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Reading the Stars: Nursing Home Quality Star Ratings, Nationally and by State
This issue brief presents national and state-level analysis of nursing homes based on the Five-Star Quality Rating System, recently updated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to help consumers compare nursing homes when selecting one for themselves or their family members. The issue brief finds that more than one-third (36%) of the nation’s 15,500 nursing homes certified by Medicare or Medicaid received relatively low ratings of 1 or 2 stars (out of a possible 5 stars). In 11 states, at least 40 percent of nursing homes in the state have 1- or 2-star ratings. In 23 states, however, at least half of the nursing homes have 4- or 5- star ratings. This issue brief discusses relevant policy considerations regarding nursing home quality—a serious issue in light of the vulnerability of the nursing home population and recent reports of problems arising from inadequate staffing, fire safety hazards, and substandard care.
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Coverage Expansions and the Remaining Uninsured: A Look at California During Year One of ACA Implementation
California is a bellwether state for understanding the impact of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Much attention has been paid to enrollment in California’s new coverage options, such as the Medicaid expansion (Medi-Cal) and plans sold through ACA marketplaces (Covered California), and to changes in the uninsured from 2013 to 2014. However, less is known about how this coverage has affected people’s access to care and financial security, and why others remain uninsured. This report, based on the 2014 Kaiser Survey of Low-Income Americans aims to fill this gap by comparing the newly insured, previously insured and remaining uninsured across several of these important dimensions.
Report Read MoreComparison of Consumer Protections in Three Health Insurance Markets: Medicare Advantage, Qualified Health Plans and Medicaid Managed Care Organizations
This report examines similarities and differences in federal consumer protection standards for Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, Qualified Health Plans (QHPs), and Medicaid Managed Care Organizations (MCOs). It focuses on rules established at the federal level, though some states have chosen to go above the federal minimums and impose additional requirements for QHPs and Medicaid MCOs.
Report Read MoreAmericans Don’t Feel the Slowdown in Health Costs
In this column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman discusses why the health policy agenda may shift to focus more on affordability of coverage, consumer protection and consumer information in coming years.
Perspective Read MoreContraceptive Coverage Under the Affordable Care Act
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has changed access to health coverage for millions of women across the nation, including a provision requiring most private health insurance plans to provide coverage for prescription contraceptives and services. On Thursday, April 16 at 9:30 a.m. ET, the Kaiser Family Foundation hosted a briefing to…
Event Read MoreMedicaid and Family Planning: Background and Implications of the ACA
This brief reviews the role of Medicaid in financing and enabling access to family planning services for low-income women; discusses how states have expanded access to these services with Medicaid; and highlights future programmatic challenges in the context of the health care delivery and coverage reforms resulting from the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Issue Brief Read MoreModern Era Medicaid: Findings from a 50-State Survey of Eligibility, Enrollment, Renewal, and Cost-Sharing Policies in Medicaid and CHIP as of January 2015
This 13th annual 50-state survey of Medicaid and CHIP eligibility, enrollment, renewal, and cost-sharing policies as of January 2015 provides a snapshot of state Medicaid and CHIP policies in place one year into the post-ACA era.
Report Read MoreHigh Health-Care Prices: More Talk Than Action
In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman explores how price is the major factor that distinguishes the cost of our health care system from those in other developed nations, yet most efforts in the U.S. to address health-care costs don’t focus on price much…
News Release Read MoreTapping Nurse Practitioners to Meet Rising Demand for Primary Care
More than 58 million Americans, or nearly 1 in 5, live in primary care shortage areas, where the supply of primary care physicians is not sufficient to meet the needs of the population. Particularly as the demand for primary care increases due to population growth, aging, and expanded insurance coverage, strategies to mitigate already sharp strains on primary care capacity are needed. This brief focuses on the opportunity to more fully tap the potential of nurse practitioners to increase access to primary care.
Issue Brief Read MoreHarvard and Growth in Health Care Cost Sharing
In this column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman explains why recent discussion of Harvard University’s introduction of new health insurance cost sharing measures amounted to “making a mountain out of a mole hill”.
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