The Health of Safety-Net Hospitals: How are They Faring? What’s the Outlook? June 4, 2012 Event The Alliance for Health Reform and The Commonwealth Fund discusses the critical role of safety-net hospitals in providing care to vulnerable populations. Panelists will explore such questions as: Who does the safety-net system currently serve and how will this patient mix change as the health reform law plays out? How…
The Part D Experience: What are the Lessons for Broader Medicare Reform? May 30, 2012 Event Launched in 2006, Medicare added a prescription drug benefit that relies entirely on private plans, while, for other benefits, beneficiaries have a choice between private health plans and traditional fee-for-service Medicare. As policymakers consider changes to Medicare that would give an even greater role to private health plans in caring…
Health Care Costs: The Role of Technology and Chronic Conditions May 29, 2012 Event The Alliance for Health Reform and co-sponsors presented the second event in a three-part series of discussions on costs, the factors driving them up, and what (if anything) can be done about them. This briefing takes an in-depth look at two of the most often cited cost drivers – technology…
Behavioral Health: Can Primary Care Help Meet the Growing Need? May 4, 2012 Event The health reform law has specific provisions covering mental health and substance use conditions, as well as general provisions to benefit those in need of behavioral health services. While addressing unmet needs, the reform law provisions raise new challenges. Given their budgetary constraints, will states be able to expand capacity…
Global Child Survival Efforts: Every Child Deserves a Fifth Birthday April 23, 2012 Event This Kaiser Family Foundation briefing explores global child survival efforts, including where progress is being made, financial challenges and constraints, and opportunities for further engagement by the U.S. and others.
Health Care Costs in the U.S.: The Role of Prices and Volume April 19, 2012 Event The Alliance for Health Reform and several cosponsors held the first event in a three-part series of discussions on costs, the factors driving them up and what (if anything) can be done about them. This briefing and others in the series take an in-depth look at a select few of…
Coping with Fragmented Payment in the Real World April 13, 2012 Event The Alliance for Health Reform and The Commonwealth Fund sponsored this briefing which focused on three communities that have reformed and harmonized health care payments across payers to improve care: a New York health center that serves a low income population; a Colorado community that pools money from public and…
Implementing Health Reform in the States March 27, 2012 Event The Alliance for Health Reform, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Association of Health Care Journalists sponsored this live webinar on March 27, 2012, to take a look at what’s happening in the states with implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Many of the key decisions implementing…
A Reporter’s Guide to Supreme Court Arguments on Health Reform March 15, 2012 Event The Alliance for Health Reform and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation sponsored this reporters-only briefing to help journalists cover the Supreme Court arguments challenging the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and their aftermath with greater depth and understanding. Panelists focus on tips, story ideas and angles that have perhaps…
Program Integrity: Preventing Health Care Fraud and Abuse March 5, 2012 Event Headlines regularly call attention to pockets of fraudulent activity in the health care arena – scams that amount to millions and potentially billions of dollars. The stories typically focus on catching the crooks but not so much on efforts to prevent fraud, waste and abuse in health care programs. Both…