Section 1115 Waivers in Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program:  An Overview

Published: Jul 1, 2001

A new policy brief provides a description of the Section 1115 law, its history, and an overview of how it plays a role in the restructuring of Medicaid and SCHIP.

Medicare and Prescription Drug Focus Groups

Published: Jul 1, 2001

Summary Report

This report, : Summary Report, produced jointly by the bipartisan team of Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies and Geoff Garin of Peter D. Hart Research Associates, presents key findings from a series of eight focus groups on the Medicare program and the current debate over prescription drug coverage and Medicare reform. These groups, conducted in four cities with both elderly and non-elderly participants in June 2001, explored attitudes about Medicare and how it might be improved. Special emphasis was devoted to the ongoing debate over the addition of a Medicare prescription drug benefit.

  • Medicare and Prescription Drug Focus Group Summary (PDF)

New V-Chip and TV Ratings Study Release

Published: Jul 1, 2001

A Kaiser Family Foundation survey released in July 2001 found that 40% of American parents now own a TV equipped with a V-Chip. While parents express high levels of concern about children’s exposure to TV sex and violence, just 17% of those who own a V-Chip or 7% of all parents are using it to block programs with sexual or violent content. More than half of all parents have consulted TV ratings to decide which shows their kids can watch.

Medicaid Enrollment and Spending: A View from Two States

Published: Jun 29, 2001

A fact sheet summarizing Medicaid spending and enrollment trends in Georgia and Rhode Island drawn from a briefing in February 2001.

SCHIP Managed Care Contracting

Published: Jun 29, 2001

The fourth in a series of reports on implementation issues and challenges in the first year of S-CHIP finds that states have been able to enter arrangements with plans for their S-CHIP population fairly easily.

Women and Medicare

Published: Jun 29, 2001

Medicare is a critical source of health insurance coverage for virtually all older women in the U.S. and for many younger women who have permanent disabilities. Because women have longer life expectancies than men, more than half (57%) of the people covered by the program are women. In 1999, there were 21 million women on Medicare 19 million ages 65 and over and another 2 million women under age 65 with disabilities who received Social Security Disability Insurance benefits. This fact sheet highlights the health needs and financial security concerns of women on Medicare. Prescription drug coverage, supplemental insurance, and out-of-pocket costs are highlighted as key issues for women.

Medicaid “Mandatory” and “Optional” Eligibility and Benefits

Published: Jun 29, 2001

This policy brief details the eligibility and benefit structure of Medicaid showing what portions of enrollment and spending are mandatory or optional.

Link to Retructuring Medicaid Financing: Implications of the NGA Proposal

Covering the Low-Income Uninsured: Assessing the Alternatives

Published: Jun 29, 2001

This issue brief describes and analyzes expansions of Medicaid and SCHIP, tax credits for individually-purchased insurance, and tax credits for employment-based health insurance as options to expand health coverage of the low-income population.

SCHIP Administration and Accountability

Published: Jun 29, 2001

The third in a series of reports on implementation issues and challenges in the first year of S-CHIP finds that non-Medicaid S-CHIP programs faced more administrative challenges. Success with enrollment appeared primarily related to administrative decisions, including a lower band of S-CHIP income eligibility, and the lack of premiums.