In recent years, medical malpractice law and insurance have become popular topics for debate in Washington, DC and around the country. This report provides an overview of the issues surrounding medical malpractice law, including the legal changes that states have made over the past thirty years in response to periodic concerns about rising medical malpractice costs; some newer proposals for changing medical malpractice law; and trend data for malpractice claims.

This report was prepared for the Foundation by Peter P. Budetti of the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and Teresa M. Waters of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.

Report (.pdf)

This report from the The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Task Force on HIV/AIDS Working Committee on Prevention, in collaboration with the Kaiser Family Foundation, provides an overview of the HIV prevention indicators used by the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in 15 focus countries and compares them to those used by other major international initiatives. The overview is designed to inform policymakers and other experts in an area that is complex, often controversial, and one that will become increasingly important in years to come.

The report was authored by the co-chairs of the Task Force’s Working Committee on Prevention, Jennifer Kates, vice president and director of HIV Policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation and Phillip Nieburg, senior associate at CSIS.

CSIS Report (.pdf)

This report explores how four state Medicaid programs — Washington, Wyoming, Minnesota, and North Carolina — differ in their use of Oregon’s Drug Effectiveness Review Project (DERP) to manage their prescription drug benefit.

Report (.pdf)

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Task Force on HIV/AIDS, co-chaired by Senators Bill Frist (R-TN) and Russell Feingold (D-WI), outlines strategic choices that the United States faces in fighting the global HIV/AIDS pandemic. The Task Force seeks to build bipartisan consensus on critical U.S. policy initiatives promoting leadership in strengthening prevention, care, and treatment of HIV/AIDS in affected countries around the world.

The Task Force and the Kaiser Family Foundation have collaborated on several activities including the development of policy briefs on key policy issues and Jennifer Kates, Vice President and Director of HIV Policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation co-chairs the Task Force’s Working Committee on Prevention, with Phil Nieburg, senior associate at CSIS.

Recent reports and articles by the Task Force and the Kaiser Family Foundation include:

HIV Prevention Paramount in the Next Phase of the U.S. Global HIV/AIDS Response(October 2007)

The G8, Russia’s Presidency and HIV/AIDS in Eurasia (June 2006)

HIV Prevention in Complex, Macro-scale Societies (December 2005)

Prevention Indicators for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (May 2005)

Enhancing the Rapid Response Capacity of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator: Lessons from Other U.S. Emergency Responses (June 2004)

Medicaid and Long-Term Care

While Medicaid is the nation’s major source of financing for long-term care services, paying for over 40% of total long-term care, its role is not well understood. Misperceptions on who qualifies and what is covered are common. A fact sheet and a Q & A sheet about Medicaid’s role in long-term care assistance provide basic information on the topic.

Medicaid’s Role in Long-Term Care: Q & A

Medicaid and Long-Term Care Fact Sheet

Financing long-term care for the nearly 10 million Americans who need services and support to assist them in life’s daily activities continues to challenge the nation. While Medicaid is the nation’s major source of financing for long-term care services, paying for over 40% of total long-term care, its role is not well understood. Misperceptions on who qualifies and what is covered are common. A new question and answer fact sheet about Medicaid’s long-term care assistance provides basic information on Medicaid’s role for those with long-term care needs.

Fact Sheet (.pdf)

Since the mid-1990s the Kaiser Family Foundation has partnered with U.S.-based media companies on comprehensive HIV/AIDS campaigns. This paper, published in Health Affairs, Vol. 24, Issue 3, May/June 2005, outlines the unique public education model that it is using, and how Kaiser is expanding this work globally by working with some of the largest media companies in the world to undertake new initiatives in Russia and India.

Health Affairs Article (free access)

Abstract

Full Article

Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers: Health Insurance Coverage and Access to Care

Nearly three million workers earn their living through migrant or seasonal farm labor. Migrant and seasonal farmworkers and their families confront health challenges stemming from the nature of their work, their extreme poverty and mobility, and living and working arrangements that impede access to health coverage and care. This brief provides an overview of migrant and seasonal farmworkers and the health challenges they face and considers options for improving their health coverage and access to care.

Executive Summary (.pdf)

Report (.pdf)

About Univision:

This report examines how medical support requirements impact parents applying for Medicaid coverage for themselves and their children. The report draws from case studies of medical support procedures obtained in five states: Arizona, Connecticut, Minnesota, South Carolina and Wisconsin.

Report (.pdf)