Do Hospitals “Cost Shift” to the Privately Insured when Medicare Reduces Prices?

Many health policy experts believe that when Medicare or Medicaid decrease prices, hospitals will increase the prices they charge to the privately insured. Does this make sense?  Ginsburg (2003) summarizes the debate: Most executives in hospitals, physician organizations, health plans, and businesses have long been convinced that reductions in rates paid to Medicare and Medicaid…

Eligibility Requirement for California Government Health Insurance Programs

The California HealthCare Foundation has an almanac entry on Children’s Health Coverage Facts and Figures.  Eligibility requirements for these programs is described in this table.  Other key findings include: The proportion of children without health insurance continued to decline through 2007, though the pace of improvement has slowed. Nearly 80 percent of California’s uninsured children…

Medi-Cal Facts

California’s Medicaid program, known as Medi-Cal, is the largest in the nation.  The California Health Care Foundation offers some interesting facts about the program in this report. For instance: In just two years, Medi-Cal’s share of the state’s General Fund spending increased from 17% to 19%. If not for provisions in the federal stimulus bill that…

CPS undercounts Medicaid Enrollees

Survey estimates of Medicaid enrollment are 43 percent lower than raw Medicaid program enrollment counts.  Why is this the case?  Roebuck and Liberman (HSR 2009) find that many people are not reporting that they have Medicaid coverage.  “43 percent of Medicaid enrollees answering the CPS as though they were not enrolled and 17 percent reported…

Transportation Brokerage Services Lower Health Care Costs

Transportation issues can create significant barriers to accessing quality health care.  If you do not have a car, physically cannot drive, or do not have public transportation where you live, getting to the doctor’s office can be difficult.  Although the federal government mandates that state Medicaid programs provide nonemergency medical transportation services to vulnerable populations,…