Medicaid is one of the largest items in
most state budgets, and Medicaid spending has increased significantly.
"State Budgets Under Stress: How Are States Planning to Reduce the
Growth in Medicaid Costs?" presents preliminary results of a survey
of all 50 states and the District of Columbia that focused on the
cost-cutting strategies that states reported they plan to take. The full
survey will be released in September. http://www.kff.org/content/2002/20020730/
"Tax Credits and the
Affordability of Individual Health Insurance" examines tax
credit proposals from the White House and from a group of senators
(known as the REACH Act) and provides estimates by age, income, and
health status of the impact of tax credits on the affordability of
individual insurance. The authors conclude that, while tax credits would
help make individual insurance more affordable for young, healthy
people, they do little to make insurance affordable for older people,
for sicker people of any age, and for low-income people. http://www.hschange.org/CONTENT/458/458.pdf
"The Perils
of Buying Your Own Policy" examines the individual the
health insurance market and how four common traps of the market affect
coverage decisions and premiums. The report notes that in the private
market, consumers face high copayments and many exclusions-and policies
with higher premiums don't always mean better coverage than policies
with lower premiums. The article also offers practical advice for
consumers navigating the individual health insurance market. http://www.consumerreports.org
-- then click on Consumer advice and then on "Perils of individual
health insurance"
"Federal Policies Affecting the Cost and
Availability of New Pharmaceuticals"
examines several ways in which the federal government influences the
availability and cost of prescription drugs. These ways include the
following: 1) intellectual property protection-the laws and policies
that regulate and influence patents and generic competition (include the
Hatch-Waxman Act); 2) federal support for drug research and development;
3) federal tax subsidies, primarily various tax credits available to
pharmaceutical firms; and 4) reimportation of drugs produced in the U.S.
from other countries. http://www.kff.org/content/2002/3254
"Seniors
and Prescription Drugs: Findings from a 2001 Survey of Seniors in
Eight States" presents the results of a 2001 survey of seniors
in the following states: CA, CO, IL, MI, NY, OH, PA, and TX. The survey
found wide variation in the available sources of drug coverage, the
depth of that coverage, and the extent to which seniors are subject to
high out-of-pocket expenses. The survey also assessed how frequently
seniors skip doses or had to forgo filling prescriptions because of
cost. http://www.kff.org/content/2002/6049/
"State
Long-Term Care: Recent Developments and Policy Directions"
analyzes states' long-term care policies and their efforts to deal with
the rising costs of caring for the elderly, people with disabilities,
and others requiring long-term care. It takes an in-depth look at
long-term care budgets, legislation, and planning in all 50 states and
the District of Columbia. The report also cites a trend toward providing
people with greater choices through opportunities for home- and
community-based care services. http://aspe.hhs.gov/daltcp/reports/stateltc.pdf
"Hospital
Discharge Planning: Helping Family Caregivers Through the
Process" is a companion guide to a booklet for family
caregivers. Written for discharge planners from a variety of
disciplines, the guide is intended to make discharge planning a little
smoother by providing insight into the family's perspective. The guide
also includes a list of other organizations that work on this issue. http://www.caregiving.org/content/reports/Discharge
Planner_final.pdf
"National
Disability Policy: A Progress Report" identifies six
health-related issues of particular significance to people with
disabilities: 1) a patients' bill of rights; 2) mental health parity; 3)
America's law enforcement and mental health project; 4) pain relief
promotion vs. assisted suicide; 5) Medicare; and 6) telemedicine. The
report also discusses barriers to adequate health care and the status of
issues designed to advance access and equity in the nation's health
system, and it makes several recommendations to remove these barriers. www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/progressreport_07-26-02.html
"What About Men?
Exploring the Inequities in Minority Men's Health" attempts to
answer the following question: What is it about the medical system that
seems to keep men of color away? The report begins by detailing the
scope of the health care crisis affecting men of color. It then goes on
to outline 12 public policy strategies aimed at overcoming the obstacles
facing men of color in accessing appropriate health care. http://www.wkkf.org/pubs/Health/CommunityVoices/Pub3719.pdf
"Who Do You Trust?
Americans' Perspectives on Health Care, 1997-2001" presents the
results of a national study tracking consumer confidence in the health
care system. Among the study's findings is that, in 2001, 20 percent of
consumers in fair to poor health worried about getting needed referrals
to specialists, compared with nearly 13 percent of people in good
health. One of the study's authors noted that "It's clear that
people in poorer health are less trusting of the health care system, and
recent marketplace changes have not eased their concerns." http://www.hschange.org/CONTENT/457/457.pdf
Families USA's
ImPRESSives are a series of tip sheets aimed at helping advocacy
groups work with a variety of media to get their message out
successfully. The latest tip sheet is titled "On the Record &
Off the Record: Controlling the Story." This guide discusses the
four kinds of verbal agreements you can establish with a reporter that
will help you control your message: 1) on the record, 2) not for
attribution, 3) off the record, and 4) on background. http://www.familiesusa.org/July
2002 ImPRESSive.pdf
To subscribe to the HealthAction e-mail list, you can sign up to
receive regular e-mail updates at (http://capwiz.com/familiesusa/mlm/
).
Questions or comments should be sent to Ingrid
VanTuinen at (HealthAction@familiesusa.org
).
