New on the Web 86 (November 2011)

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From the Alliance for Health Reform: “50 Million Uninsured: The Faces behind the Headlines,” “Inside Deficit Reduction: What It Means for Medicare,” “Medicaid Innovations: Can Managed Care Cut Costs and Improve Value?”

From the Center for Studying Health System Change: “Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance: Down but Not Out”

From the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: “The Current Services Baseline: A Tool for Understanding Budget Choices”

From the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services: “Informing CHIP and Medicaid Outreach and Education: Key Findings from a National Survey of Low-Income Parents”

From Demos and Young Invincibles: “The State of Young America: Health Care and Coverage”

From the Employee Benefit Research Insitute (EBRI): “Tracking Health Insurance Coverage by Month: Trends in Employment-Based Coverage among Workers, and Access to Coverage among Uninsured Workers, 1995-2010”  

From Health Affairs: “Awareness of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities Has Improved Only Modestly over a Decade,” “Eliminating Health and Health Care Disparities among the Growing Population of People with Disabilities,” “Indian Health Service Innovations Have Helped Reduce Health Disparities Affecting American Indian and Alaska Native People”

From the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured: “Medicaid’s Long-Term Care Users: Spending Patterns across Institutional and Community-Based Settings,” “Moving Ahead amid Fiscal Challenges: A Look at Medicaid Spending, Coverage, and Policy Trends,” “The Uninsured and Their Health Care Needs: How Have They Changed Since the Recession?”

From the Kaiser Family Foundation: “How Competitive Are State Insurance Markets?,” “Medicare Part D: A First Look at Part D Plan Offerings in 2012”  

From the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Urban Institute: “Accountable Care Organizations in Medicare and the Private Sector: A Status Update”

From the Urban Institute: “Long-Term Care in an Era of Shrinking Government”

From the U.S. PIRG Education Fund: “Making the Grade: A Scorecard for State Health Insurance Exchanges” 

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From the Alliance for Health Reform:

50 Million Uninsured: The Faces behind the Headlines is a panel discussion that addresses who the uninsured are, why so many Americans lack coverage, the trends among different segments of the population, and what the high number of uninsured people means for health care costs. A webcast and podcast are available. (October 2011)

Inside Deficit Reduction: What It Means for Medicare is a briefing that answers the following questions: Which proposals to generate Medicare savings will receive serious consideration from the super committee? What impact would these changes have on beneficiaries, providers, and insurers? And would stakeholders prefer the automatic reductions in sequestration to any recommendations the super committee might make? A webcast, podcast, and transcript are available. (October 2011)

Medicaid Innovations: Can Managed Care Cut Costs and Improve Value? explores which states are planning Medicaid managed care expansions, lessons learned from past efforts, and how effective managed care is for high-need, high-cost populations. A webcast, podcast, and transcript are available. (October 2011)

From the Center for Studying Health System Change:

Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance: Down but Not Out explains that, while it is convenient to refer to job-based coverage as a single concept, the needs of employers differ dramatically. Similarly, the impact of the Affordable Care Act will vary substantially depending on differences in state approaches to reform implementation and local labor market conditions. (October 2011)

From the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: 

The Current Services Baseline: A Tool for Understanding Budget Choices explains that a current services baseline can serve as a reality check in the budget process by showing the cost of maintaining programs at their existing levels in the coming year. The baseline is essential to determining the potential impact of a proposed policy change compared to current practices. (October 2011)

From the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services: 

Informing CHIP and Medicaid Outreach and Education: Key Findings from a National Survey of Low-Income Parents reports that 93 percent of parents are “somewhat satisfied” or “very satisfied” with their child’s Medicaid or CHIP coverage. It also presents findings pertaining to awareness of these programs, barriers to enrollment, and preferences for enrollment methods. (November 2011)

From Demos and Young Invincibles: 

The State of Young America: Health Care and Coverage describes the difficulties young adults face in obtaining health insurance and paying for medical services. It notes that provisions of the Affordable Care Act have started to reverse the trend of rising uninsurance among young adults. (November 2011)

From the Employee Benefit Research Insitute (EBRI):

Tracking Health Insurance Coverage by Month: Trends in Employment-Based Coverage among Workers, and Access to Coverage among Uninsured Workers, 1995-2010 examines trends in job-based health benefits to show the effects of recessions and unemployment on health coverage. (October 2011)

From Health Affairs:

Awareness of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities Has Improved Only Modestly over a Decade discusses survey results that revealed limited awareness of health disparities in spite of their prevalence. This is problematic because awareness is the first step toward changing behavior and taking corrective action. Subscription required. (October 2011)

Eliminating Health and Health Care Disparities among the Growing Population of People with Disabilities explains the importance of addressing the needs of the 54 million Americans living with disabilities, who are more likely to face health problems and health care disparities. Subscription required. (October 2011)

Indian Health Service Innovations Have Helped Reduce Health Disparities Affecting American Indian and Alaska Native People describes the achievements of the Indian Health Service (IHS), but it notes that health disparities persist and that continued funding and increased innovation are required. Subscription required. (October 2011)

From the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured:

Medicaid’s Long-Term Care Users: Spending Patterns across Institutional and Community-Based Settings provides an overview of the diverse population of Medicaid beneficiaries who rely on long-term services. Although long-term care users make up only 6 percent of the Medicaid population, they account for nearly half of total Medicaid spending. (October 2011)

Moving Ahead amid Fiscal Challenges: A Look at Medicaid Spending, Coverage, and Policy Trends provides results from a 50-state Medicaid budget survey, which highlighted spending, enrollment, delivery system changes, and quality initiatives. (October 2011)

The Uninsured and Their Health Care Needs: How Have They Changed Since the Recession? finds that uninsurance rose the fastest among the near-elderly, whites, and those with higher incomes, likely because of the recession that began in 2007. (October 2011)

From the Kaiser Family Foundation:

How Competitive Are State Insurance Markets? assesses state health insurance markets in order to establish a baseline and provide context for policy decisions about exchanges and rate review. (October 2011)

Medicare Part D: A First Look at Part D Plan Offerings in 2012 examines the stand-alone prescription drug plans that are available to Medicare beneficiaries. Enrollees will have a choice of approximately 31 plans, and average premiums are expected to rise by 4 percent, which is the lowest increase since the program began. (October 2011)

From the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Urban Institute:

Accountable Care Organizations in Medicare and the Private Sector: A Status Update provides an overview of ACOs, their origins, and the current status of Medicare and private health plans adopting this model. (November 2011)

From the Urban Institute:

Long-Term Care in an Era of Shrinking Government features panelists discussing how the country can deliver and finance long-term care for its rapidly aging population, what role providers will play as Medicare and Medicaid payments are cut, how communities can help elderly or disabled neighbors, and how to better prepare the long-term care workforce. (November 2011)

From the U.S. PIRG Education Fund:

Making the Grade: A Scorecard for State Health Insurance Exchanges assesses the progress that states have made in establishing exchanges. For those states that have not begun to set up their exchange, the report evaluates whether they will ultimately be successful in improving their insurance markets. (October 2011)

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