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The rising number of uninsured, who they are and how they might obtain health insurance coverage were much debated during the consideration and passage of health reform in the last year.
There is a groundswell of activity in local communities to support healthier lifestyles and help people make long-lasting and sustainable changes that can reduce their risk for chronic diseases. A number of provisions in the health reform law are aimed directly at improving population health by addressing conditions where Americans live, learn, work, and play.
The Alliance for Health Reform and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation sponsored a July 13 luncheon briefing to discuss whether or not public health investments can help prevent chronic disease and reduce escalating health care costs. For more information, please visit the Alliance's event page.
This detailed chartbook provides an illustrative overview of some of the key factors that contribute to the substantial variation in Medicaid spending across states today. The chartbook provides a broad range of state-by-state data on subjects including state revenue and spending, the demand for public services, health care markets, and state Medicaid policy choices.
Incorporating data from the 2009 Medicare Trustees' Report, this chartpack examine the fiscal challenges facing the Medicare program as well as the public's views on confronting them. Chartpack (.
Although regional variations in health spending have been studied for decades, there is renewed focus on this issue because of the role of health care costs in health care reform and the potential source of funds if addressing cost variations can yield savings.
A fair amount of attention was given recently to projections made by the Chief Actuary of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) about the new health reform law, and how they compare to previous estimates by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
Special Needs Plans are a form of Medicare Advantage plan authorized to provide a managed care option for beneficiaries with significant or relatively specialized care needs, including Medicare beneficiaries who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, beneficiaries living in nursing homes or other institutions, and beneficiaries with severe chronic or disabling conditions.
Enacted in 2003, Medicare’s Part D prescription drug benefit reflected an unprecedented and controversial new approach for Medicare, relying exclusively on private plans to provide health coverage and including an unusual gap in coverage. This analysis by Kaiser researchers examines in detail how the new model has worked since its launch almost four years ago.
This report provides the first comprehensive inventory of how HIV prevention is delivered across the country, based on a survey of the 65 health departments receiving direct federal HIV prevention funding, including every state and territory, plus six cities.
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