At the end of the 2007 fiscal year, congressional authorization for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)--hailed as a safety net for children in families that have too much income to qualify for Medicaid but too little to afford private insurance--is set to expire. The reauthorization process will take place at a time when the uninsured rate for children is once again on the rise. Read more »
Although the most recent news on national health care spending was somewhat encouraging, expenditures nevertheless continue to outpace general inflation and growth in wages for the average U.S. worker. According to a recent analysis, Slowing the Growth of U.S. Health Care Expenditures: What Are the Options, the U.S. should be able to achieve substantial savings and better value for its world-leading investment in health care. Read more »
While it is encouraging that President Bush made health care a theme of his January State of the Union address, his proposal to offer tax deductions to those who buy insurance would do little to cover the nation's nearly 47 million uninsured, explained Commonwealth Fund president Karen Davis in a recent column. Read more »
Two Commonwealth Fund reports look at innovative Medicare initiatives. The first finds that the 10 sites participating in Medicare's Physician Group Practice Demonstration have used the demonstration to expand data systems, care management programs, coordination-of-care efforts, and other interventions that are not directly reimbursed by Medicare. The second report illuminates the process for identifying, testing, evaluating, and implementing Medicare policy improvements focused on chronic care management and provider performance. Read more »
An alarmingly high number of elderly Americans are not telling their physician about problems they are having with prescription medications, including unwelcome side effects, affordability, or perceived efficacy, according to a recent Fund-supported study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. Read more »