November 2, 2009 - In the latest Commonwealth Fund/Modern Healthcare Health Care Opinion Leaders survey, experts in health care and health policy say they favor strengthening Medicare's ability to help control program costs and support broader health system reform.
Data Brief
November 2, 2009 - With so much attention being given to healthcare reform, Gail Wilensky writes in this commentary on The Commonwealth Fund/Modern Healthcare Health Care Opinion Leaders Survey findings, it's essential to remember the importance of reforming Medicare as well.
Commentary
October 5, 2009 - A new Commonwealth Fund-supported study from researchers at Harvard Medical School demonstrates that expanding health coverage might not cost as much as policymakers assume. Mainly due to untreated chronic conditions like hypertension and diabetes, individuals who were uninsured before becoming eligible for Medicare at 65 had significantly higher spending than did those with coverage prior to Medicare enrollment.
In the Literature
August 12, 2009 - Private health plans that enroll Medicare beneficiaries—known as Medicare Advantage (MA) plans—are being paid $11 billion more in 2009 than it would cost to cover these beneficiaries in regular fee-for-service Medicare. The Obama Administration has proposed eliminating these extra payments to private insurers and instituting a competitive bidding system. This study questions the degree to which firms offering MA plans actually face competition.
Issue Brief
May 20, 2009 - This report creates profiles of those with Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) during the three years before and after SSDI entry to illustrate changes in insurance status, health care access, and utilization.
Fund Report
May 20, 2009 - At a particularly difficult point in their lives, disabled individuals must wait two years before they are eligible to begin receiving Medicare benefits--a delay that can block access to needed care and relief from financial pressures.
Perspectives on Health Reform Brief
May 12, 2009 - In a national Commonwealth Fund survey, elderly Medicare beneficiaries reported greater overall satisfaction with their health coverage, better access to care, and fewer problems paying medical bills than people covered by employer-sponsored plans.
In the Literature
May 4, 2009 - The Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 explicitly increased Medicare payments to private Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. As a result, MA plans have, for the past six years, been paid more for their enrollees than they would be expected to cost in traditional fee-for-service Medicare.
Issue Brief
April 27, 2009 - Nearly all respondents to the latest Commonwealth Fund/Modern Healthcare Health Care Opinion Leaders Survey agree that the U.S. must rein in the growth of health care spending, and most believe it is possible to hold the current percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) devoted to health care steady over the next decade. In addition, large majorities expressed support for a range of strategies to reduce costs, including many of those outlined in President Obama’s budget blueprint.
Data Brief
April 27, 2009 - In this commentary on the Health Care Opinion Leaders Survey on slowing health care cost growth, Karen Ignagni says that identifying small reductions across all sectors will provide significant relief to individuals and businesses purchasing coverage, improve the solvency of the Medicare trust fund, and free up resources to finance reform, including coverage for all Americans.
Commentary
April 2, 2009 - One of five Medicare beneficiares discharged from the hospital was readmitted within 30 days, and half of patients admitted for reasons other than surgery were readmitted without having seen a doctor in follow-up, according to a Commonwealth Fund-supported study.
In the Literature
February 17, 2009 - Special Needs Plans (SNPs) are intended to improve care coordination, improve quality of care, and reduce the costs for treating high-risk, high-cost Medicare beneficiaries, including those who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid benefits. Many SNPs, however, do not coordinate their benefits with state Medicaid programs.
In the Literature
January 27, 2009 - By using payment incentives, Medicare, the nation's largest health care payer, could lead the United States to higher health system performance and yield great benefits, say Fund staff and colleagues in this Health Affairs article.
In the Literature
November 24, 2008 - This study, which reviewed data from the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey from 2001 through 2003, of 1,120 community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries diagnosed with dementia found that use of anti-dementia medications was approximately 30 percent higher among non-Hispanic whites compared with other racial and ethnic groups.
In the Literature
November 10, 2008 - A multiyear analysis of Medicare's "national coverage decisions"--policies for reimbursing health care providers for particular medical services--shows that the program considers the available evidence "fair" or "poor" for most medical technologies it reviews.
In the Literature