Affordable Care Act

Stakeholders in dozens of communities around the nation are taking action to improve quality of care locally by engaging in one or more collaborations. What does each program offer? What goals do they have in common? How do they relate to a national quality strategy? This briefing, cosponsored by the…

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…

Conservatives obviously don’t like what they call “Obamacare” because they think it expands the role of government too much and spends too much money.  But ironically, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) actually promotes — though not explicitly — something that has been a fundamental objective of conservatives in health care…

A record 90 percent of children now have health coverage – more than a third of whom are covered by Medicaid and CHIP. Yet about 7.5 million children remain uninsured, including 5 million who are eligible for Medicaid and CHIP but not enrolled. Who are the at-risk kids? How are…

Medicaid is the nation’s primary health insurance program for low-income people and people with disabilities, covering more than 60 million people this year.  And it’s about to get a lot of attention: it’s likely to be a prime target for spending reductions by “deficit hawks” in debate over the budget;…

This issue brief examines the broad implications of converting Medicaid to block grant financing, one of several ideas that have been put forth to help reduce the federal deficit. The paper, which does not analyze any specific proposal, notes that switching to block grant financing would fundamentally alter the Medicaid…

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) calls for a number of web-based initiatives, including development of the website healthcare.gov which provides a variety of health information and helps individuals find coverage options. Therefore, understanding the level and quality of Internet access among those groups most likely to benefit from reform, such…

With a renewed emphasis on health care quality driven by the Affordable Care Act, this polling data note examines historical trends in Americans’ reliance on quality ratings and how their perceptions have changed over time. Data Note (.pdf)

Medicaid is a jointly financed partnership between the federal government and states. The federal-state financing and administrative structure of Medicaid provides a framework of federal core requirements along with broad state options for program design and administration. This issue brief presents an overview of the current Medicaid program framework, with…

This issue brief attempts to assess how primary care physicians will respond to the entry of 32 million newly insured people into the health care system under health reform. The increase in the number of people with health coverage is expected to intensify competition among patients and payers for primary…