Commonwealth Fund News and Research

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Health insurance: Coverage expands for children, young adults; not necessarily for retirees

Glenn Franco, a retired community-college instructor in Michigan, tried to get his 24-year-old daughter on his health plan—and was turned away. Many large employers are telling retirees the same thing.

11 Oct 2010

Research roundup: Examining comparative effectiveness research and changes in Medicare Part D

Health Affairs: The Potential Impact Of Comparative Effectiveness Research On The Health Of Minority Populations -- This is part of a collection of reports this month on comparative effectiveness research. Studies that compare how different treatments work is a focus of the new health law because advocates believe it could help hold down costs.

11 Oct 2010

Young adults continue to represent Americans without health insurance

Young adults continue to represent one of the largest groups of Americans without health insurance, with nearly 15 million people aged 19-29 uninsured in 2009-an increase of more than 1 million over 2008, according to a Commonwealth Fund report released today. However, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is poised to make a significant difference for this population, as up to 12.1 million could gain subsidized insurance once all of the law's provisions go into effect in 2014.

8 Oct 2010

US continues to lag behind other nations when it comes to gains in life expectancy: Study

America continues to lag behind other nations when it comes to gains in life expectancy, and commonly cited causes for our poor performance-obesity, smoking, traffic fatalities and homicide-are not to blame, according to a study by researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.

8 Oct 2010

U.S. continues to lag behind other nations in life expectancy

The United States continues to lag behind other nations when it comes to gains in life expectancy, and commonly cited causes for our poor performance-obesity, smoking, traffic fatalities, and homicide-are not to blame, according to a Commonwealth Fund-supported study published today as a Health Affairs Web First.

7 Oct 2010

New report addresses difficult issues for design of health insurance exchanges

A new report from The Commonwealth Fund provides recommendations for state and federal policymakers as they design and implement the new health insurance exchanges which are a key element of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA).

30 Sep 2010

Research Roundup: Assessing physician quality; Community health centers' future; Why doctors take gifts; Access to HIV treatment

Archives of Internal Medicine: Associations Between Physician Characteristics And Quality Of Care - Since "most patients do not have access to physician quality measures," they are often encouraged to use public information such as malpractice claims and board certification status to chose a doctor, according to this report that used 2004-2005 insurance claims from about 10,000 Massachusetts physicians for more than 1.13 million adults.

18 Sep 2010

Harvard neurologist starts new program for doctor education; Study finds journal authors often do not disclose ties to medical device companies

The Boston Globe reports on Dr. Martin Samuels, a Harvard Medical School neurologist, who started "a new company that he says will provide continuing medical education to doctors across the country — without funding from the pharmaceutical industry.

15 Sep 2010

Public reporting of individual physician quality data may help seekers of high-quality health care

Publicly available information about board certification, education and malpractice claims appear to provide consumers with little information about the quality of care individual physicians provide, according to a report in the September 13 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

14 Sep 2010

Research Roundup: Shifting ER visits to urgent care centers; Evaluating doctors; Medicare Advantage quality ratings

Health Affairs: Many Emergency Department Visits Could Be Managed At Urgent Care Centers And Retail Clinics - Researchers analyzed samples of patient records and found "13.7 percent of all emergency department visits could take place at a retail clinic" - 7.9 percent when hours are restricted - and "an additional 13.4 percent of emergency department visits could take place at a urgent care center—8.9 percent when hours are restricted.

10 Sep 2010

Overhaul's effect on health spending minimal, government study says

The health overhaul and other recent legislative and regulatory changes will only modestly increase the nation's health tab through 2019, according to a government study published today, Kaiser Health News reports.

10 Sep 2010

Small businesses continue to gauge health law implications

Some small business owners remain wary of a health law they do not yet clearly understand, The Kansas City Star reports. "Employers with 50 or more employees know this: The new law has employee coverage mandates looming for them in 2014. Employers with fewer than 50 employees will escape the coverage mandate. But they're not resting easy." Business expect costs to increase by between 6 and 40 percent in 2011, and many wonder whether they will be able to continue to afford subsidizing their employees' insurance coverage (Stafford, 9/6).

8 Sep 2010

Research Roundup: Heart disease and disability; Medicaid and health reform, mental illness

Urban Institute/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: The Health Status Of New Medicaid Enrollees Under Health Reform - Using the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, authors of this paper found "strong evidence that those who will enroll [in Medicaid after 2014] are likely to be healthier than nondisabled adults currently enrolled in Medicaid ... There is, however, a high likelihood of adverse selection - the least healthy and older among the new eligibles will be more likely to enroll.

