Publications: Medicare

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Developing a Center for Comparative Effectiveness Information

November 7, 2006 - Creating a center to compare the effectiveness of drug treatments and medical procedures could stem the rising tide of health care costs and help health plans, hospitals, and public health programs "spend smarter" on health care, a new Fund-supported study finds.

In the Literature

Developing Innovative Payment Approaches: Finding the Path to High Performance

June 8, 2010 - The Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System offers payment innovations that the new Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation should introduce to reward more-integrated, high-value care.

Issue Brief

Do Minority Patients Use Lower Quality Hospitals?

December 19, 2011 - This Commonwealth Fund–supported study sought to test the hypothesis by investigating whether hospital quality is inversely associated with the proportion of minority patients served.

In Brief

Does Medication Adherence Lower Medicare Spending Among Beneficiaries with Diabetes?

March 31, 2011 - Commonwealth Fund–supported researchers used data from the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey to look at medication adherence rates and Medicare expenses over three years for beneficiaries who filled prescriptions for RAAS inhibitors and statins.

In Brief

Don't Take Medicare for Granted: Commentary on the Health Care Opinion Leaders Survey

November 2, 2009 - In a commentary on The Commonwealth Fund/Modern Healthcare Health Care Opinion Leaders Survey, Bruce Vladeck writes that Washington finds itself caught up in the fog of hysteria, misinformation, anxiety and downright dishonesty that so often afflicts Medicare politics.

Commentary

Doughnut Holes and Price Controls

July 22, 2004 - By reducing prices of key drugs to levels comparable to those in other industrialized nations, the U.S. government could eliminate the current gap in Medicare prescription drug coverage, says a Commonwealth Fund–supported study posted July 21 on the Health Affairs Web site.

In the Literature

Drug Coverage and Drug Purchases by Medicare Beneficiaries with Hypertension

March 1, 2000 - This study finds that prescription drug coverage of Medicare beneficiaries is more fragile than previously reported, that continuity of this coverage makes a significant difference in beneficiaries' use of prescription medicine, and that health status affects drug coverage for beneficiaries primarily through their burden of chronic illness.

In the Literature

Drug Coverage for Medicare Beneficiaries: Why Protection May Be in Jeopardy

January 1, 2002 - Following a period of growth over the last decade, trends suggest that Medicare beneficiaries' access to affordable prescription drug benefits has begun to decline.

Issue Brief

Drug Therapy and Aging: Testimony Before the Full Committee of the House Committee on Ways and Means

April 1, 2003 - Bruce Stuart, Ph.D., testified that trends in coverage put future beneficiaries at risk of having significantly reduced options for meaningful prescription benefits if legislative action is not taken soon.

Testimony

Durable Medical Equipment and Home Health Among the Largest Contributors to Area Variations in Use of Medicare Services

May 8, 2012 - The Commonwealth Fund-supported author of this Health Affairs article examined variations in beneficiaries' use of 13 health care services in 60 communities to investigate: discernible patterns; the extent of variation in service categories across sites; and which services vary to the extent that they account for disproportionate geographic variation in total use.

In the Literature

Dynamics in Drug Coverage of Medicare Beneficiaries: Finders, Losers, Switchers

March 1, 2001 - The authors of this study found that while drug coverage rates may have improved from 1995 to 1996, the number of beneficiaries finding, losing, and switching their drug coverage was almost as large as the number with stable benefits.

In the Literature

Early Adopters of the Accountable Care Model: A Field Report on Improvements in Health Care Delivery

March 13, 2013 - Based on interviews with clinical and administrative leaders, this report describes the experiences of seven accountable care organizations (ACOs).

Fund Report

Early Implementation of Medicare+Choice in Four Sites: Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York, and Tampa-St. Petersburg

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

An Early Look at a Four-State Initiative to Reduce Avoidable Hospital Readmissions

July 7, 2011 - The authors of this Commonwealth Fund–supported article on the results of the statewide mobilization strategy at the mid-point of the four year initiative to reduce 30-day rehospitalization rates statewide in Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, and Washington.

In the Literature

Elimination of Medicare's Waiting Period for Seriously Disabled Adults: Impact on Coverage and Costs

July 7, 2003 - Over 1.2 million seriously disabled Americans under age 65--including as many as 400,000 without health insurance--are currently in the two-year waiting period for Medicare coverage.

Issue Brief