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New State-by-State Report: Employer Health Insurance Premiums Increased 41 Percent from 2003 to 2009; Deductibles Rose Nearly 80 Percent

December 2, 2010 - Premiums for employer-sponsored family health insurance increased an average of 41 percent across states from 2003 to 2009, more than three times faster than median incomes, according to a new Commonwealth Fund report.

Commission on a High Performance Health System Update

December 1, 2010 - Today the Commonwealth Fund's Commission on a High Performance Health System welcomes three new members and a new executive director.

New International Survey in the Guardian

November 18, 2010 - In "NHS Fares Best on Free Access to Healthcare," the Guardian features Commonwealth Fund research from the latest international survey, "How Insurance Design Affects Access to Care and Costs, by Income, in Eleven Countries."

11-Country Survey: U.S. Adults Most Likely To Forgo Care Due To Cost, Have Trouble Paying Medical Bills; U.S. Stands Out For Highest Out-Of-Pocket Costs And Most Complex Health Insurance

November 18, 2010 - A new 11-country survey from The Commonwealth Fund finds that adults in the United States are far more likely than those in 10 other industrialized nations to go without health care because of costs, have trouble paying medical bills, encounter high medical bills even when insured, and have disputes with their insurers or discover insurance wouldn’t pay as they expected.

Anthony Shih Rejoins Commonwealth Fund as Executive Vice President for Programs

November 11, 2010 - Anthony Shih, M.D., M.P.H., has been appointed executive vice president for programs of The Commonwealth Fund, effective January 12, 2011.

Eliminating or Reducing Cost-Sharing For High-Value Prescription Drugs Improves Medication Use Among Patients With Chronic Illness

November 2, 2010 - An initiative by the U. S. technology company Pitney Bowes to make medications of proven value less expensive for their employees succeeded in stabilizing employees' adherence to their treatment regimens, according to a Commonwealth Fund-supported study published in this month's Health Affairs.

New Method Needed for Setting Health Care Payment Rates, Experts Say

October 25, 2010 - Experts surveyed in the latest Commonwealth Fund/Modern Healthcare Health Care Opinion Leaders Survey support moving away from the current method of negotiating health care payments—a complex system in which public and private health insurers each engage independently with multiple health care providers to negotiate or set payment rates with hospitals and physicians.

Karen Davis quoted by David Leonhardt

October 22, 2010 - In Proving Innovation in Medicare, David Leonhardt of the New York Times discusses a plan to improve Medicare reimbursements and quotes Fund President Karen Davis.

New Patient Safety and Hospital Quality Data for 9 States Now Available at WhyNotTheBest.org

October 12, 2010 - Comparative data on patient safety and hospital quality are available online for the first time, through WhyNotTheBest.org, The Commonwealth Fund's resource for reporting and comparing health care quality data.

NEW REPORT: How Will The Affordable Care Act Affect 15 Million Uninsured Young Adults?

October 8, 2010 - According to this Commonwealth Fund report, by 2014, when most of the Affordable Care Act's provisions will have taken effect, up to 7.2 million uninsured young adults will gain coverage through Medicaid expansions and up to 4.9 million will gain subsidized private coverage through new insurance exchanges.

Despite Highest Health Spending, Americans' Life Expectancy Continues To Fall Behind Other Countries'

October 7, 2010 - The United States continues to lag behind other nations when it comes to gains in life expectancy, and commonly cited causes for our poor performance—obesity, smoking, traffic fatalities, and homicide—are not to blame, according to a Commonwealth Fund-supported study published today as a Health Affairs Web First.

New Health Insurance Exchanges Should Be Independent, Should Aim for a Level Playing Field for Plans Within and Outside the Exchange, and Should Reduce Administrative Costs of Insurance

September 30, 2010 - A new report from The Commonwealth Fund provides recommendations for state and federal policymakers as they design and implement the new health insurance exchanges which are a key element of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Executive Vice President for Programs Steve Schoenbaum, M.D., to Leave The Commonwealth Fund

September 23, 2010 - Commonwealth Fund Executive Vice President for Programs Steve Schoenbaum, M.D., has decided to pursue other interests and will leave the foundation at the end of 2010.

Statement from Commonwealth Fund President Karen Davis: New Census Data on Uninsured Shows Recession Hits Middle-Class Health Care Coverage Hard

September 16, 2010 - Today the U.S. Census Bureau released the latest data on the number of Americans without health insurance. The number rose to 50.7 million in 2009, from 46.3 million in 2008, the highest level since the Census Bureau began collecting this data in 1987. Reflecting the nation's high unemployment rate, the record increase in the numbers of people who lack health coverage was driven by a dramatic drop-off in private insurance, especially in employer-sponsored insurance.

Physician Attributes Commonly Used By Consumers to Choose Doctors Mostly Unrelated To Physician Quality

September 13, 2010 - Information that is easily available to the public and that patients are encouraged to use to select a physician, such as what medical school they attended, years of experience, and malpractice claims, are poor predictors of the quality of care those doctors provide, according to a new Commonwealth Fund-supported article.