waiting Period for Americans with Disabilities examines the detrimental effects of this waiting period through the stories of 21 individuals. (April 2007)
Although men and women have some similar challenges with regard to health insurance, women face unique barriers to becoming insured. Women and Health Coverage: The Affordability Gap describes these obstacles and stresses the importance of addressing these disparities in health policy proposals. (April 2007)
From Health Services Research
In order to ensure that patients of all races and ethnicities receive adequate care, doctors must foster an environment in which all patients have equal access to information. Socioeconomic and Racial/Ethnic Differences in the Discussion of Cancer Screening: "Between-" versus "Within-" Physician Differences attempts to determine the extent to which socioeconomic and racial/ethnic differences in cancer screening discussions between a patient and his/her primary care physician are due to "within-physician" differences (the fact that patients were treated differently by the same physicians) versus "between-physician" differences (that they were treated by a different group of physicians). (A subscription is necessary to view the full article.) (June 2007)
From the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured
Resources on Children and Family Health Coverage provides the information released in a policy briefing on state coverage trends for children and families. These policy reports include:
- “Enrolling Children in Medicaid and SCHIP: Insights from Focus Groups with Low-Income Parents”
- “SCHIP Turns 10: An Update on Enrollment and the Outlook on Reauthorization from the Program’s Directors”
- “Family Coverage under SCHIP Waivers”
- “Health Insurance Coverage and Access to Care for Low-Income Non-Citizen Children”
(May 2007)
From the Kaiser Family Foundation
Giving Voice to the People of New Orleans: The Kaiser Post-Katrina Baseline Survey examines the ongoing struggles of residents trying to recover from the Hurricane Katrina disaster, including a detailed look at how those views and experiences differ by race. The survey documents the devastating impact that Hurricane Katrina and the government’s failed response have had on the economic well-being, physical and mental health, and personal lives of the people of the New Orleans area. (May 2007)
From the Medicare Rights Center
Nearly 8.3 million of the 43 million Americans with Medicare receive their medical care through private insurance companies, also called Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. Too Good to Be True: The Fine Print in Medicare Private Health Plan Benefits examines the effectiveness of these plans and concludes that private plans often fail to deliver coverage that a patient could obtain from original Medicare. (April 2007)
From Pediatrics
Young adults have the lowest rate of insurance coverage of any age group. Health Insurance across Vulnerable Ages: Patterns and Disparities from Adolescence to the Early 30s finds that the safety net of public programs that cover adolescents disappears in young adulthood, leaving young adults vulnerable. Moreover, for low-income individuals, this problem often persists into their 30s because premiums in the private market are too high. (May 2007)
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