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  • Health Reform Opportunities: Improving Policy for Dual Eligibles

    Issue Brief

    As the nation considers national health reform, this brief provides an overview of opportunities to realign federal and state policy for the dual eligibles to promote a more rational, cost-efficient system for 9 million of the poorest, sickest and highest-cost people covered by both Medicaid and Medicare. Navigating two programs with different rules and financing incentives is complex for beneficiaries and providers, impedes efforts to improve care coordination and results in cost-shifting between programs that…

  • The Effects of the Economic Recession on Communities of Color

    Issue Brief

    This issue brief examines some of the challenges associated with employment, daily life and access to health care among racial minorities, who tend to be disproportionately affected by many of the consequences of economic hard times. High unemployment rates, coupled with vast differences in savings and wealth, have left many individuals struggling to afford such basic necessities as housing and food, and have resulted in lapses in health coverage and difficulties paying for needed medical…

  • Emergency Departments Under Growing Pressure

    Issue Brief

    This issue brief relies on interviews with practicing clinicians to explore the impact of the recession on hospital emergency departments that are under growing pressure as patient volume increases, health coverage declines and medical costs present new challenges to unemployed families. Issue Brief (.pdf)

  • Explaining Health Care Reform: How Might a Reform Plan Be Financed?

    Issue Brief

    One of the key challenges in enacting a health care reform plan is how to finance it among government, employers, and individuals. Of particular concern to policymakers is what effect a health reform plan would have on government spending and the federal budget. President Obama and Congressional leaders have said that any health reform plan should not add to the budget deficit over a 10 year period. This brief explains the likely sources of added…

  • CHIP TIPS: New Federal Funding Available to Cover Immigrant Children and Pregnant Women

    Issue Brief

    This brief examines a new option under the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 that allows states to receive federal funds for providing Medicaid and CHIP coverage to lawfully residing immigrant children and pregnant women regardless of when they entered the country. Previously, states had been prohibited from using federal Medicaid or CHIP funds to cover legal immigrants who had been in the country fewer than five years. The brief, the fifth installment…

  • Money Follows the Person: An Early Implementation Snapshot

    Issue Brief

    This issue brief examines the early successes and challenges of the Money Follows the Person Demonstration (MFP), a Medicaid initiative enacted into law in 2006 that gives states enhanced federal support to balance their Medicaid long-term care programs by providing more services in the community and fewer in institutional settings. A 2008 Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured survey of 29 states receiving MFP grants turned up several key findings, including that several hundred…

  • Survey Brief: Views and Experiences with HIV Testing Among African Americans in the U.S.

    Issue Brief

    This survey brief, based on the 2009 Survey of Americans on HIV/AIDS, examines African Americans' reported views and experiences with HIV testing. The U.S. AIDS epidemic has disproportionately affected African Americans, who account for nearly half of new infections, while representing just 12 percent of the U.S. population. The brief highlights trends and differences among African Americans by age and gender when noteworthy. Survey Brief (.pdf)

  • Survey Brief: Views and Experiences with HIV Testing in the U.S.

    Issue Brief

    This survey brief, based on the 2009 Survey of Americans on HIV/AIDS, takes a deeper look at the U.S. public's attitudes towards and reported experiences with HIV testing, including which groups are most likely to report being tested for HIV, reasons for being tested or not being tested, communications with doctors and partners about HIV/AIDS, information needs related to testing, and perceptions of testing-related stigma. Survey Brief (.pdf)

  • Medicare Prescription Drug Plans in 2009 and Key Changes Since 2006: Summary of Findings

    Issue Brief

    Since 2006, Medicare beneficiaries have had access to prescription drug coverage offered by private plans, either stand-alone prescription drug plans (PDPs) or Medicare Advantage prescription drug plans (MA-PD plans). Today, more than 26 million Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in Medicare drug plans, including 17.5 million in stand-alone prescription drug plans and 9 million in Medicare Advantage drug plans. This report summarizes findings from a series of Medicare Part D 2009 Data Spotlights documenting changes in…

  • CHIP TIPS: CHIP Financing Structure

    Issue Brief

    This brief, the fourth in a series, examines important changes to CHIP’s financing structure under the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009. The law includes a number of important programmatic and financing changes that affect both Medicaid and CHIP. Among the most important changes include significant new funding for the CHIP program, changes in the formula for distributing CHIP funds among states and a new option for states to decide whether to use…