Medicaid Innovations: Can Managed Care Cut Costs and Improve Value? October 28, 2011 Event A number of states have expressed interest in expanding managed care approaches within their Medicaid programs. While managed care may present an opportunity for better delivery of care, it presents challenges within certain populations and geographic areas. How many states are planning Medicaid managed care expansions? What impact would these…
A Primer on Dually Eligible Beneficiaries June 3, 2011 Event The nine million dually eligible beneficiaries are generally poorer and sicker than other Medicare beneficiaries, tend to use more health care services, and thus account for a disproportionate share of Medicare and Medicaid spending. Because they often have complex medical and long-term care needs, and must navigate both Medicaid and…
Ask the Experts About Reform: Where Are We Now and Where Are We Headed? August 31, 2009 Event The Alliance for Health Reform and Eli Lilly co-sponsored this briefing to have an expanded panel of prominent experts answer questions about the current health reform efforts. Questions addressed include: What is the status of major reform bills? How do they differ from each other, and from the plan that…
The Health Workforce Dream Team: Who Will Provide the Care? December 2, 2010 Event Many providers and policymakers envision team-based care as an important way to improve quality and maximize resources. The “dream team” includes nurses and many other non-physician providers. But how will we ensure enough health care workers for a growing, aging population with ever-increasing chronic care needs? This December 2 briefing,…
Wisconsin’s BadgerCare Plus Program: Moving Forward on Health Reform Amid a Recession June 16, 2010 Fact Sheet This fact sheet provides a brief overview of Wisconsin’s BadgerCare Plus Program, a three-year-old initiative that merged the state’s three distinct Medicaid programs for children, parents and pregnant women into a single comprehensive health coverage program. It also expanded eligibility to provide near-universal coverage for children and greater coverage for…
Financial Alignment Models for Dual Eligibles: An Update November 1, 2011 Issue Brief The nearly nine million dual eligibles who receive both Medicare and Medicaid benefits are a high cost, high need population, accounting for a disproportionate share of expenditures relative to their enrollment in both programs. In April 2011, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the award of design…
Rural Health: Laying the Foundation for Health Reform October 2, 2009 Event The Alliance for Health Reform and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation co-sponsored this briefing to have a panel of experts answer questions about how some aspects of pending health reform proposals may have a substantial impact on rural care. What provisions in the various reform proposals affect rural health care?…
Investing in Health IT: What the U.S. and Other Countries Are Learning October 29, 2010 Event Recent legislation, including the stimulus package and the new health reform law, invests substantial funds in health information technology which can help prevent medical errors and improve the quality and value of care. However, questions have been raised about the cost of implementation and personal privacy considerations. This briefing addressed…
Innovations in Primary Care: What’s in the ACA? December 13, 2010 Event The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act aims to move the health care system away from an episodic, fee-for-service approach and towards a coordinated, preventive model of care delivery. Exactly how does the law encourage innovations in primary care? What roles will states and purchasers of care play in this…
Proposed Models to Integrate Medicare and Medicaid Benefits for Dual Eligibles: A Look at the 15 State Design Contracts Funded By CMS August 12, 2011 Issue Brief This brief summarizes 15 states’ preliminary proposals to better coordinate care for people who are in both the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The design contracts, funded by the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI), are an outgrowth of new efforts under the health reform law to develop service…