State Health Watch Archives – May 1, 2006
May 1, 2006
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Trouble lurks as budgests rebound and state create new opportunities
The fifth State Coverage Initiatives' State of the States report, summarizing state activities to expand health coverage through the past year, found that 2005 was "unfortunately, not much different from that of last year. Times still are difficult for states and for coverage in general. ..." -
Kentucky Medicaid-only plan, Passport, has saved millions by pairing quality, cost savings
Passport Health Plan, a Medicaid-only plan operating in 16 counties around Louisville, KY, has saved the state $191 million in its eight years of operation. The program provides a combination of health management, case management, and utilization management for complex, high-cost, at-risk members. -
Lessons from New York's Disaster Relief Medicaid plan used after 9/11
In the wake of the devastating 2005 hurricanes, some analysts have suggested New York's Disaster Relief Medicaid plan that was used after the 9/11 attacks be used as a model for other large-scale disasters. But while that program worked very well, United Hospital Fund of New York president James Tallon tells State Health Watch he isn't sure there are sufficient parallels to make it worthwhile. -
Manipulating drug copays affects health, costs
Studies conducted by the RAND Corporation and Express Scripts show how reducing drug copayments can keep some patients healthier, and increasing copayments leads to reduced drug costs and more use of generics. -
Study: Pain of uninsurance rising in middle-, higher-income Americans
The number of uninsured Americans rose by 6 million between 2000 and 2004, primarily because of a drop in employer coverage. -
Out-of-pocket health costs up, according to study
Family out-of-pocket health care costs rose at a much higher rate than income between 1996 and 2002, according to Commonwealth Fund research. As a result, by 2002 nearly 15% of families experienced high out-of-pocket costs relative to their incomes.