Unbiased Analysis of Today's Healthcare Issues
Does Medicaid coverage decrease mortality? According to a recent study in NEJM, the answer is yes. “Mortality declined significantly (by 19.6 deaths per 100,000, for a relative reduction of 6.1%; P=0.001). Reductions were greatest among nonwhites and older adults, with smaller but significant reductions among whites and no effect among persons under the age of…
It is widely known that safety net hospitals provide less intensive care than hospitals whose patient base is mostly commercially-insured. One question is whether safety net hospitals discriminate the care provided based on their patients insurance status. In other words, do commerically insured individuals who visit safety net hospitals receive more care than patients treated…
What is an RHC? An FQHC? Using a research from Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), this post provides the answer. Rural Health Clinic (RHC) The Rural Health Clinics Act (P.L. 95-210) was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Carter in 1977. The goal of this Act was twofold. First, it encouraged…
Although Health Reform did little to reduce the cost of health care, it did make significant strides to expand access to care. For low-income individuals, the increased access comes along two dimensions: expanded Medicaid eligibility and increased physician fees. Specifically, Health Reform required to Make all individuals with incomes below 138% of the Federal Poverty…
The answer depends on the state. Today, I examine an Urban Institute research paper that looks at this progress in more detail. Dividing States into 3 Group The most advance States fall into Group 1 (CA, CO, CT, DC, HI, IN, MA, MD, NV, OR, RI, UT, VT, WA, WV). These states have either enacted…
Many researchers use household data sources to examine a variety of hypothesis. The use of household data has many benefits including allowing for more detailed socioeconomic information (e.g., education, income) beyond what is contained in administrative claims files. One drawback of household data is that extrapolations made from household survey data may not match national…
Nine million individuals qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid health insurance. These individuals, known as dual-eligibles, rank among the most expensive Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. Duals are frequently hospitalized and often need long-term care. In fact, most state spending for dual eligibles focuses on long-term care supports and services. The federal government pays the bulk…
In short, yes. California is the land of managed care. Kaiser-Permanente–the managed care poster child–owns one third of the market. Love for managed care is not just in the private market; in 2010, over half of all Medi-Cal and more than one-third of Medicare beneficiaries were enrolled in managed care plans. Further, California managed care…
Of the 6.6 million uninsured children in the nation, 4.3 million are eligible for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Approximately 2.8 million children come from families at or near the federal poverty line (FPL). Despite the fact that millions of children are uninsured, children’s participation rates in Medicaid/CHIP are increasing. Today I…
According to Avalere Health the people who will be added to Medicaid through healthcare reform are more sick — and therefore will be more expensive to treat — than current beneficiaries. This chart below uses data from the 2008 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) to demonstrate this point.