New on the Web 54 (March 2009)
From the Alliance for Health: “Covering Health Issues: A Sourcebook for Journalists”
From the Center for American Progress: “Health Care in Crisis: 14,000 Losing Coverage a Day”
From the Center for Studying Health System Change: “Access to Prescription Drugs for Medicare Beneficiaries”
From the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: “Improving Medicaid as Part of Building on the Current System to Achieve Universal Coverage”
From Healthways: “The Gallup–Healthways Well-Being Index”
From the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured: “Snapshots from the Kitchen Table: Family Budgets and Health Care,” “The Role of Section 1115 Waivers in Medicaid and CHIP: Looking Back and Looking Forward"
From the Kaiser Family Foundation: “Choosing a Medicare Part D Plan: Are Medicare Beneficiaries Choosing Low-Cost Plans?,” “National Health Insurance–A Brief History of Reform Efforts in the U.S.,” “Retiree Health VEBAs: A New Twist on an Old Paradigm – Implications for Retirees, Unions, and Employers ”
From Mathematica: “State Policies to Encourage High-Deductible and Limited-Benefit Health Plans: Costs, Constituents, and Concerns”
From the Alliance for Health:
Covering Health Issues: A Sourcebook for Journalists will be offered online chapter by chapter and will cover a wide variety of health policy topics, including health reform, health care costs, and individual and employer-sponsored coverage. These chapters include background information, facts on each topic, story ideas for reporters, and discussions of the likely policy debates. This “book” will be useful for anyone looking for concise, balanced information. (March 2009)
From the Center for American Progress:
Health Care in Crisis: 14,000 Losing Coverage a Day estimates that since the recession began, 14,000 U.S. residents have been losing job-based health coverage each day because of layoffs. The report finds that a one percentage point increase in the national unemployment rate results in 2.4 million people losing job-based coverage. Of those, 1 million seek coverage through Medicaid or CHIP, while 1.1 million remain uninsured. (February 2009)
From the Center for Studying Health System Change:
Access to Prescription Drugs for Medicare Beneficiaries finds that the introduction of the Medicare prescription drug program in 2006 did little to close longstanding gaps in drug accessibility between white and African American seniors, healthier and sicker beneficiaries, and lower-income and higher-income beneficiaries. For example, in 2007, three times as many African American beneficiaries went without a prescribed medication as white beneficiaries. (March 2009)
From the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities:
Improving Medicaid as Part of Building on the Current System to Achieve Universal Coverage reports that as the source of comprehensive, affordable coverage, Medicaid can serve as one model for health care reform. The report discusses ways that policymakers can improve the program, including integrating Medicaid into broader efforts to increase the cost-effectiveness of health care and facilitating enrollment by modernizing eligibility rules and procedures. (February 2009)
From Healthways:
The Gallup–Healthways Well-Being Index surveys the physical, emotional, and economic well-being of U.S. residents. It found that 39 percent of people with incomes less than $2,000 per month reported having problems paying for medical care or medication. Income levels influenced how people felt about their physical well-being, with 40 percent of those with monthly incomes less than $1,000 reporting dissatisfaction with their health. (March 2009)
From the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured:
The Role of Section 1115 Waivers in Medicaid and CHIP: Looking Back and Looking Forward offers a range of options that the new Administration could consider about the role of such waivers in the future. While these waivers have facilitated program evolutions, some have raised concerns about issues such as the limited focus on waiver evaluations and the diminishing transparency of the waiver approval process. (March 2009)
Snapshots from the Kitchen Table: Family Budgets and Health Care shows the central role of health care costs and coverage in a household’s economic stability. It finds that health care costs were of particular concern, with many families forgoing doctor visits, skipping prescription medications, and postponing needed care. Even those with health insurance reported delaying care in order to avoid copayments, rising deductibles, and out-of-pocket costs. (February 2009)
From the Kaiser Family Foundation:
Choosing a Medicare Part D Plan: Are Medicare Beneficiaries Choosing Low-Cost Plans? uses pharmacy claims experience and premium and cost-sharing information about Medicare drug plans to examine whether seniors chose the lowest-cost plan for themselves. The analysis models the approach seniors were advised to follow in choosing a plan based on their medication regimen and found that most Part D enrollees did not choose one of the lowest-cost drug plans offered in their area. (March 2009)
National Health Insurance – A Brief History of Reform Efforts in the U.S. provides an overview of health reform efforts over the last century, from New Deal-era calls for subsidized health coverage to the creation of Medicare and Medicaid. The brief is part of a new section on Kaiser’s Web site that includes information on research, analysis, public opinion polling data, and other topics related to health reform. (March 2009)
Retiree Health VEBAs: A New Twist on an Old Paradigm – Implications for Retirees, Unions, and Employers provides an overview of stand-alone VEBA trusts, vehicles through which employers have rid themselves of future obligations to pay retiree health benefits in exchange for making a payment that approximates the projected cost of these benefits. The brief looks at three case studies, including the Big Three VEBAs, and highlights some of the pros and cons of such arrangements for employees, unions, and employers. (March 2009)
From Mathematica:
State Policies to Encourage High-Deductible and Limited-Benefit Health Plans: Costs, Constituents, and Concerns looks at state efforts to encourage the use of such plans as a way to provide coverage and describes the costs and enrollment rates of different types of plans. Some states that heavily subsidize premiums for limited-benefit plans have succeeded in enrolling people who were previously uninsured. However, where subsidies have been absent or only modest, there is little evidence that limited-benefit plans enrolled significant numbers of uninsured people. (March 2009)
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