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The Kaiser Family Foundation released a new report on the implications of the new Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit for people living with HIV/AIDS. The report looks at the coverage and cost of antiretroviral drugs under the new private, stand-alone Medicare drug plans. Report (.pdf)
This paper examines the role that Medicaid plays in addressing six populations (preterm birth babies, foster care children, individuals with spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries, individuals with mental illness, individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and people with Alzheimer's disease) with serious health needs resulting in high costs. For each population profiled, the report describes the condition and the need for services and supports, as well as the role of Medicaid in meeting those…
Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment (EPSDT) coverage offered through the Medicaid program has played an important and unique role for low-income children with disabilities, and maintaining this support is a key concern. This issue brief discusses the challenges and implications for young people with disabilities when they become adults and lose their EPSDT benefits and how recent changes to the Deficit Reduction Act give states an opportunity to increase the availability of services…
This report examines what policy lessons can be learned from the deinstitutionalization of people with mental illnesses and applied to potential long-term care reform for the elderly or those with significant disabilities. The study assesses the reforms that took place under deinstitutionalization, their impact and what mistakes were made. It also discusses the take-away lessons for long-term care policy, with a focus on planning, financing, living situations and the role of families, workplace issues, and…
Summary of Key Changes to Medicare in 2010 Health Reform Law . This brief provides a detailed look at the improvements in Medicare benefits, changes to payments for providers and Medicare Advantage plans, various demonstration projects and other Medicare provisions in the law. It includes a timeline of key dates for implementing the Medicare-related provisions in the law.
This fact sheet provides an overview of the Medicare drug benefit and the additional subsidies available to certain eligible low-income beneficiaries. Fact Sheet - December 2009 (.pdf)
This policy brief describes the relationship of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Medicaid services and the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court's Olmstead v. L.C. decision. Policy Brief (.pdf) Related Olmstead Materials
Medicaid’s Rehabilitation Services Option: Overview and Current Policy Issues In 2007, the President reintroduced a plan to place new restrictions on the types of services allowable under the Medicaid rehabilitation services option (called the rehab option) to yield federal budget savings of $2.29 billion over the next five years. Currently, 47 states plus the District of Columbia provide at least some type of mental health, substance abuse, and physical health services under the rehab option.…
In August 2004, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services published a proposed rule to implement the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit (Title I of the Medicare Modernization Act). Given the high level of interest in the proposed rules for implementing the Medicare drug benefit, the Kaiser Family Foundation commissioned Health Policy Alternatives, Inc. to prepare this summary of the proposed regulations. Issue Brief (.pdf)
This set of tables, prepared by the Urban Institue for the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, presents the most current state by state data on Medicaid enrollment and expenditures for dual eligibles. Full Set of Tables (.pdf) Individual Tables:Implications of the Medicare drug law for full dual eligibles:Table 1: “Full” Dual Eligible Enrollment and Prescription Drug Expenditures, by State, 2002 (.pdf) Enrollment and spending data for full and partial dual eligibles:Table 2: Total…
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