New on the Web 67 (April 2010)
From the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality: “2009 National Healthcare Disparities Report”
From the Center for American Progress: “Unraveling Reform Would Leave Millions with Less Affordable Care”
From the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: “Efforts to Nullify Health Reform Likely to Fail, but Could Interfere with Law’s Implementation,” “Key Health Insurance Market Reforms Not Achievable without an Individual Mandate,” “Health Reform Will Reduce the Deficit: Charges of Budgetary Gimmickry Are Unfounded”
From the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services: “Medicare Advantage Payment Provisions: Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010 H.R. 4872”
From Health Affairs: “The Growing Financial Burden of Health Care: National and State Trends, 2001-2006”
From the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured: “Assessing the Risk of Becoming Uninsured after Leaving a Job: A Look at the Data”
From the Kaiser Family Foundation: “Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program Provisions in the New Health Reform Law,” “Explaining Health Care Reform: Key Changes to the Medicare Part D Drug Benefit Coverage Gap,” “Health Reform Implementation Timeline”
From the National Academy for State Health Policy: “Long-Term Services and Supports and Chronic Care Coordination: Policy Advances Enacted by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act”
From the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality:
2009 National Healthcare Disparities Report updates the annual report mandated by Congress to identify disparities in health care and track how they change over time. The report finds that disparities persist across almost all areas of care, including quality, access, types of care (preventive, chronic disease management, etc.), and across different settings (hospitals, home care, nursing homes, etc.). (March 2010)
From the Center for American Progress:
Unraveling Reform Would Leave Millions with Less Affordable Care discusses recent efforts by attorneys general in 14 states to challenge the newly passed health reform law. The brief also presents data on the percentage of each state’s population that will benefit from coverage expansions, which show that many of these attorneys general represent states that have the most to gain from health reform. (March 2010)
From the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities:
Efforts to Nullify Health Reform Likely to Fail, but Could Interfere with Law’s Implementation explains why Congress has the authority to enact the individual mandate and why it is an essential part of reform. Efforts to repeal the law will more likely weaken public support and create obstacles to implementation, rather than actually repeal it. (April 2010)
Key Health Insurance Market Reforms Not Achievable without an Individual Mandate explains that passing important insurance reforms without a mandate would encourage people to wait until they are sick to buy coverage. The insurance pool would then have primarily older, sicker people, which would raise premiums for everyone. The individual mandate will help get healthy people into the health insurance market, which would keep premiums at a more reasonable level. (April 2010)
Health Reform Will Reduce the Deficit: Charges of Budgetary Gimmickry Are Unfounded debunks several claims that challenge the health reform provisions that would lower costs and reduce the deficit. For example, opponents claim that the law cannot “bend the cost curve” while expanding coverage to 32 million people. However, the law contains a wide variety of cost-cutting provisions that are projected to reduce the growth in health care spending over the long term. (March 2010)
From the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services:
Medicare Advantage Payment Provisions: Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010 H.R. 4872 provides an overview of the new payment policy and analyzes data from 2009 to estimate the impact it will have on payments to Medicare Advantage plans. The report estimates that the overall impact will be modest. (March 2010)
From Health Affairs:
The Growing Financial Burden of Health Care: National and State Trends, 2001-2006 shows that escalating health care costs affect people at all socioeconomic levels, including middle- and higher-income people. National and state data show that this growing burden was driven by the fact that out-of-pocket spending for premiums and health care rose faster than family incomes. (March 2010) Subscription Required
From the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured:
Assessing the Risk of Becoming Uninsured after Leaving a Job: A Look at the Data uses data from before the current recession (2004-2007) and finds that more than 30 percent of individuals who left a job with health insurance became uninsured for six months or more. This trend has likely worsened given the recession and higher unemployment rates. (March 2010)
From the Kaiser Family Foundation:
Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program Provisions in the New Health Reform Law summarizes all the new Medicaid and CHIP provisions and includes a chart listing all of the relevant provisions and how they compare pre- and post-reform. The explanations focus on coverage and financing, benefits and access, dual eligibles and long-term care, and cost estimates. (April 2010)
Explaining Health Care Reform: Key Changes to the Medicare Part D Drug Benefit Coverage Gap provides a timeline of the Medicare Part D provisions in health reform. The brief explains the major changes and includes a series of charts to illustrate the effect these changes will have on Medicare. (March 2010)
Health Reform Implementation Timeline provides a list of the key provisions in health reform and when they will be implemented. Some of the earliest provisions to be implemented include allowing young adults to stay on their parents’ plans until they are 26 and providing tax credits to small employers that provide health coverage. (March 2010)
From the National Academy for State Health Policy:
Long-Term Services and Supports and Chronic Care Coordination: Policy Advances Enacted by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act provides an overview of the policy changes organized into five categories: national insurance for long-term services and supports (LTSS), Medicaid options and incentives to expand LTSS, chronic care coordination, nursing home reforms, and other LTSS provisions. (April 2010)
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