New on the Web September 2012
From the Alliance for Health Reform: “Oral Health: Putting Teeth into the Health Care System”
From the Commonwealth Fund: “Infographics”
From Health Affairs: “Personal Responsibility: How Mitt Romney Embraced the Individual Mandate in Massachusetts Health Reform”
From the Journal of the American Medical Association: “Medicaid: Its Role Today and under the Affordable Care Act”
From the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured: “A Historical Review of How States Have Responded to the Availability of Federal Funds for Health Coverage,” “Medicaid Health Homes for Beneficiaries with Chronic Conditions”
From the Kaiser Family Foundation: “Implementing the ACA’s Medicaid-Related Health Reform Provisions after the Supreme Court’s Decision,” “Medicare Health and Prescription Drug Plan Tracker”
From the National Health Law Program: “10 Reasons the Medicaid Expansion Helps to Address Health Disparities,” “10 Reasons the Medicaid Expansion Is Good for Women,” “Medicaid Block Grants = Devastating Cuts to Health Care”
From the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the State Health Access Data Assistance Center: “Keeping Kids Covered: Number of Children with Health Coverage Increases during Economic Downturn”
From the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Urban Institute: “Deteriorating Health Insurance Coverage from 2000 to 2010: Coverage Takes the Biggest Hit in the South and Midwest”
From the Alliance for Health Reform:
Oral Health: Putting Teeth into the Health Care System discusses the lack of access to oral health coverage and care and addresses the following questions: How can we solve dental workforce shortages? How can collaborations between dentists and primary care physicians strengthen oral health care? How will the Affordable Care Act affect dental care? And what are the gaps and disparities in access to oral health care? (August 2012)
From the Commonwealth Fund:
Infographics is a series of graphic representations of data related to health care. Titles include “Income and Insurance Coverage Disparities in Health Care;” “Comparing Health Care Access across Local Areas;” “Health Care Varies Widely Even within States;” and “Where You Live Matters, for Access and Quality, Even for the Insured.” (August 2012)
From Health Affairs:
Personal Responsibility: How Mitt Romney Embraced the Individual Mandate in Massachusetts Health Reform provides insight into how and why Romney chose to take on health reform, and it explains why he decided to adopt the individual mandate. It also notes that, in 2011, less than 1 percent of residents paid a penalty for not having health coverage, and there has been little backlash against the individual mandate in Massachusetts. (September 2012)
From the Journal of the American Medical Association:
Medicaid: Its Role Today and under the Affordable Care Act is an infographic that shows that growth in per-capita Medicaid spending is lower than growth in private health care spending, that Medicaid improves access to care, and that the elderly and people with disabilities account for the majority of Medicaid spending. (August 2012)
From the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured:
A Historical Review of How States Have Responded to the Availability of Federal Funds for Health Coverage finds that, despite budget pressures, more than half of states implemented a Medicaid program within the first year that federal funding became available, and states have met new federal requirements to extend Medicaid coverage over time. It provides important context for how states may respond as they weigh the costs and benefits of expanding their Medicaid programs under the health care law. (August 2012)
Medicaid Health Homes for Beneficiaries with Chronic Conditions explains the basics of health homes (which allow states to manage and coordinate care for high-cost beneficiaries), such as who is eligible, what services are provided, which providers can qualify as health homes, and how payment works. It also examines the progress of the first four states to get approval for their health home plans: Missouri, New York, Oregon, and Rhode Island. (August 2012)
From the Kaiser Family Foundation:
Implementing the ACA’s Medicaid-Related Health Reform Provisions after the Supreme Court’s Decision answers several questions about the influence of the court’s decision that are less frequently considered, including: Does the decision affect the law’s Medicaid expansion for children in households with incomes up to 138 percent of poverty? Does it affect the law’s provisions to simplify eligibility and enrollment? And can states receive enhanced federal funding if they expand eligibility to an income limit below 138 percent of poverty? (August 2012)
Medicare Health and Prescription Drug Plan Tracker provides detailed information about plans and enrollment at the state and national levels for Medicare Advantage and prescription drug plans. It also includes county-level data for Medicare Advantage plans. The tracker can be used to graph, map, and analyze data over time and by geographic region. (August 2012)
From the National Health Law Program:
10 Reasons the Medicaid Expansion Helps to Address Health Disparities highlights benefits of the Medicaid expansion, such as improved access to coverage for low-income people of color, to prenatal care for women of color, and to a consistent source of care for those who live in rural areas. (August 2012)
10 Reasons the Medicaid Expansion Is Good for Women lists how the Medicaid expansion will help women: by expanding coverage to women without children, helping low-income women coordinate health care for their families, reducing out-of-pocket spending, and narrowing gender-based health disparities. (August 2012)
Medicaid Block Grants = Devastating Cuts to Health Care outlines nine arguments against converting Medicaid to a block grant. For example, Paul Ryan’s proposal provides states with a block grant that is well below current Medicaid spending, which would result in added pressure on state budgets. These budget strains could mean cuts to services like the comprehensive pediatric benefit package that 30 million children rely on. (August 2012)
From the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the State Health Access Data Assistance Center:
Keeping Kids Covered: Number of Children with Health Coverage Increases during Economic Downturn provides state-level data for children’s health coverage, broken down by family income level. It notes that, during the recession, the number of children living in low-income families increased in most states, meaning that more children qualified for public coverage through Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). (August 2012)
From the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Urban Institute:
Deteriorating Health Insurance Coverage from 2000 to 2010: Coverage Takes the Biggest Hit in the South and Midwest examines trends for children, parents, and adults without dependent children by income in the Midwest, Northeast, South, and West. It found that parents in the South experienced greater declines in coverage than parents in other areas, and children in the South and West experienced increased insurance rates due to the effectiveness of Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). (August 2012)
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