Objective: To provide state-level estimates of the size and structure of the US individual market for health insurance and to investigate the potential impact of new medical loss ratio (MLR) regulation in 2011, as indicated by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).
This HCFO grant, funded under the special topic solicitation in Public Health Systems Research, examined partnerships designed to leverage limited resources and fulfill common missions, and developed the PARTNER tool to allow public health partners to measure their multi-agency collaborations in order to strengthen them.
This HCFO grant, funded under the special topic solicitation in Public Health Systems Research, examined the public health needs of culturally and linguistically diverse populations. The objective of this project was to develop policy recommendations for implementation of promising strategies to better serve diverse populations.
Objective. To identify factors associated with the cost of treating high-cost Medicare beneficiaries.
Data Sources. A national sample of 1.6 million elderly, Medicare beneficiaries linked to 2004–2005 Community Tracking Study Physician Survey respondents and local market data from secondary sources.
High-deductible health plans—typically with deductibles of at least $1,000 per individual and $2,000 per family—require greater enrollee cost sharing than traditional plans. But they also may provide more affordable premiums and may be the lowest-cost, or only, coverage option for many families with members who are chronically ill.
Objective. This study examined the association between a Medicaid prior-authorization policy for second-generation antipsychotic and anticonvulsant agents and medication discontinuation and health service use by patients with bipolar disorder.
Objective. To study whether traditionally vulnerable populations have worse geographic access to trauma centers.
Design. A cross-sectional analysis using data from the American Hospital Association Annual Survey from 2005 linked with zip code-level data from the US Census. We used a multinomial logit model to examine the odds of having difficult as opposed to easy access to trauma centers for a given subgroup of vulnerable populations.
In this commentary piece for JAMA, Vincent Mor, Ph.D., outlines policy options to improve discharge planning and reduce hospitalization that stemmed from HCFO-funded work on state Medicaid policy and nursing home hospitalization. Dr. Mor and his co-author outline several Afforadable Care Act provisions designed to reduce hospitalizations including CMS changes to hospital reimbursement rules, the creation of ACOs, and payment bundling.
Interest in workplace clinics has intensified in recent years, with employers moving well beyond traditional niches of occupational health and minor acute care to offering clinics that provide a full range of wellness and primary care services, according to a study by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC). Employers view workplace clinics as a tool to contain medical costs, boost productivity and enhance their reputations as employers of choice.
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