National and State-By-State Impact of the 2012 House Republican Budget Plan for Medicaid October 1, 2012 Report This analysis of the House Budget Plan that was passed in 2012 finds that repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and converting Medicaid to a block grant would trigger significant decreases in federal Medicaid spending and could result in substantial reductions in enrollment and payments to providers compared to current…
Assessing the Presidential Candidates’ Positions on Women’s Health Coverage and Reproductive Health Care October 1, 2012 Issue Brief Women’s health has been a key issue in the 2012 election with the candidates, President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, having different views on women’s health care. This brief discusses two major health care issues that are important to women – health coverage and reproductive health care – and summarizes the presidential candidates’ stated positions on these topics.
Polling on Medicare Premium Support Systems Over Time October 1, 2012 Poll Finding This data note reviews years of polling dating to 1995 to gauge public opinion on proposals to change Medicare to a premium support system, an idea embraced by GOP presidential nominee Governor Mitt Romney and rejected by President Obama. Under the proposed change, the federal government would provide people on Medicare a fixed amount of money that could be applied toward the cost of health insurance purchased either from private insurers or the traditional Medicare program. The data note outlines historical trends in public opinion on the issue, reviews recent results and examines possible reasons for variation in the findings of different polls.
Total Medicaid Spending and Enrollment Growth Slowed Significantly in FY 2012 Amid Signs of Economic Recovery and States’ Efforts To Curb Costs October 1, 2012 News Release Washington, D.C. – Growth in total Medicaid spending and enrollment slowed substantially in state fiscal year 2012 as the economy began to improve and states continued to work to control costs. Relatively slow spending and enrollment growth are expected to continue in FY 2013, according to the 12th annual 50-state…
Quantifying the Effects of Health Insurance Rate Review October 1, 2012 Report This report from the Kaiser Family Foundation analyzes the effect of government efforts to ensure that insurance premium increases are justifiable and provide value to consumers and small businesses. Rate review programs require insurers in the small group and individual markets to submit proposed rate increase requests to state or…
Medicaid Financing: An Overview of the Federal Medicaid Matching Rate (FMAP) September 30, 2012 Issue Brief Since its enactment in 1965, the Medicaid program has used the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) to determine the federal government’s share of the cost of covered services in state Medicaid programs. On average, the federal share has been 57 percent. Beginning in 2014, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) establishes…
Explaining the State Integrated Care and Financial Alignment Demonstrations for Dual Eligible Beneficiaries September 30, 2012 Issue Brief This paper provides an overview of the joint efforts of states and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to develop more integrated ways of paying for and delivering health care to the 9 million people who are eligible for both the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Dual eligible beneficiaries…
State Demonstrations to Integrate Care and Align Financing for Dual Eligible Beneficiaries: A Review of the 26 Proposals Submitted to CMS September 30, 2012 Report The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed two models to align Medicare and Medicaid benefits and financing for dual eligible beneficiaries, one capitated model and one managed fee-for-service model. In the spring of 2012, 26 states submitted proposals to CMS seeking to test one or both of…
Transforming Medicare into a Premium Support System: Implications for Beneficiary Premiums September 30, 2012 Report This study illustrates why geography would matter for Medicare beneficiaries under a premium support system that relies on a competitive bidding process envisioned under several key Medicare reform proposals. It examines potential changes in the premiums paid by Medicare beneficiaries under a payment approach that caps federal contributions per beneficiary…
The Women, Girls, and Gender Equality Principle of the U.S. Global Health Initiative: How Have USG Programs Responded? September 30, 2012 Report This report examines how countries are responding to and implementing the women, girls, and gender equality principle of the U.S. Global Health Initiative (GHI). This principle, one of seven core principles of the GHI, aims to sharpen the focus on women and girls across U.S. government global health efforts. Based…