State Health Watch Archives – August 1, 2004
August 1, 2004
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Families USA: Study illustrates the depth of problems of uninsured
Families USA has a different view of the uninsured than the federal government. The group says that while the Census Bureaus Current Population Survey estimated there were 43.6 million uninsured people in the United States in 2002, 14.6% more than in 2001, the reality is that 81.8 million people or one out of three Americans younger than 65 were without health insurance for all or part of 2002 or 2003. -
Fiscal Fitness: Pharmaceutical assistance programs walk a high wire while looking for ways to save money
Even using generic substitution and discounted prices, state pharmaceutical assistance program drug expenditures have escalated, according to a report funded by New York City-based The Commonwealth Fund and carried out by the Rutgers Center for State Health Policy. -
Families USA’s Six Reasons Why Health Insurance Matters
Here are six reasons from Families USA in Washington, DC, why health insurance matters. -
Is Medicaid too big to fail?
The question about the single most important change to recommend for Medicaid was one of several posed by moderator Diane Rowland, executive director of the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, to a panel of experts convened for a symposium on the future of Medicaid at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. -
Rhode Island models Medicaid concerns
Many Medicaid reports from national organizations discuss concerns with the program by using national averages. But an FY 2005 Medicaid report from the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council shows the impact the program has in the state that ranks second in the nation in per-capita spending on Medicaid and gives recommendations for increased efficiencies that may be of assistance to other states. -
Case made for Medicaid, health care reform
National Governors Association executive director Raymond Scheppach said that while both education and Medicaid take significant portions of state budgets, Medicaid creates more problems because much of its spending is not discretionary while all education spending is discretionary. -
Clip files | Local news from the states
Seniors saving big on states drug plan; Oregon Health Plan to drop some copays; Medicaid premiums for children delayed