New on the Web 79 (April 2011)
From the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: “Medicaid Block Grant Would Produce Disparate and Inequitable Results across States,” “Rhode Island’s Global Waiver Not a Model for How States Would Fare under a Medicaid Block Grant”
From the Commonwealth Fund:“High Performance Accountable Care: Building on Success and Learning from Experience,” “Medicare Advantage in the Era of Health Reform: Progress in Leveling the Playing Field”
From the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute Center for Children and Families: “The Massachusetts and Utah Health Insurance Exchanges: Lessons Learned”
From the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS): “HHS Action Plan to Reduce Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities”
From the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured: “Implications of a Federal Block Grant for Medicaid”
From the Kaiser Family Foundation: “Health Care on a Budget: The Financial Burden of Health Spending by Medicare Households,” “How People Get Health Coverage under the Affordable Care Act Beginning in 2014,” “A Profile of Health Insurance Exchange Enrollees”
From the National Academy for State Health Policy and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: “Medicaid’s Role in the Health Benefits Exchange: A Road Map for States”
From the National Partnership for Women and Families: “The Affordable Care Act: Improving Health Care for Women”
From the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Minority Health: “Report on Minority Health Activities as Required by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, P.L. 111-148”
From the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Urban Institute: "Multi-State Health Insurance Exchanges”
From the Urban Institute: “Who Purchases Long-Term Care Insurance?”
From the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities:
Medicaid Block Grant Would Produce Disparate and Inequitable Results across States explains that, while all states would face substantial reductions in federal funding under a block grant, states that currently have relatively low spending levels and those with the highest spending levels would be hit the hardest. (March 2011)
Rhode Island’s Global Waiver Not a Model for How States Would Fare under a Medicaid Block Grant reveals that Rhode Island’s unique waiver actually granted the state even more funding than it would have received under a traditional waiver, unlike current block grant proposals that seek to cut funding by hundreds of billions dollars. In addition, savings under the Rhode Island waiver have been greatly exaggerated. (March 2011)
From the Commonwealth Fund:
High Performance Accountable Care: Building on Success and Learning from Experience explains the rationale behind Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), describes different models available for ACOs, and offers recommendations on how to successfully implement the ACO provision in the health care law. (April 2011)
Medicare Advantage in the Era of Health Reform: Progress in Leveling the Playing Field looks at payment levels in the Medicare Advantage program for 2010, taking into account the different factors that affect payment levels and variations in payment levels across states and counties. The health reform law gradually lowers Medicare Advantage overpayments, bringing their payments more in line with traditional Medicare. (March 2011)
From the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS):
HHS Action Plan to Reduce Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities provides a brief overview of health disparities and outlines how HHS plans to combat disparities through increasing efficiency and transparency in HHS programs, strengthening the health services workforce, and advancing innovation, among other strategies. (April 2011)
From the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute Center for Children and Families:
The Massachusetts and Utah Health Insurance Exchanges: Lessons Learned examines the quality and choice of plans, affordability of coverage, and ease of enrollment for each plan and outlines the most important lessons from each state. (March 2011)
From the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured:
Health Care on a Budget: The Financial Burden of Health Spending by Medicare Households assesses how much out-of-pocket health care costs vary by age and poverty level and how much spending changes over time for both Medicare and non-Medicare households. On average, Medicare households spend about 10 percent more on health expenses than non-Medicare households. (April 2011)
How People Get Health Coverage under the Affordable Care Act Beginning in 2014 is an easy-to-use flow chart that explains how different people will get coverage under the health reform law based on their income level and job status. (March 2011)
A Profile of Health Insurance Exchange Enrollees highlights key characteristics of people who will enroll in the exchanges. This piece is designed to help federal and state policy makers make informed decisions about how to structure the exchanges to best meet the health needs of these groups. (March 2011)
From the National Academy for State Health Policy and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation:
Medicaid’s Role in the Health Benefits Exchange: A Road Map for States examines the issues that states will confront as they consider how best to integrate Medicaid into the administration and operation of exchanges, including streamlining enrollment procedures and outreach efforts. (March 2011)
From the National Partnership for Women and Families:
The Affordable Care Act: Improving Health Care for Women explains the different ways that the health reform law benefits women, such as increasing access to coverage, ending gender rating, prohibiting discrimination based on pre-existing conditions, and increasing access to preventive services. (March 2011)
From the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Minority Health:
Report on Minority Health Activities as Required by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, P.L. 111-148 provides a detailed summary to Congress of HHS’s work to improve minority health, the establishment of the offices of minority health, and HHS’s efforts to coordinate minority health and health disparities activities. (March 2011)
From the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Urban Institute:
Multi-State Health Insurance Exchanges explains why states may want to pursue regional exchanges, including to promote pooling across state lines and to establish more stable risk pools by combining markets in small population states. The brief also cautions lawmakers about possible drawbacks, such as adverse selection and political and administrative issues that may arise. (April 2011)
From the Urban Institute:
Who Purchases Long-Term Care Insurance? provides a good overview of long-term care, including what it is, how many and what kinds of people need long-term care, and what types of long-term care insurance are available. (March 2011)
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