Commonwealth Fund News and Research

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U.S. has highest level of health spending compared to other OECD countries

The United States continues to spend the most on health care when compared to other Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries.

11 Sep 2007

Healthy Steps for Young Children Program has sustained benefits for children and families

The Healthy Steps for Young Children Program, which added behavior and development services to pediatric practices, continued to benefit families more than two years after the intervention ended, according to a study by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

5 Sep 2007

Why young adults become uninsured and how new policies can help

Since 2003, 16 states have enacted legislation requiring insurance companies to provide health insurance coverage to dependent young adults on their parents, health plans beyond age 18 or 19, according to a new report from the Commonwealth Fund.

9 Aug 2007

Inverse relationship between mortality rates and performance in the hospital quality alliance measures

A new study from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) shows that patients who go to hospitals ranked higher according to specific quality measures have a lower chance of dying than patients treated at lower-ranked hospitals.

17 Jul 2007

Study looks at how medical IT affects both employees and residents in nursing homes

Staff members in 17 nursing homes in downstate New York are being trained in the use of new, hand-held wireless computers for record keeping that will send patient information directly to a central server, where doctors, pharmacies, rehabilitation specialists and others treating residents will be able to access it easily and quickly.

17 Jul 2007

Uninsured adults increase Medicare costs

While the overall cost-effectiveness of Medicare benefits have been much-debated, new data now show that people who were uninsured before receiving benefits at age 65 required more intensive and costlier care than those who had been privately insured prior to receiving Medicare.

12 Jul 2007

How medical homes promote equity in health care

Providing minority patients a medical home in which they have a regular doctor or health professional who oversees and coordinates their care would help eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities and promote more health care equity, says a new report from the Commonwealth Fund.

28 Jun 2007

Hawaii the tops when it comes to health care

Living in Hawaii has more advantages than just sunshine and beautiful beaches. Health wise Hawaii is the top place to be when it comes to accessing safe and affordable medical care.

13 Jun 2007

U.S. health care system ranks last compared with five other nations on measures of quality, access, efficiency

The U.S. health care system ranks last compared with five other nations on measures of quality, access, efficiency, equity, and outcomes, in the third edition of a Commonwealth Fund report analyzing international health policy surveys.

16 May 2007

SCHIP has been successful in increasing access to health care for low income children

As the debate over reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) heats up in Washington, a new survey of leaders in health policy and health care finds that large majorities feel the program has been successful in increasing access to health care for low income children (71%) and in reducing the rate of uninsured, low-income children (65%).

24 Apr 2007

Women more likely to go without needed health care insurance

As Cover the Uninsured Week approaches, a new Commonwealth Fund report by researchers at the National Women's Law Center finds that even women with health insurance coverage are more likely than insured men to go without needed health care because of costs.

20 Apr 2007

Nationwide survey of state Medicaid programs on "pay-for-performance" practices

In the first published nationwide survey of state Medicaid programs on “pay-for-performance” practices, more than half of all programs state that they provide financial incentives to health care providers for better quality care.

15 Apr 2007

Stark introduces universal health insurance bill

House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chair Pete Stark (D-Calif.) on Thursday introduced a bill that would seek to provide health insurance to all U.S. residents through Medicare and employer-sponsored coverage, the Oakland Tribune reports.

2 Apr 2007

Problems of the U.S. healthcare system are growing

The United States is the only major industrialised nation without universal health insurance, writes Karen Davis, President of the Commonwealth Fund. Coverage varies widely between states and has deteriorated in recent years.

18 Feb 2007

Politicians increasingly addressing health care reform, universal coverage, including 2008 Presidential contenders

The Dallas Morning News on Thursday examined how "[a]fter a decade of relative silence, politicians are again broaching the issue of universal health care."

12 Feb 2007

Bush promotes health care proposals

Initiatives that encourage U.S. residents to purchase health insurance through the private insurance market are the best way to expand coverage and reduce health care costs, President Bush said Thursday while visiting a Missouri hospital to promote the health care proposals he outlined earlier this week in his State of the Union address, the Washington Post reports

28 Jan 2007

Government has overpaid private Medicare Advantage plans by billions of dollars

Incoming House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health Chair Pete Stark (D-Calif.) on Thursday said that the federal government has overpaid private Medicare Advantage plans by billions of dollars, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

2 Dec 2006

LaVeist named inaugural William C. and Nancy F. Richardson Professor in health policy

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has named Thomas A. LaVeist, PhD, the inaugural William C. and Nancy F. Richardson Professor in Health Policy. LaVeist, a leader in the study of minority health and the elimination of health disparities, was officially installed during a ceremony at the Bloomberg School of Public Health on November 10.

13 Nov 2006

Most working adults shopping for individual insurance turned down or found it too costly

Of working-age U.S. residents who sought individual health coverage in the last three years, 89% were rejected for medical reasons or felt that the available plans were unaffordable, according to a study released last week by the Commonwealth Fund, the Los Angeles Times reports.

18 Sep 2006

New England Journal of Medicine examines West Virginia's new Medicaid program

Two perspective pieces from the New England Journal of Medicine examine West Virginia's new Medicaid program, which will allow 160,000 Medicaid beneficiaries -- many of whom are parents of children enrolled in the program -- to sign a "personal responsibility contract."

28 Aug 2006