New on the Web 74 (November 2010)
From the Alliance for Health Reform and the Commonwealth Fund: “Designing a Marketplace that Works: Steps to Affordable Coverage”
From the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: “An Update on State Budget Cuts: At Least 46 States Have Imposed Cuts that Hurt Vulnerable Residents and Cause Job Loss,” “Online Services for Key Low-Income Benefit Programs: What States Provide On-Line with Respect to Food Stamps, TANF, Child Care Assistance, Medicaid, and CHIP,” “Some Recent Reports Overstate the Effect on State Budgets of the Medicaid Expansions in the Health Reform Law”
From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: “Vital Signs: Health Insurance Coverage and Health Care Utilization—United States, 2006-2009 and January-March 2010”
From Health Affairs: “Medical Loss Ratios,” “‘Grandfathered’ Health Plans”
From the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured: “Optimizing Medicaid Enrollment: Wisconsin’s ACCESS Internet Portal,” “State Fiscal Conditions and Medicaid”
From the Kaiser Family Foundation: “Getting Connected: Can the ACA Improve Access to Health Care in Rural Communities?,” “Medicare Advantage 2011 Data Spotlight: Plan Availability and Premiums”
From the Alliance for Health Reform and the Commonwealth Fund:
Designing a Marketplace that Works: Steps to Affordable Coverage discusses the key issues for state and federal officials to consider when designing an exchange, including the timeline for developing an exchange, whether states should design their own exchanges, and the key challenges for states in implementing the new law. (October 2010)
From the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities:
An Update on State Budget Cuts: At Least 46 States Have Imposed Cuts that Hurt Vulnerable Residents and Cause Job Loss discusses the kinds of services that states have cut and explains the impact of these on the recession. The brief provides state-specific data on cuts to public health, including Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Cuts to these services end up reducing economic activity, which eliminates jobs and deepens the recession. (November 2010)
Online Services for Key Low-Income Benefit Programs: What States Provide On-Line with Respect to Food Stamps, TANF, Child Care Assistance, Medicaid, and CHIP provides handy links to state websites for these programs. The information that is available varies, ranging from basic program information to application forms, eligibility screening tools, and statistical information about the number of participants. (November 2010)
Some Recent Reports Overstate the Effect on State Budgets of the Medicaid Expansions in the Health Reform Law looks at the flaws in these reports, specifically the problematic assumptions that were used to produce these overstated estimates. For example, these reports calculate the cost to state budgets based on the assumption that every eligible person will enroll, despite decades of experience showing that enrollment never reaches every eligible person. (October 2010)
From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
Vital Signs: Health Insurance Coverage and Health Care Utilization—United States, 2006-2009 and January-March 2010 finds that 59.1 million people were uninsured during 2010, an increase from 56.4 million people in 2008. This trend cuts across age and income levels, meaning that more and more people are going without needed health care. (November 2010)
From Health Affairs:
Medical Loss Ratios describes what a medical loss ratio is, and it explains that how the federal regulations eventually define what constitutes a medical cost versus an administrative cost is important to how effective those regulations will be. (November 2010)
'Grandfathered’ Health Plans explains how the new law “grandfathers” existing health plans and what that will mean for consumers, insurers, and employers. (October 2010)
From the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured:
Optimizing Medicaid Enrollment: Wisconsin’s ACCESS Internet Portal is part of a series that profiles innovative applications of technology in Medicaid programs, illustrating ways that states can enhance existing programs and prepare to implement health reform. The brief looks at Wisconsin’s online tool for applying for the state’s low-income health coverage and other assistance programs. (October 2010)
State Fiscal Conditions and Medicaid discusses the negative impacts of the economic climate on state budgets and how funding for Medicaid programs has been affected. The brief also looks at how programs have coped with these new funding constraints in light of recent increases in enrollment. (October 2010)
From the Kaiser Family Foundation:
Getting Connected: Can the ACA Improve Access to Health Care in Rural Communities? provides an overview of the provisions in the new law that will benefit rural communities, focusing on provisions that are designed to increase the health care workforce and encourage cooperation between rural health providers and urban medical centers. (October 2010)
Medicare Advantage 2011 Data Spotlight: Plan Availability and Premiums reviews recent changes to the program and examines trends in plan participation, premiums, and certain benefits, including prescription drug coverage. The analysis shows that the market will experience modest changes next year, but individual enrollees’ experiences will vary by county and across plans. (October 2010)
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