New on the Web 72 (September 2010)
From the AARP Public Policy Institute: "Rx Price Watch Report: Trends in Retail Prices of Brand Name Prescription Drugs Widely Used by Medicare Beneficiaries 2005 to 2009"
From the Alliance for Health Reform: “Full Steam Ahead: Implementation Opportunities and Challenges for Employers and Consumers”
From the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: “States Should Structure Insurance Exchanges to Minimize Adverse Selection”
From the Center for Health Care Strategies: “Covering Low-Income Childless Adults in Medicaid: Experiences from Selected States”
From the Commonwealth Fund: “Realizing Health Reform’s Potential: Small Businesses and the Affordable Care Act of 2010”
From Health Affairs: “Who and Where Are the Children Yet to Enroll in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program?,” “Extra Federal Support for Medicaid,” and “Medicare Doesn’t Work As Well for Younger, Disabled Beneficiaries As It Does for Older Enrollees”
From the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured: “Louisiana’s Express Lane Eligibility”
From the Kaiser Family Foundation: “Benefits and Cost-Sharing for Adult Medicaid Beneficiaries,” “Eligibility and Enrollment Processes for Medicaid, CHIP, and Subsidies in the Exchanges”
From the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Urban Institute: “Does the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Permit the Purchase of Health Insurance across State Lines?,” “How Will the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Affect Small, Medium, and Large Businesses?”
From the AARP Public Policy Institute:
Rx Price Watch Report: Trends in Retail Prices of Brand Name Prescription Drugs Widely Used by Medicare Beneficiaries 2005 to 2009 finds that average retail prices have increased faster than prices for other consumer goods and services during the same period. This report is the first in the series of drug pricing reports to switch to tracking retail prices instead of manufacturers’ prices. (August 2010)
From the Alliance for Health Reform:
Full Steam Ahead: Implementation Opportunities and Challenges for Employers and Consumers offers a series of PowerPoint presentations from the American Cancer Society, Small Business Majority, National Association of Health Underwriters, and National Business Group on Health that discuss implementation’s impact on employers and consumers. The complete webcast of this briefing is also available. (September 2010)
From the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities:
States Should Structure Insurance Exchanges to Minimize Adverse Selection recommends four steps that states should take when setting up their exchanges to provide protection from adverse selection. These optional steps include making the market rules outside the exchange consistent with those that apply inside the exchange, and requiring insurers to offer the same products both inside and outside the exchange. (August 2010)
From the Center for Health Care Strategies:
Covering Low-Income Childless Adults in Medicaid: Experiences from Selected States outlines key health reform provisions related to the Medicaid expansion and examines existing state programs (in AZ, IN, ME, MN, NY, OR, PA, VT, WA, and WI) for this group. The findings suggest that states will need partners with experience caring for people with multiple chronic conditions, and that Medicaid must work in tandem with the new insurance exchanges to ensure continuity of care for beneficiaries whose incomes change. (August 2010)
From the Commonwealth Fund:
Realizing Health Reform’s Potential: Small Businesses and the Affordable Care Act of 2010 discusses the provisions designed to help small businesses pay for and maintain health coverage for their workers. The provisions include a tax credit to make coverage more affordable, exchanges to lower administrative costs and pool risk more broadly, and new market rules and benefit standards to protect smaller firms from second-rate health plans. (September 2010)
From Health Affairs:
Who and Where Are the Children Yet to Enroll in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program? provides estimates of the rates that children participated in these programs in 2008 and of those who were eligible but remained uninsured. Participation rates for children varied widely across states—from 55 to 95 percent—illustrating the need to share best practices in order to maximize enrollment. (September 2010)
Extra Federal Support for Medicaid discusses the recently passed extension of increased federal funds for state Medicaid programs. The brief provides an overview of the extension, why it was necessary, and the impact it will have on future state budgets. (August 2010)
Medicare Doesn’t Work As Well for Younger, Disabled Beneficiaries As It Does for Older Enrollees found that nonelderly (under age 65) beneficiaries experience more problems with cost and access, including greater difficulty affording medications. The Affordable Care Act includes reforms that could remedy the problem by improving access to care and limiting out-of-pocket costs for this group. (August 2010) Subscription Required
From the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured:
Louisiana’s Express Lane Eligibility profiles Louisiana’s innovative application of express lane eligibility in Medicaid and CHIP. The brief defines express lane eligibility, explains how it works in Louisiana, looks at key issues that have emerged from the state’s experience, and discusses Louisiana’s plans for the future of express lane eligibility. (August 2010)
From the Kaiser Family Foundation:
Benefits and Cost-Sharing for Adult Medicaid Beneficiaries provides the details of the benefit and cost-sharing rules that will apply to the coverage available to newly-eligible adult Medicaid beneficiaries under the Affordable Care Act. (August 2010)
Eligibility and Enrollment Processes for Medicaid, CHIP, and Subsidies in the Exchanges includes a useful chart that summarizes and provides highlights of sections of the Affordable Care Act regarding the main enrollment provisions. The chart is organized to reflect the various provisions that require enrollment systems to be consumer-friendly, coordinated, simplified, and technology-enabled. (August 2010)
From the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Urban Institute:
Does the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Permit the Purchase of Health Insurance across State Lines? finds that, while the law does allow some cross-state sales of insurance, there are important differences between provisions in the Affordable Care Act and earlier proposals. Two important differences are that the law requires all states to meet a minimum standard of insurance regulation, and cross-state sales will not be allowed unless states join together to form a compact. (August 2010)
How Will the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Affect Small, Medium, and Large Businesses? provides an overview of the requirements and options for businesses under the new law, including the new Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) exchanges that will be available to small (<50 workers) and medium-sized (50-100 workers) businesses, and the impact these requirements will have. (August 2010)
