Dear Health Committee Chairs:
These are excerpts from the September 2007 email update on state health policy resources available on the Internet.
State by State
The State Health Access Data Assistance Center (SHADAC) released “Protecting America’s Future: A State-by-State Look at SCHIP and Uninsured Kids.” This report includes data on such items as the total number of children ever enrolled in SCHIP, percent of children without health insurance, and the percent of children not receiving any medical care, as well as some items segregated by race/ethnicity. To view this report please visit: http://covertheuninsured.org/pdf/americasfuture.pdf.
Resources Online
The Census Bureau released “Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2006” in late August. This report found that number of the uninsured increased from 44.8 million in 2005 to 47.0 million in 2006. Also, the number of children under 18 without insurance increased to 8.7 million, up from 8.0 million. To view the report please visit: http://www.census.gov/prod/2007pubs/p60-233.pdf.
Access
The Robert Graham Center for Policy Studies in Family Medicine and Primary Care, the National Association of Community Health Centers and Capitol Link produced a report last month analyzing community health centers and their financial impact on the health care system. A t present, there are 1,100 community health centers in the U.S. To view this report please visit http://www.nachc.com/press/08062007advisory.asp.
Preventive Care and Disparities
The Partnership for Prevention, an advocate for prevention-centered health reform, released a report claiming that over 100,000 lives would be saved each year if five different preventative services (utilization of screenings, vaccinations, and other preventative measures) were employed by 90% of the population. The report also found many racial disparities in the employment of preventative activities. For example, Asian-American women are less likely to be screened for breast cancer than women in other racial groups. The Partnership for Prevention report can be viewed at http://www.prevent.org/content/view/129/72/#highlights.
Providers and Workforce
The Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research at the University of Pennsylvania published a report accessing changes in the quality of care when temporary nurses are utilized. Their findings indicate that there are “no adverse implications for quality of care” when supplemental nurses are used in hospitals. This report also concludes that temporary nurses are more likely to hold baccalaureate or advanced degrees, and have received their medical training within the last ten years. The report’s abstract can be accessed at http://www.jonajournal.com/pt/re/jona/abstract.00005110-200707000-00005.htm;jsessionid=GpNRnLpT2NqRGJsKWsjfKnDnwCYDZcnXg9dWFG44DYngQ5yJVVnP!1646970248!181195628!8091!-1
Quality and Chronic Conditions
Researchers at Harvard Medical School analyzed data from the federal Health and Retirement Study to ascertain differences in medical service utilization for those individuals who were previously uninsured but now are eligible for Medicare. This study found that for people who were uninsured and had been previously diagnosed with a chronic condition, their health expenditures and physicians visits were greater than their always-insured counterparts. For more information please visit http://www.hcp.med.harvard.edu/research/projects/ayanian_uninsured_near-elderly.
Long Term Care
You’ve heard about U.S. residents crossing into Mexico for cheaper prescription drugs, dental care, and, in some cases, surgery. A USA Today article published mid-August discussed the growing number of U.S. residents crossing the border to receive nursing home care. Among the incentives are cheaper facilities and warmer climate. Medicare, Medicaid, VA health insurance, and many other private insurance agencies do not cover the cost of care in Mexico. A representative from the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging emphasized the lack of government regulation in this new market. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-08-15-mexnursinghome_N.htm
Mental Health
The National Health Policy Forum published an issue brief on the decreasing number of inpatient psychiatric beds in the U.S. Despite a recommendation from the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health to “replace unnecessary institutional care with effective, efficient community services,” the reduction of institutional care is occurring without expanding community support. This decline in care options for acute mental health episodes is causing longer wait times for inpatient placements and a greater reliance on jails and emergency rooms. http://www.nhpf.org/pdfs_ib/IB823_InpatientPsych_08-01-07.pdf
Public Health
The Society for Women’s Health Research released a survey conducted by GfK Custom Research North America outlining women’s cholesterol concerns. The survey found that 63% of women are concerned with high cholesterol, but only 35% knew any one of their four cholesterol monitoring numbers (total cholesterol level, low density lipoprotein, high density lipoprotein, and triglyceride level). To view selected findings please visit http://www.womenshealthresearch.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=6935 .
“F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies are Failing in America, 2007” a report produced by Trust for America’s Health, indicated that obesity rates rose in 31 states, 22 of which witnessed their second increase in two years. The report contains plenty of useful data on those states and obesity levels, as well as state-level initiatives to decrease childhood obesity through school-based interventions. The state with the highest level of obesity was Mississippi and the state with the lowest level was Colorado. Washington D.C. had the highest rate of obesity among children. To see how your state compared, please visit: http://healthyamericans.org/reports/obesity2007/Obesity2007Report.pdf.
Health Information Technology
According to a report by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, 12 state Medicaid agencies have begun utilizing electronic health records, electronic prescribing, and remote disease monitoring among other HIT initiatives. Twenty-five additional states are developing information exchange networks for better support of HIT activities. http://www.oig.hhs.gov/oei/reports/oei-02-06-00270.pdf
Special Section: Immigrants and Health Care
The Center for American Progress published a report this past June describing some common myths regarding immigrants and the U.S. health care system. Among the misconceptions the report addressed are that public health programs are overburdened with undocumented and documented immigrants, immigrants utilize many limited health care resources, immigrants come to the U.S. for health care access, and the restriction of immigrants access to the health care system will not affect the care citizens receive. http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2007/06/pdf/immigrant_health_report.pdf.
Counter Conventional Wisdom
A July report by RAND investigated the affects that decreases in health insurance premiums would have on the number of uninsured. They found that lowering premiums by 50 percent would lessen the number of uninsured by 3 percent. The report concluded that an individual mandate would be necessary to achieve universal coverage, because some people will always opt out of health insurance, believing they will never get sick or that they can afford their care out-of-pocket.
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1475-6773.2007.00726.x
Several months worth of past Chairs e-bulletins are archived at: http://www.ncsl.org/programs/health/forum/chairs/ebull/index.htm.
Have any questions you'd like answered? A topic for which you’d like us to gather resources? Do you have a report of your own you'd like to share with your peers? Drop us a line.
Kelly Wilkicki, Intern
Forum for State Health Policy Leadership
National Conference of State Legislatures
ph: 202-624-8662 fx: 202-737-1069
Kelly.Wilkicki@ncsl.org
Donna Folkemer, Group Director
Forum for State Health Policy Leadership
National Conference of State Legislatures
ph: 202-624-8171 fx: 202-737-1069
Donna.Folkemer@ncsl.org
 Health Chairs Project
|
