A new survey of states detailing current Medicaid spending, the factors contributing to the growth, and what states are doing to curb the growth.

• Read the update, “Medicaid and State Budgets: An October 2001 Update”

A new report describes the Report to Congress by the Department of Health and Human Services on consumer protection and quality assurance requirements for Medicaid managed care and discusses the differences between the original Federal rule and the revised one.

• Report
• Executive Summary

Health News Index September/October, 2001

The September/October 2001 edition of the Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health Health News Index includes questions about major health stories covered in the news, including reports about rising health insurance premiums and Americans most important sources for health news and information. The Health News Index is designed to help the news media and people in the health field gain a better understanding of which health stories Americans are following and what they understand about those health issues.

• HNI September-October 2001
• Topline/Survey

A side-by-side comparison of the original and revised Federal rule for new consumer protection and quality assurance requirements for Medicaid managed care.

• Side-by-Side Comparison

This article, by Ruth Almeida and Lisa Dubay of the Urban Institute and Grace Ko of Brown University, examines the effect of insurance on low-income women’s access to care and use of health services. Using the 1997 National Survey of America’s Families, it examines access to health care for three groups of low-income women: those with Medicaid, those with private coverage, and those with no insurance. Uninsured low-income women were found to have experienced greater barriers to care and to have utilized fewer services, particularly preventive care, than women with either public or private coverage. Low-income women with Medicaid and private coverage had similar access to care indicating that broadening health care coverage options, either through the public-sector or through private options, would improve access to care for low-income women.

This article appeared in the Health Care Financing Review, Summer 2001, Vol. 22, No.4: 27-47 and was funded by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Journal Article (.pdf)

A new brief reviews the latest data available on states’ use of CHIP funds and explores the effect of a pending dip in CHIP funding on states’ ability to provide health care coverage to uninsured, low-income children.

A new background report highlights health coverage trends for children in Los Angeles County, examines some of the factors behind Medi-Cal enrollment growth, and attempts to draw relevant lessons for other counties and states.

Also see “First Glance at the Children’s Health Initiative in Santa Clara County, California”.

The Washington Post/Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard University Survey Project’s latest findings appeared in a series of occasional articles in The Washington Post beginning on June 22, 2001. The survey explores the public’s perspectives on social policies and the role of government, perceptions of the life experiences of people from other racial and ethnic groups, and their own personal experiences.

A new report reveals that CHIP provided coverage for 2.7 million low-income children in December 2000, a 48% increase from December 1999. The report also shows that enrollment in CHIP has consistently increased by roughly 900,000 children per year in its first three years of operation.

On September 28, 2000, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved mifepristone (RU486), the first dedicated medical abortion pill regimen. Many advocates on both sides of the abortion debate predicted that arrival of this new option would transform the abortion landscape – for women, for doctors, and for politicians. So, a year later, where are we?

• Chart Pack