October 1, 2002 - Findings from The Commonwealth Fund 2001 Health Insurance Survey show that Medicare outperforms private sector plans in terms of patients' satisfaction with quality of care, access to care, and overall insurance ratings.
In the Literature
September 30, 2002 - This field report argues that, five years later, Medicare+Choice has not become what program proponents had envisioned. While it was originally forecast that program enrollment would rise to 34 percent of total Medicare enrollment by 2005, the enrollment has now fallen from its 1997 level of 14 percent to just 13 percent.
Fund Report
September 1, 2002 - This report defines and examines the evidence for the effectiveness of health services specifically targeted at promoting optimal development in children from birth to three years of age. The services reviewed are provided in general pediatric settings as part of routine well-child care and health supervision.
Fund Report
September 1, 2002 - The nation's 5 million disabled Medicare beneficiaries under age 65 face a daunting combination of low income, poor health status, heavy prescription drug use, and high medication bills.
Fund Report
September 1, 2002 - This report presents results from a survey assessing the quality of preventive and developmental services for young children enrolled in Medicaid in three states—Carolina, Vermont, and Washington.
Fund Report
September 1, 2002 - According to the authors, in 2000, academic health center (AHC) hospitals and major teaching hospitals ran at an operating loss, with margins of -1.4 percent and -2.6 percent, respectively. Moreover, the financial performance of AHC hospitals and major teaching hospitals has declined more sharply since 1996 than at other hospitals.
Fund Report
September 1, 2002 - According to this report, the combination of a weak economy, higher unemployment, and rising health care costs is placing pressure on New York State employers to eliminate or scale back health benefits for workers, their dependents, and retirees.
Fund Report
September 1, 2002 - The relatively successful five-year track record of the M+C program in New York City is due both to payment rates to health plans that are among the highest in the nation and plans' ability to negotiate favorable rates from the city's large supply of competing physicians and hospitals that continue to contract with HMOs. According to the authors, however, four factors indicate that these conditions are likely to change, suggesting future instability in New York City's M+C market.
Fund Report
September 1, 2002 - This field report compares the 2002 benefit packages of Medicare+Choice plans to assess the degree of regional disparities among benefit packages. The authors find wide variations in out-of-pocket costs for Medicare+Choice enrollees depending on where beneficiaries live.
Fund Report
September 1, 2002 - The authors review major studies that compare the quality of care in teaching and nonteaching hospitals and conclude that teaching hospitals generally offer better care for common conditions, particularly for conditions affecting elderly patients.
In the Literature
August 15, 2002 - The Wellspring model of nursing home care, which relies on a collaborative approach, demonstrates that high quality care in nursing homes can in fact be achieved. According to this report, the Wellspring alliance of 11 nonprofit nursing homes in Wisconsin has stabilized staff turnover and remained free of serious quality deficiencies on state inspections, all without additional cost.
Fund Report
August 8, 2002 - Based on a Commonwealth Fund survey of health insurance in the workplace, this issue brief finds that two of five workers experienced increases in their premiums or cost-sharing, or both, during 2001. Although public support for job-based health insurance remains strong, many workers are not confident that employers will continue to offer coverage to them down the road. Workers are even more uncertain about their ability to get good health care in the future.
Issue Brief
August 1, 2002 - This health care delivery model consists of the integration of developmental screening and surveillance into well-child visits in pediatric and family practice offices and is followed by case management for parents who express concerns about their child's development.
Fund Report
August 1, 2002 - This field report, based on research cofunded by The Commonwealth Fund and the California Wellness Foundation, examines the effects of Medicare+Choice, created by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, on Medicare beneficiaries in four managed care markets.
Fund Report
July 7, 2002 - In this article, the authors conclude that using the federal poverty level to determine eligibility under health insurance expansions to uninsured working families is a more effective way to extend coverage than eligibility criteria based on hourly wages or firm size.
In the Literature