New on the Web 38 (July 2007)
From the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: “The Administration’s Dubious Claims about the Emerging Children’s Health Legislation: Myths and Reality,” “Medicaid Documentation Requirement Disproportionately Harms Non-Hispanics,” “New State Data Show: Rule Mostly Hurts U.S. Citizen Children, Not Undocumented Immigrants”
From The Commonwealth Fund: “Disparities in Health Care Are Driven by Where Minority Patients Seek Care”
From KaiserEDU.org: “Medicare Advantage: The Role of Private Health Plans in Medicare”
From the Kaiser Family Foundation: “Changes in Percentage of Families Offered Coverage at Work, 1998-2005,” “Health Security Watch—June 2007,” “Health Insurance Coverage and Access to Care for Low-Income Non-Citizen Adults,” “Massachusetts Health Reform Tracking Survey,” “Spotlight on Uninsured Parents: How a Lack of Coverage Affects Parents and Their Families”
From the Mathematica: “Evolution of State Outreach Efforts under SCHIP,” “New Medicaid Drug Use and Cost Data Highlight Issues for States after Medicare Part D," “Prescription Drug Use and Expenditures among Dually Eligible Beneficiaries,” "Stable Coverage Benefits Healthy Kids Children"
From the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
The Administration’s Dubious Claims about the Emerging Children’s Health Legislation: Myth and Reality explains how a number of recent Administration claims about SCHIP reauthorization legislation, such as that it would advance a “Washington-run, government-owned” health plan designed to pave the way for a single-payer system, do not reflect reality. (July 2007)
Medicaid Documentation Requirement Disproportionately Harms Non-Hispanics New State Data Show: Rule Mostly Hurts U.S. Citizen Children, Not Undocumented Immigrants uses newly available data that provide further evidence that the requirement, purportedly aimed at preventing undocumented immigrants from improperly obtaining Medicaid, is instead overwhelmingly affecting eligible U.S. citizens. (July 2007)
From The Commonwealth Fund
Disparities in Health Care Are Driven by Where Minority Patients Seek Care finds small but statistically significant disparities between minority and white populations for 12 of 13 medical procedures in a nationwide study. After adjusting for site of care, the magnitudes of disparities decreased substantially—suggesting that minority patients are more likely to receive care in lower-performing hospitals. (June 2007)
From the KaiserEDU.org:
Medicare Advantage: The Role of Private Health Plans in Medicare reviews the basics of Medicare Advantage and the different types of Medicare Advantage plans available. This tutorial presents trends in Medicare Advantage plan participation and enrollment, as well as characteristics of Medicare Advantage enrollees and a discussion of the impact that Medicare Advantage has had on traditional Medicare. (July 2007)
From the Kaiser Family Foundation
More than 150 million individuals received health insurance through an employer in 2005, making employer-sponsored coverage the most prevalent form of health coverage for the nonelderly in the U.S. However, recent years have seen erosion in the availability of employer-based health benefits for workers, especially low-income workers. Changes in Percentage of Families Offered Coverage at Work, 1998-2005 shows that from 1998 to 2005, offers of job-based coverage fell across the board. (July 2007)
Health Security Watch—June 2007 Tracking Poll shows that minorities are significantly more worried about health care access and costs than whites (56 percent vs. 29 percent), and people with low incomes are more worried than those with higher incomes (59 percent vs. 25 percent). These disparities have reached record high levels this year. (June 2007)
Health Insurance Coverage and Access to Care for Low-Income Non-Citizen Adults analyzes heath insurance coverage and access for low-income non-citizen adults and discusses provider insights into the obstacles that this group faces. It finds that, although low-income non-citizens have more limited access to care, these adults are not relying on the emergency room for care. Instead, many rely on clinics and health centers. (June 2007)
Massachusetts Health Reform Tracking Survey finds that prior to the July 1 implementation of comprehensive health reform, most Massachusetts residents supported a new state law to provide health coverage to almost all residents, including the individual mandate that requires residents to obtain coverage or pay a penalty. (June 2007)
Providing health coverage for the entire family can both help increase coverage of children and assist low-income families in obtaining more affordable health care. Spotlight on Uninsured Parents: How a Lack of Coverage Affects Parents and Their Families uses data from the 2005 Kaiser Low-Income Coverage and Access Survey to examine health coverage, access, and the financial effects of health care for low-income parents and their families. (June 2007)
From Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.
States have shown creativity and adaptability in developing outreach strategies to promote State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) enrollment. Evolution of State Outreach Efforts under SCHIP reviews how these strategies have changed using information from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The article notes that, over time, states have adapted their outreach to close the gaps in enrolling hard-to-reach populations by modifying their target populations, messages, and organizational strategies. (Summer 2007)
New Medicaid Drug Use and Cost Data Highlight Issues for States after Medicare Part D examines a number of Medicaid prescription drug issues that states still need to address after the movement of dual eligibles into Medicare Part D. (June 2007)
Prescription Drug Use and Expenditures among Dually Eligible Beneficiaries in particular examines three important subgroups: the elderly, people with disabilities, and full-year nursing home residents. The analyses indicate great variation in use and expenditures across states that cannot be explained by differences in use of cost-containment strategies. (Summer 2007)
The Santa Clara County Children’s Health Initiative is an innovative effort to expand health coverage to low-income children in this California county. Stable Coverage Benefits Healthy Kids Children found that, when children remained covered, their use of preventive care grew, as did their parents' confidence about meeting their child's health care needs. Children also had fewer unmet needs for health care. (June 2007)
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