3 Sep 2010

Study: Health law's tax credit for small business could affect millions

A new Commonwealth Fund report estimates that "about 16.6 million workers are employed by small businesses that are eligible for health insurance tax credits" under the new health law but only 3.4 million of them are at companies that will take advantage of the credits, The Washington Post reports, adding that those businesses already offer their employees health insurance.

3 Sep 2010

Research Roundups: Underinsured children; Hospital progress on electronic records; Federal officlals' work on comparative effectiveness

Underinsurance Among Children In The United States - This study examines the scope of underinsurance, or health insurance that fails to sufficiently meet the needs, of children living in the U.S. Based on information obtained from the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health, the authors of the study report, "19.3% — or 14.1 million — of all U.S. children (and 22.7% of children with continuous insurance coverage) were underinsured in 2007, exceeding the number of children without any insurance at all during the year (3.4 million) and the number who had insurance during only part of the year (7.6 million)."

27 Aug 2010

Research Roundup: Lowering malpractice costs; Advance care planning limitations; Consumers review their own health care

Annals of Internal Medicine: Liability Claims And Costs Before And After Implementation Of A Medical Error Disclosure Program - This study focused on a "disclosure-with-offer program" launched by the University of Michigan Health System (UMHS) in 2001. "After full implementation of a disclosure-with-offer program, the average monthly rate of new claims decreased from 7.03 to 4.52 per 100,000 patient encounters.

21 Aug 2010

Abortion rights supporters, children's groups, GOP pushing back on various health law provisions

"Elective abortions will be prohibited and people with pre-existing conditions will be able to get comprehensive benefits without paying any more than healthy people, under new federal regulations for high-risk health insurance pools released ... by the Obama administration," according to Kaiser Health News.

31 Jul 2010

Research Roundup:COBRA subsidies; Children's insurance and dental coverage; Adopting health IT; Race and heart treatments

Archives of Internal Medicine: Racial Differences In Admissions To High-Quality Hospitals For Coronary Heart Disease - "Racial disparities in the management of coronary heart disease (CHD) are widely documented, yet the reasons behind persistent gaps in quality of care are not fully understood," write the authors, who examined "Medicare patients with acute myocardial infarction and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) admitted during 2002 through 2005 to hospitals located in markets with top-ranked cardiac hospitals, as ascertained from the US News and World Report 'America's Best Hospitals' annual rankings."

31 Jul 2010

First Edition: July 30, 2010

In today's headlines, a report about the administration's new high-risk pool regulations and how they address abortion coverage, as well as other details related to the new health law and the insurance marketplace.

30 Jul 2010

New health reform law to benefit 30 million women: Commonwealth Fund report

Thirty million women will benefit from the new health reform law over the next decade, either through new or strengthened insurance coverage, according to a new report from The Commonwealth Fund. In the first analysis of its kind, the authors report that the law will stabilize and reverse the growing exposure to health costs that women now experience by subsidizing health insurance for up to 15 million currently uninsured women, and strengthening existing coverage for 14.5 million women who are considered underinsured-those who have health coverage that does not adequately protect them from high medical expenses.

30 Jul 2010

Commonwealth Fund News and Research

Health insurance: Coverage expands for children, young adults; not necessarily for retirees

Research roundup: Examining comparative effectiveness research and changes in Medicare Part D

Young adults continue to represent Americans without health insurance

US continues to lag behind other nations when it comes to gains in life expectancy: Study

U.S. continues to lag behind other nations in life expectancy

New report addresses difficult issues for design of health insurance exchanges

Research Roundup: Assessing physician quality; Community health centers' future; Why doctors take gifts; Access to HIV treatment

Harvard neurologist starts new program for doctor education; Study finds journal authors often do not disclose ties to medical device companies

Public reporting of individual physician quality data may help seekers of high-quality health care

Research Roundup: Shifting ER visits to urgent care centers; Evaluating doctors; Medicare Advantage quality ratings

Overhaul's effect on health spending minimal, government study says

Small businesses continue to gauge health law implications

Research Roundup: Heart disease and disability; Medicaid and health reform, mental illness

Study: Health law's tax credit for small business could affect millions

Research Roundups: Underinsured children; Hospital progress on electronic records; Federal officlals' work on comparative effectiveness

Research Roundup: Lowering malpractice costs; Advance care planning limitations; Consumers review their own health care

Abortion rights supporters, children's groups, GOP pushing back on various health law provisions

Research Roundup:COBRA subsidies; Children's insurance and dental coverage; Adopting health IT; Race and heart treatments

First Edition: July 30, 2010

New health reform law to benefit 30 million women: Commonwealth Fund report

Sensing a Healthier Future

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

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