• The "Third School" for Controlling Health Care Costs?, the Latest "Pulling It Together, From Drew Altman"
• Kaiser Examines the Early Impact of the Recession on Health Insurance Coverage in the U.S.
• Updated Issue Brief Examines the COBRA Subsidy and Health Insurance for the Unemployed
• Issue Brief, Fact Sheet Examine Aspects of Medicaid Financing
• Series Examines Key Issues Related to Express Lane Eligibility in Medicaid and CHIP
• Updated Fact Sheets On Women’s Health Insurance Coverage

  AT THE BARBARA JORDAN CONFERENCE CENTER
  
  WEBCASTS THIS WEEK

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NEW THIS WEEK

The " Third School" for Controlling Health Care Costs?, the Latest "Pulling It Together, From Drew Altman"
In his latest column, the Kaiser Family Foundation's President and CEO explores the rise to prominence of the "Systems Reformers" and their place in efforts to control health care costs. You can read the full column online.

Kaiser Examines the Early Impact of the Recession on Health Insurance Coverage in the U.S.
A new issue brief by the Foundation’s Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (KCMU) examines trends in health insurance coverage from 2007 to 2008, a period marked by the start of a deep recession. It finds that the share of the nonelderly population covered by employer-provided insurance declined, the share covered by public programs increased and the number of uninsured people continued to rise. Notably, the economic downturn affected health insurance coverage differently for adults compared to children. The increased of 1.5 million in the number of uninsured adults was offset by a reduction of 800,000 in the number of uninsured children, owing largely to the increase in public coverage for children. As a result, the overall increase in the uninsured was 700,000. The issue brief is available online.

Updated Issue Brief Examines the COBRA Subsidy and Health Insurance for the Unemployed
With the nation's unemployment rate rising to its highest levels in decades as a result of the recession, many families have lost their employer-sponsored health coverage or are at risk of doing so. In an effort to help people maintain coverage after a layoff, the stimulus legislation known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provides temporary subsidies to some workers so that they can maintain their previous employer-sponsored coverage through COBRA after losing their job. The Foundation's KCMU has an updated issue brief that examines the COBRA provisions of the legislation and answers key questions about how the subsidy works and who might benefit. It also explains how the provisions interact with other laws and programs designed to help people obtain and maintain health coverage, and it discusses other coverage options for the unemployed. In late 2009, subsidies began to expire for those who were among the first to apply for the assistance, forcing them to pay the full cost of their insurance or look elsewhere for help. The issue brief is available online.

Issue Brief, Fact Sheet Examine Aspects of Medicaid Financing
The Foundation's KCMU issued two papers this week that examine issues related to Medicaid financing. The first, Health Reform Issues: State Financing and Medicaid, an issue brief, highlights some of the potential benefits and costs to the states associated with a significant expansion of Medicaid of the sort proposed in leading health reform bills in Congress. The second paper, Medicaid and State Budgets: From Crunch to Cliff, a fact sheet, discusses the status of Medicaid and state budgets in light of the continuing recession and the federal fiscal relief provided to state Medicaid programs through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The ARRA money has helped states address budget shortfalls, preserve Medicaid eligibility and soften program cuts. But ARRA funds are set to expire on Dec. 31, 2010, which may prompt some states to turn to cost-saving measures such as restrictions on Medicaid eligibility. Any erosion in Medicaid could complicate health reform plans that call for expanding Medicaid.

