A Comparison of Different Approaches to Extend Medicaid Coverage

Approaches have been put forward to extend Medicaid coverage to Hurricane Katrina survivors, but they differ significantly regarding the extent to which they extend Medicaid eligibility and in the role of federal funding for coverage of Hurricane survivors. This publication provides an overview of these approaches and their key differences. First is a table comparing the major components of the September 15, 2005 Senate bill, the Administration’s waiver initiative, and the Texas waiver. Second is a fact sheet that provides greater detail on the Texas waiver and highlights some key questions raised by the waiver.

Issue Brief (.pdf)

The 50-state annual survey of about budget conditions and Medicaid cost containment actions in FY2005-06 shows that all states implemented and planned more Medicaid cost-containment actions, but are also implementing expansions as the gap between Medicaid spending growth and state tax revenue narrowed.

Report (.pdf)

Executive Summary (.pdf)

Attention to the details of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) has largely focused on the new drug benefit and, to a lesser degree, to new payments and rules for private plan participation in Medicare. Less noticed is a provision in the law that created a new measure of financial health of the Medicare program to be included in the annual report of the Boards of Trustees of the Medicare Trust Funds.

The new financial measure established by the MMA assesses how much of Medicare spending is financed by general revenues (mainly made up of income taxes). When general revenues exceed 45 percent of total Medicare spending, general revenues are deemed to be used “in excess.” The intent of the measure is to treat a 45 percent contribution of general revenues to Medicare as the upper bound of reasonable support for the program from this one funding source.

This brief takes an in-depth look at the program’s new solvency test, how it differs from other commonly reported indicators of Medicare’s financial health, and some of the implications and issues it raises for the future.

It is authored by Marilyn Moon, who was a public trustee for the Social Security and Medicare trust funds and is now of the American Institute for Research.

Premium Assistance Programs: How Are They Financed and Do States Save Money?

This brief examines premium assistance programs implemented under section 1115 waivers in five states (Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah) to determine how they are financed; their eligibility, benefit, and cost sharing requirements; their methods for determining cost-effectiveness; and cost savings.

Issue Brief (.pdf)

Executive Summary (.pdf)

Medicaid and Budget Reconciliation: Options and Implications of Savings Proposals

This issue brief examines the context for federal Medicaid savings proposals, emerging themes for savings and the potential impact on Medicaid beneficiaries, states and providers.

Issue Brief (.pdf)

Tools for Reporting on HIV/AIDSThese tools, including the Reporter’s Manual on HIV/AIDS, The Kaiser AIDS Timeline, and pages with country-specific data among others, will help you navigate through the Kaiser Family Foundation’s current work and resources on HIV/AIDS.

The San Jose Mercury News/Kaiser Survey Project

About the Partnership:

This survey project is designed to explore social issues that are of special concern to the San Francisco Bay Area, but are also important to the nation as a whole. Representatives from the San Jose Mercury News and Kaiser work together to develop survey questionnaires and analyze results on which a series of articles are based. Kaiser pays for survey related expenses and each organization bears sole responsibility for the work that appears under its name.

function SubmitNewSearch(){// validate date rangeselected1 = frmSort.sm.selectedIndex;selected2 = frmSort.sy.selectedIndex;selected3 = frmSort.em.selectedIndex;selected4 = frmSort.ey.selectedIndex;if ((selected1 == 0) && (selected2 == 0) && (selected3 == 0) && (selected4 == 0))document.frmSort.submit();else if ((selected1 > 0) && (selected2 > 0) && (selected3 > 0) && (selected4 > 0))document.frmSort.submit();elsealert(“Please enter all date range criteria”);}function MoveToPage(page){document.frmMoveToPage.page.value = page;document.frmMoveToPage.submit();return true;}function ViewAll(){document.frmMoveToPage.page.value = 1;document.frmMoveToPage.viewall.value = 1;document.frmMoveToPage.submit();return true;}

View RSS Feed

The USA Today/Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health Survey Project

About the Partnership:

The USA Today/Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health Survey Project is a joint partnership with the goal of examining public knowledge, values, attitudes and experiences with health care issues. Representatives of USA Today, The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, and Harvard School of Public Health work together to develop surveys and analyze the results. USA Today publishes stories based on the data, retaining editorial control over the content published by the paper.

function SubmitNewSearch(){// validate date rangeselected1 = frmSort.sm.selectedIndex;selected2 = frmSort.sy.selectedIndex;selected3 = frmSort.em.selectedIndex;selected4 = frmSort.ey.selectedIndex;if ((selected1 == 0) && (selected2 == 0) && (selected3 == 0) && (selected4 == 0))document.frmSort.submit();else if ((selected1 > 0) && (selected2 > 0) && (selected3 > 0) && (selected4 > 0))document.frmSort.submit();elsealert(“Please enter all date range criteria”);}function MoveToPage(page){document.frmMoveToPage.page.value = page;document.frmMoveToPage.submit();return true;}function ViewAll(){document.frmMoveToPage.page.value = 1;document.frmMoveToPage.viewall.value = 1;document.frmMoveToPage.submit();return true;}

View RSS Feed

PAGEURL

FILENAME http://www.kff.org/upload/513927_1.pdf513927_1.pdf1 Records Returned

in Health Reporting

The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation

The fifteen and their host newspapers/TV stations are:

The Baltimore Sun – Emily Brown The Boston Globe – Naila Fin MoreiraThe Charlotte Observer – Sachi Fujimori*The Detroit Free Press – Lubna TakruriThe Milwaukee Journal Sentinel – Dani McClainNewsday – Sophia ChangThe Oregonian – My-Thuan TranThe Orlando Sentinel/El Sentinel – Ashima SingalThe Plain Dealer, Cleveland – Erika BerasThe Sacramento Bee – Tomio GeronThe San Jose Mercury News – Kendra MarrThe Sun-Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale – Toni De AztlanThe Washington Post – Jeffrey GhassemiBET News –KTVU/2-TV, San Francisco-Oakland – KXAS/5-TV, Dallas-Fort Worth –

*In 2006, The Detroit Free Press will be sponsoring their own Kaiser intern.