Some think they could be the biggest news for women since the pill. What are they? Microbicides. Scientists around the world are working to develop gels, creams, and other products that destroy or disable the viruses and bacteria that cause HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). While microbicides are not yet available, some public health experts believe they could hold promise as a method of prevention that women could initiate themselves. So, what, if any, role could microbicides play in addressing the global AIDS crisis? Could they really help curb the spread of other STDs? Is early research yielding real hope or are initial reports just hype? And what would it take to make microbicides a reality?

A panel of experts, including Polly Harrison, PhD, Director of the Alliance for Microbicide Development; Tina Hoff, Vice President, Public Health Information and Partnerships, Kaiser Family Foundation; Zeda Rosenberg, MD, Scientific Director, Family Health International; Jacqueline E. Darroch, PhD Senior Vice President and Vice President for Research, Alan Guttmacher Institute; and Steven W. Schondelmeyer, PhD, Professor of Pharmaceutical Economics, University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy discussed at an Emerging Issues in Reproductive Health Briefing discussed the future of microbicides, what it would take to bring them to market, and what they would mean for HIV and other STD prevention

• Agenda
• Resource List
• Biographies
• Condoms
• Issue Update
• Webcast of the briefing

Medicaid’s Disabled Population and Managed Care

This fact sheet highlights the key facts about the Medicaid managed care programs that serve persons with disabilities. It describes the Medicaid disabled population and the role managed care plays in serving them. It also provides information on enrollment in managed care, program features, and issues such as quality assurance, rate setting, and benefits.

• Fact Sheet

• Fact Sheet: Condoms

• Issue Update

Women comprise a growing share of new cases of AIDS in the United States. In 1986, women only represented 7% of new cases of AIDS. By 1999 that share had risen to nearly one quarter. Not only do women represent an increasing share of persons with AIDS, today they represent 30 percent of new HIV infections. Women of color, particularly African Americans, have been hardest hit among women.

This report provides an overview of the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on women. It draws from recent data and research on the epidemiology of HIV/AIDS among women, including data on cases and mortality; health services use and coverage; and attitudinal data from several recent national surveys. Key Facts presents current snapshots and trends over time, and examines the impact of the epidemic on women generally, as well as the disproportionate impact on minority women.

This report and a related fact sheet on Women and HIV/AIDS were developed for a Capitol Hill Briefing on Women and HIV/AIDS. For more information on the Foundation’s briefing series, see the Capitol Hill Briefing Series on HIV/AIDS page of our web site.

Report (.pdf)

Summarizes the number of uninsured individuals in rural America, who they are, and the barriers to coverage they experience.

• Fact Sheet

Medicaid’s Role for the Disabled Population Under Age 65

Defines the non-elderly disabled and summarizes Medicaid’s role in their health care coverage. Includes a description of enrollment requirements, benefits, spending and managed care concerns for the population.

• Fact Sheet

New and recent publications on immigrant health policy explore some of the complex problems the country faces in expanding health coverage to immigrants and provide basic statistics and facts on the current status of their health care.

• News Release: Recent Immigrants Have Had Little Impact on the Growth in America’s Uninsured Population
• Issue Paper: Is Immigration Responsible for the Growth in the Number of the Uninsured?
• Fact Sheet: Immigrants’ Health Care Coverage and Access
• Chart Pack: Immigrants’ Health Care: Coverage and Access
• Background Paper: Caring for Immigrants: Health Care Safety Nets in Los Angeles, New York, Miami, and Houston
• Policy Brief: Medicaid Eligibility and Citizenship Status: Policy Implications for Immigrant Populations
• Link to find “Left Out: Immigrants’ Access to Health Care and Insurance”
• Background Paper: Immigrants’ Access to Health Care After Welfare Reform: Findings from Focus Groups in Four Cities

President Bush’s Budget: An Overview of Health Programs

A new Foundation presentation provides an overview of President Bush s federal budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2002, focusing on its impact on health programs. The budget largely keeps pace with expected growth in Medicare and Medicaid, creates a prescription drug block grant to states for low-income seniors, proposes decreased funding for some public health programs, and would provide either limited or no growth for central programs related to HIV/AIDS.

• Presentation

This report by the Institute for Medicare Practice at Mount Sinai School of Medicine takes a hard look at the operational challenges facing Medicare and considers incremental, structural changes to improve the management of the Medicare program from the standpoint of beneficiaries and providers.

Based on interviews with key experts and Medicare stakeholders including representatives of beneficiaries, hospitals, physicians and other providers of care, as well as current and former Congressional and Administration staff, the report identifies problems in current operations and offers recommendations to address them. Recommended changes are grouped according to whether they would primarily impact beneficiaries, providers or general program administration. For each recommendation, the report identifies the type of action that would be needed statutory, appropriation, or administrative.

• Report