Series Examines Key Issues Related to Express Lane Eligibility in Medicaid and CHIP
The Foundation's KCMU has issued the second brief in a series of papers examining key issues related to Express Lane Eligibility (ELE), a new tool available to states to streamline enrollment and renewal of children in Medicaid and CHIP. ELE allows state Medicaid and CHIP agencies to utilize data and eligibility findings from other public need-based programs, such as Head Start or Food Stamps, and/or tax return data to identify, enroll and recertify children rather than requiring them to re-analyze and determine eligibility under their own rules. A primary goal of this and other outreach and simplification initiatives authorized by the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 is to reach the 7 in 10 uninsured children who are already eligible for Medicaid and CHIP. The newest brief, Why Express Lane Eligibility Makes Sense for States and Low-Income Families, provides an overview of Express Lane Eligibility and highlights the potential benefits of implementing an ELE initiative. An earlier brief, Express Lane Eligibility Efforts: Lessons Learned from Early State Cross-Program Enrollment Initiatives, discusses lessons states can draw on from the experience of earlier cross-program enrollment efforts as they consider the ELE option and design ELE programs.

Updated Fact Sheets On Women’s Health Insurance Coverage
The Foundation has released updated fact sheets on health insurance coverage of women, including state-by-state data. Women’s Health Insurance Coverage, provides new statistics on health coverage and describes the major sources of health insurance for non-elderly adult women ages 18-64, including employer-sponsored coverage, Medicaid, individually purchased insurance, and Medicare. A related fact sheet, provides state-by-state figures on the uninsured rate and rates of employer-sponsored insurance, individual insurance and Medicaid coverage among all women ages 18 to 64 nationally, and among low-income women in that age group. See more information about women’s health care and coverage in the Women’s Health Policy section of the Foundation’s Web site.

COMING UP:

Today's Topics In Health Disparities Live Webcast to Discuss if the Health Care System is Ready for Health Reform
On Wednesday, November 4, at 1 p.m. ET, a live, interactive webcast in the Today's Topics In Health Disparities series will examine how ready the health care system is for the influx of newly covered individuals that health reform aims to deliver. The panelists will discuss provisions in the bills that address the need for increasing the health care workforce and maintaining the safety net, as well as potential gaps in the legislation, and the possible impact on racial and ethnic health disparities. Cara James, Ph.D., Kaiser’s senior policy analyst on race, ethnicity and health care will moderate the discussion with Louis Sullivan, MD, president emeritus, Morehouse School of Medicine and former secretary of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Alan Weil, JD, MPP, executive director, National Academy for State Health Policy and president, Center for Health Policy Development; and Candice Chen, MD MPH, assistant professor of Pediatrics, Department of Health Policy, George Washington University. Submit questions for the panel before or during the live program to ask@kff.org. You can view the webcast online.

AT THE BARBARA JORDAN CONFERENCE CENTER:

In addition to Kaiser Family Foundation events listed above, a number of external organizations conduct activities at the Foundation's Barbara Jordan Conference Center in Washington, D.C. On Monday, October 26 – Wednesday, October 28, Academy Health held a He alth Policy Orientation to offer an in-depth introduction to the key players, formal and informal policymaking processes, and critical health policy issues.


Webcasts This Week:

Public Opinion on Health Reform: What Do the Polls Mean?
Alliance for Health Reform and the Kaiser Family Foundation
A podcast is also available


New Stories from Kaiser Health News:

House Health Reform Bill Released, Pelosi Promises 'Affordable, Quality Coverage'

Audio: Health On The Hill - House Health Bill Explained

Corporate Wellness Programs: Healthier Employees, Lower Costs, Jenny Gold

Finance Bill’s Fine Print May Cause Sticker Shock To Consumers, Julie Appleby

Column: A Practical Reform: Indian Country As The 51st State, Mark Trahant

End Of COBRA Subsidy Rattles Newly Unemployed, Rick Schmitt

Lawmakers, White House Consider Bipartisan Route To Bend Health 'Cost Curve', Eric Pianin

Tulsa Hospital Gives Medicare Patients Cash Back For Surgery, Phil Galewitz

Video: An Experiment In Reducing Costs, Improving Care At Hillcrest Medical Center

Video: Health On The Hill - October 26, 2009

Column: Aging In Place Is Not So Easy, Howard Gleckman

Fight Erupts Over Health Insurance Rates For Businesses With More Women, Jenny Gold

the latest Kaiser Daily Reports:

Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report

Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report

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