New on the Web 85 (October 2011)
From the AARP Foundation, the Commonwealth Fund, and the SCAN Foundation: “Raising Expectations: A State Scorecard on Long-Term Services and Supports for Older Adults, People with Disabilities, and Family Caregivers”
From the Alliance for Health Reform: “Long-Term Services and Supports: A Rebalancing Act”
From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: “Healthy People 2010 Final Review”
From the Employee Benefit Research Insitute (EBRI): “2011 Health Confidence Survey: Most Americans Unfamiliar with Key Aspect of Health Reform”
From Health Affairs: “Achieving Equity in Health,” “Putting Limits on ‘Medigap’”
From the Kaiser Family Foundation: “Implementing Health Insurance Exchanges: State Profiles,” “Employer Health Benefits 2011 Annual Survey,” “Medigap Reform: Setting the Context”
From the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute: “The Role of Exchanges in Quality Improvement: An Analysis of the Options”
From the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Medical Care: “Spillover Effects of Community Uninsurance on Working-Age Adults and Seniors”
From the AARP Foundation, the Commonwealth Fund, and the SCAN Foundation:
Raising Expectations: A State Scorecard on Long-Term Services and Supports for Older Adults, People with Disabilities, and Family Caregivers measures state-level performance of LTSS systems. It includes state-specific scores and rankings for the following dimensions of long-term care: affordability and access, choice of setting and provider, quality of life and quality of care, and support for family caregivers. (September 2011)
From the Alliance for Health Reform:
Long-Term Services and Supports: A Rebalancing Act is a briefing that answers the following questions: Are there sufficient home- and community-based programs in all states to address the aging population? How can incentives in the Affordable Care Act be used to develop new approaches to long-term services? And how effective are existing federal initiatives to promote care in home- and community-based settings? A podcast, transcript, and webcast are available. (October 2011)
From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
Healthy People 2010 Final Review assesses progress in achieving the objectives that were set by the Department of Health and Human Services 10 years ago, including improving access to high-quality care, eliminating health disparities, and increasing the quality and years of healthy life. (October 2011)
From the Employee Benefit Research Insitute (EBRI):
2011 Health Confidence Survey: Most Americans Unfamiliar with Key Aspect of Health Reform summarizes attitudes toward the health care system. It found that 62 percent of Americans are not at all familiar with the insurance exchanges that are a part of the Affordable Care Act, and it found that overall confidence regarding the health care system has not changed since the law was passed last year. (September 2011)
From Health Affairs:
Achieving Equity in Health summarizes what is known about disparities in health and health care. It also discusses recent efforts to close these gaps and makes policy recommendations for moving forward. (October 2011)
Putting Limits on ‘Medigap’ explains how Medigap works and explores the arguments for and against changing its coverage options. Some have proposed that people with comprehensive Medigap plans should pay more for Medicare Part B premiums, while others recommend putting limits on what Medigap covers. (September 2011)
From the Kaiser Family Foundation:
Implementing Health Insurance Exchanges: State Profiles examines each state’s progress in setting up the exchanges that were mandated by the Affordable Care Act. The state-specific briefs cover where states are in the legislative process, whether states have received federal funding, and their next steps. (October 2011)
Employer Health Benefits 2011 Annual Survey looks at trends in job-based health coverage, including premiums, employee contributions, and cost-sharing. The survey found that average annual premiums for family health coverage are 9 percent higher than they were in 2010. (September 2011)
Medigap Reform: Setting the Context provides national and state-level data on Medigap enrollment and premiums. Categories of data include the percentage of Medicare beneficiaries with a Medigap policy, the percentage of enrollees in plans with first dollar coverage, and the costs of monthly premiums. (September 2011)
From the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute:
The Role of Exchanges in Quality Improvement: An Analysis of the Options explains that, because an exchange can aggregate the purchasing power of individuals and small groups, it could improve health care quality as well as payment and delivery. The piece describes options that states could pursue to use their exchanges to drive these improvements. (September 2011)
From the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Medical Care:
Spillover Effects of Community Uninsurance on Working-Age Adults and Seniors finds that people with private insurance or Medicare who are living in an area with a high rate of uninsurance are less likely to be satisfied with the health care they receive, and they report more difficulty getting the care they need. (September 2011)
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