New on the Web 48 (August 2008)

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From the Center for Studying Health System Change: “Community Efforts to Expand Dental Services for Low-Income People”

From the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: “Medicare Changes Can Complement Health Reform” 

From the Commonwealth Fund: “Losing Ground: How the Loss of Adequate Health Insurance Is Burdening Working Families,” “Public Views on U.S. Health Care System Organization: A Call for New Directions”

From the George Washington University Medical Center: “Uninsured and Medicaid Patients’ Access to Preventive Care: Comparison of Health Centers and Other Primary Care Providers”

From the Kaiser Family Foundation: “Examining Sources of Coverage among Medicare Beneficiaries: Supplemental Insurance, Medicare Advantage, and Prescription Drug Coverage -- Findings from the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey, 2006,” “Eroding Access among Nonelderly Adults with Chronic Conditions: Ten Years of Change”

From the Pew Hispanic Center: “Hispanics and Health Care in the United States: Access, Information and Knowledge”

From the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: “A Needed Lifeline: Chronically Ill Children and Public Health Insurance Coverage”

From the Urban Institute: “Health Insurance for Low-Income Working Families”

From The Commonwealth Fund:

Losing Ground: How the Loss of Adequate Health Insurance Is Burdening Working Families discusses the insurance status of adults under age 65 and the implications for family finances and access to health care. It reports that health coverage has deteriorated over the past six years, with declines in coverage most severe for moderate-income families. Nearly two-thirds of adults had medical bill problems or debt, went without needed care because of cost, or were uninsured. (August 2008)

Public Views on U.S. Health Care System Organization: A Call for New Directions found that dissatisfaction with the U.S. health care system is running high, and 82 percent of Americans think it should be fundamentally changed or completely rebuilt. Nine out of 10 survey respondents feel it is important that both presidential candidates propose reforms that would improve health care quality, ensure that all Americans can afford health coverage, and decrease the number of uninsured. (August 2008)

From the George Washington University Medical Center:

Uninsured and Medicaid Patients’ Access to Preventive Care: Comparison of Health Centers and Other Primary Care Providers examines the role of community health centers (CHCs) in reducing disparities in access to preventive health care for medically vulnerable and high-risk populations. The analysis finds that, despite having a more vulnerable patient mix, CHCs outperform other primary care providers in the use of preventive care for both Medicaid and uninsured patients by as much as 22 percent. (August 2008)

From the Kaiser Family Foundation:

Examining Sources of Coverage among Medicare Beneficiaries: Supplemental Insurance, Medicare Advantage, and Prescription Drug Coverage—Findings from the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey, 2006 provides the first detailed look at the characteristics of beneficiaries with various sources of drug coverage in the first year of the Medicare Part D drug benefit. The chart pack compares the characteristics of Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans to beneficiaries in traditional fee-for-service Medicare. It also examines drug coverage and enrollment in the low-income subsidy among beneficiaries with low incomes. (August 2008)

Eroding Access among Nonelderly Adults with Chronic Conditions: Ten Years of Change finds that the number of working-age adults who have major chronic conditions grew by 25 percent between 1997 and 2006, bringing the total to nearly 58 million. The study also reveals that, regardless of insurance status, the cost of prescription drugs poses more of a problem today for those with chronic conditions. (July 2008) 

From the Pew Hispanic Center:

Hispanics and Health Care in the United States: Access, Information and Knowledge reports that about 27 percent of Hispanic adults in the U.S. do not have regular health care providers, although many of those adults have health insurance and speak English. The survey finds that among Hispanic adults, the groups least likely to have a usual health care provider are men, the young, the less educated, and those without health insurance. (August 2008) 

From the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation:

A Needed Lifeline: Chronically Ill Children and Public Health Insurance Coverage provides a state-by-state analysis of children’s access to health care and examines whether children who have public or private coverage obtain health care differently than children who are uninsured. The data demonstrate the strength of CHIP and Medicaid as safety nets for kids, but more than 9 million children remain uninsured. (August 2008)

From the Urban Institute:

Health Insurance for Low-Income Working Families proposes comprehensive reforms that are designed to provide coverage for everyone at every income level, while still encouraging work. According to the study, in 2005, only 37 percent of adults in low-income working families had employer-based health insurance, and 42 percent had no health coverage. The proposals include state purchasing pools, individual mandates, and strategies for reducing health care costs. (July 2008)

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