Increasing Medicaid Payments for Certain Primary Care Physicians in 2013 and 2014: A Primer on the Health Reform Provision and Final Rule December 13, 2012 Issue Brief To help ensure that access in Medicaid expands to meet anticipated higher demand for care, the health reform law requires states to pay certain physicians Medicaid fees that are at least equal to Medicare’s for a list of 146 primary care services in 2013 and 2014. The idea is to…
Raising Medicare Premiums for Higher-Income Beneficiaries: Assessing the Implications January 13, 2014 Issue Brief As policymakers consider ways to slow the growth in Medicare spending as part of broader efforts to reduce the federal debt or offset the cost of other spending priorities, some have proposed to increase beneficiary contributions through higher Medicare premiums. This issue brief explains provisions of current law that impose income-related premiums under Medicare Part B and Part D, describes recent proposals to modify these requirements, and analyzes the potential implications for the Medicare population.
Resources Examine Recession-Driven Record Medicaid Enrollment and Assess Medicaid Spending Growth February 1, 2011 Fact Sheet Three papers from the Foundation’s Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured examine Medicaid enrollment and spending during the recent recession. The analyses show Medicaid enrollment rose above 50 million people nationally for the first time in 2010, reflecting the program’s counter-cyclical role of helping people who become uninsured when the…
Health Reform Implementation: When Sausage-Making Moves Downtown July 9, 2010 Event Panelists at this briefing examine what’s happening behind the scenes to implement the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. An overview of federal policymaking and the efforts by stakeholders and others to affect final policies pertaining to the health reform law is provided. The session will look into key tools…
Kaiser Health Tracking Poll — March 2010 March 28, 2010 Poll Finding The March Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds the public still divided on health reform legislation, with 46 percent of Americans backing the reform proposals on Capitol Hill, 42 percent opposing them and 12 percent saying they aren’t sure. Six in 10 Americans say they have heard little or nothing about…
Total Medicaid Spending and Enrollment Growth Slowed Significantly in FY 2012 Amid Signs of Economic Recovery and States’ Efforts To Curb Costs October 1, 2012 News Release Washington, D.C. – Growth in total Medicaid spending and enrollment slowed substantially in state fiscal year 2012 as the economy began to improve and states continued to work to control costs. Relatively slow spending and enrollment growth are expected to continue in FY 2013, according to the 12th annual 50-state…
Medicaid and the Budget Control Act: What Options Will Be Considered? September 2, 2011 Issue Brief On August 2, 2011, President Obama signed the Budget Control Act of 2011 into law. The Act was designed to reduce federal spending and raise the debt ceiling. It established the Joint Select Committee, also known as the “Super Committee,” tasked with decreasing projected deficits by $1.5 trillion between FY2012…
The Independent Payment Advisory Board: A New Approach to Controlling Medicare Spending April 13, 2011 Issue Brief In 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act authorized the creation of the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) to help control the growth in Medicare costs. Beginning in 2014, IPAB will issue recommendations to lower Medicare costs in the event that spending exceeds targets established in the health care…
Medicaid Spending Growth over the Last Decade and the Great Recession, 2000-2009 February 1, 2011 Report This report examines Medicaid spending growth nationally during the last decade, with a focus on growth during the recession of 2007 to 2009. The recession-driven enrollment growth in recent years drove program spending to increase faster than national health spending overall, but on a per enrollee basis the growth in…
What’s in There? The New Health Reform Law and Medicare May 7, 2010 Event As part of an ongoing series to explore what is in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, this May 7 briefing sponsored by the Alliance for Health Reform and the Kaiser Family Foundation examines how the reform law affects…