New on the Web 41 (December 2007)
From the Center for Health Care Strategies: “The Faces of Medicaid II: Recognizing the Care Needs of People with Multiple Chronic Conditions”
From the Commonwealth Fund: “Health Care Opinion Leaders’ Views on the Transparency of Health Care Quality and Price Information in the United States,” “Overburdened and Overwhelmed: The Struggles of Communities with High Medical Cost Burdens”
From Health Affairs: “How Much ‘Skin in the Game’ Do Medicare Beneficiaries Have?”
From the Kaiser Family Foundation: "Medicaid’s Role for Women,” “Medicare Part D 2008 Data Spotlight: The Coverage Gap,” “Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit”
From the Urban Institute: “Are Children Accessing and Using Needed Mental Health Care Services? The Case of San Mateo County Healthy Kids Program,” “Why Insurance Is Important”
From the Urban Institute, UCSF, and Mathematica: “Three Independent Evaluations of Healthy Kids Programs Find Dramatic Gains in Well-Being of Children and Families”
From the Center for Health Care Strategies
The Faces of Medicaid II: Recognizing the Care Needs of People with Multiple Chronic Conditions identifies the prevalence of chronic conditions within the Medicaid population, as well as the patterns of health care utilization and the associated cost. The report suggests that the ultimate goal of policymakers should be to develop more appropriate guidelines and care models that will help control costs within publicly financed care. (October 2007)
From the Commonwealth Fund
Health Care Opinion Leaders’ Views on the Transparency of Health Care Quality and Price Information in the United States reports that more than 80 percent of such leaders favored increased transparency. The brief also explains some of the favored policy strategies for improving health care transparency. (November 2007)
Overburdened and Overwhelmed: The Struggles of Communities with High Medical Cost Burdens: The number of people with potentially high medical cost burdens varies widely across the nation. Some of these people lack insurance, while others are insured but are paying a high portion of their income to get that coverage. Federal support will be critical to addressing this problem. (November 2007)
From Health Affairs
How Much “Skin in the Game” Do Medicare Beneficiaries Have? The Increasing Financial Burden of Health Care Spending examines the financial burden among beneficiaries between 1997 and 2003. Results suggest that sustained increases in out-of-pocket spending could make health care less affordable for all but the highest-income beneficiaries. (November 2007)
From the Kaiser Family Foundation
A unique feature of the Medicare Part D drug program is the so-called “doughnut hole”—the gap in coverage. Medicare Part D 2008 Data Spotlight: The Coverage Gap examines the effect of the doughnut hole in Medicare stand-alone prescription drug plans (PDPs) and Medicare Advantage prescription drug (MA-PD) plans today, and it attempts to forecast what it could mean for beneficiaries in the future. (November 2007)
Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit includes the latest information and data about Medicare Part D, including 2008 plan information and the most recent enrollment data. (November 2007)
While often not considered to be a “women’s health program,” women comprise the majority (69 percent) of adult Medicaid beneficiaries. Medicaid’s Role for Women examines the wide range of health services offered in Medicaid specifically for women and explains why maintaining these services is important. (October 2007)
From the Urban Institute
Why Health Insurance Is Important explains the correlation between health coverage and improved health outcomes. (November 2007)
San Mateo County offers children a comprehensive mental health benefits package. Are Children Accessing and Using Needed Mental Health Care Services? The Case of the San Mateo County Healthy Kids Program discusses how many children are obtaining mental health services through the program, how they obtain those services, and possible reasons for why children who need these services are not using them. (October 2007)
From the Urban Institute, UCSF, and Mathematica
Three Independent Evaluations of Healthy Kids Programs Find Dramatic Gains in Well-Being of Children and Families presents highlights from independent evaluations of the Healthy Kids programs in three California counties: Los Angeles, San Mateo, and Santa Clara. (November 2007)
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