State Health Notes March 2004 Issue

State Health Notes
March 2004 Issues

Volume 25, Number 416: March 22, 2004

Cover Story - States/Feds Try Out New Roles for High-Risk Pools
State-supported high-risk pools are one of the few insurance products available to people with catastrophically expensive diseases. Now the feds want to channel more people into the pools, and the states are wondering whether they want to play along.

Focus On - Electronic Health Records: A Pot of Gold at the End of a Long Road
Electronic health records are expensive and difficult to implement, but they also have great potential for improving quality and reducing administrative costs. IN and DE are two of the states that are creating community-wide EHRs.

Highlights
FL KidCare. . .Autism and MMR Vaccine. . .Abstinence pledges and STDs. . .RI private plans. . .Employer-based coverage. . .Insurance scams. . .Asthma rates. . .”America on the Move”. . .PA, OH, VA, TX, AL, AK inhalant programs. . .MN and drug reimportation.

FYI - Small Iowa Project Could Save Big Bucks
Can “intensive” prevention reduce hospitalizations of nursing home residents? A small pilot project in Iowa seeks to find out.

Graphically Speaking - States Enjoy a Reprieve from Surging Medicaid Costs -- But Brace for More
Earlier Medicaid cuts pay off, as growth in the rate of spending slows.

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Volume 25, Number 415: March 8, 2004

Cover Story - What a Tangled Web: Hospital Billing and the Uninsured
Charging the uninsured more than the insured for hospital procedures is one of the “dirty little secrets” of the health care system. A look at the controversy, and how some states are addressing the problem.

Public Health News - Linking the Environment to Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities
Chronic diseases disproportionately affect low-income minorities. A look at why this is the case and efforts to eliminate some of the disparities.

Health Talk - Burke: Linking the Environment to Health Disparities
Thomas Burke, an environmental public health expert, talks about the role the environment plays in health disparities, and what legislators can do to mitigate the ill-effects of environment.

FYI - Coordinating Care Yields Savings in Minnesota
The Minnesota Disability Health Options project seeks to deliver seamless care to those with chronic conditions. Results of the project so far are encouraging.

Highlights
Federal review of Medicaid rules…Women/minorities increasingly at risk for HIV/AIDS…Federal study of drug importation…NJ, WV pass health staff overtime laws.

Vital Signs - Health Disparities and the Environment
Facts and figures on the prevalence of chronic diseases among minority populations.

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