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Statement by The Commonwealth Fund on Use of Prostate Cancer Statistics

October 30, 2007 - A City Journal article authored by David Gratzer, M.D., says the U.S. prostate cancer survival rate is 81.2 percent and the U.K. survival rate is 44.3 percent. According to abcnews.com, Gratzer has cited a seven-year-old Commonwealth Fund report as his source for the statistics. In fact, the five-year survival data cited in the City Journal article do not come from The Commonwealth Fund report, and cannot be calculated from that report.

Commonwealth Fund Commission of Nation's Leading Health Policy Experts Says Mix of Private/Public Insurance Most Practical Way to Achieve Universal Coverage

October 18, 2007 - Health insurance reform plans that build on a mix of private and public health insurance, where costs are shared among government, employers, and enrollees would have great potential to move the system to high performance and would be the most practical to implement according to a new report released today by The Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System.

New Study: In Many U.S. Cities, Blacks More Likely Than Whites to Live in Poor Quality Nursing Homes

September 11, 2007 - September 11, 2007—In metropolitan areas across the United States, blacks are more likely than whites to live in poor quality nursing homes, according to a new study in the September/October issue of Health Affairs.

Census Data on Growing Number of Uninsured Make Clear: National Health Care Strategy Is Needed

August 28, 2007 - Today, the Census Bureau released the latest data on the number of Americans without health insurance: in 2006, the number of uninsured rose to 47 million, from 44.8 million in 2005. According to Fund president Karen Davis, a comprehensive national strategy and leadership are needed to ensure that all Americans have access to high-quality, safe, and efficient health care.

Study Finds Medicare's Drug Benefit Substantially Increased Coverage Among Seniors, But Some Continue to Be Vulnerable to High Costs

August 21, 2007 - The share of seniors without drug coverage dropped significantly under Medicare's new drug benefit, according to a survey of more than 16,000 seniors. However, seniors who enrolled in a Medicare Part D plan did not fare as well as those who relied on other sources of drug coverage, such as employer-sponsored coverage or benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs

States Taking Action to Insure Nation's 13.3 Million Uninsured Young Adults

August 8, 2007 - 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.

National Quality Agenda, Payment Reform and Care Integration Are Keys to Improving Quality and Patient Safety, Says New Health Care Opinion Leaders Survey

July 30, 2007 - As health care quality and patient safety concerns rise, the latest Commonwealth Fund Health Care Opinion Leaders survey finds leaders united behind several key reform measures: more than half (56%) support the creation of a new public-private entity to coordinate quality efforts and form a national quality agenda; 95% believe that fundamental payment reform is needed; and three-fourths (73%) say that greater organization and integration of provider care is necessary for improved quality and efficiency.

New Analysis: Congressional Health Reform Bills Before Congress Could Improve Quality and Efficiency, But Fall Short of National Strategy

July 26, 2007 - Several health reform bills before Congress could lead to significant improvements in health care quality and efficiency, but they fall short of an overarching, coordinated plan that would create a better overall health care system for the country, according to an analysis released today by the Commonwealth Fund.

Uninsured Older Adults Require More and Costlier Care When They Enter Medicare Than Do Those With Prior Health Insurance

July 12, 2007 - Uninsured adults ages 59-64 diagnosed with hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, or stroke report much higher medical costs—51 percent higher compared with their insured counterparts—after becoming eligible for Medicare through age 72, according to a new Commonwealth Fund-supported study by researchers at Harvard Medical School.

When Minority Patients Have Insurance and a Medical Home, Their Health Care Improves, Says New Survey

June 27, 2007 - 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.

First State Health System Scorecard Finds Wide Differences in Quality, Access, Avoidable Hospitalization and Costs

Report Finds Insurance Coverage Closely Linked to Quality of Care; Thousands of Lives and Billions of Dollars Could be Saved if All States Performed as Well as the Top States

June 13, 2007 - There are large gaps in quality of care, access to care, avoidable hospitalizations and costs, equity and healthy lives among states, according to a new state scorecard from The Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System.

New Update of International Health System Comparisons

May 15, 2007 - 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.

James R. Tallon, Jr., Elected Chairman of The Commonwealth Fund

April 26, 2007 - James R. Tallon, Jr., president of the United Hospital Fund of New York, has been elected chairman of The Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation working toward a high performance health system.

SCHIP Has Been Successful Overall, Should Be Expanded According to New Health Care Opinion Leaders Survey

April 23, 2007 - 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%).

Women Weighed Down by Health Care Costs, New Study Finds

April 19, 2007 - 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.