Grants Approved, 2004–2005 Task Force on the Future of Health Insurance Medicare's Future Health Care in New York City Health Care Quality Improvement and Efficiency Special Populations (Quality of Care for Underserved Populations, Commonwealth Fund/Harvard University Fellowship in Minority Health Policy, Child Development and Preventive Care, Picker/Commonwealth Program on Quality of Care for Frail Elders) Patient-Centered Primary Care Initiative International Program in Health Policy and Practice Communications Organizations Working with Foundations Summation of Program Authorizations Printable version of this article (50 pages)

American Institutes for Research $348,710.00 Critical Issues for Medicare's Future There is a growing push by policymakers to make Medicare a more efficient, sustainable program. This project will inform the search for new ways to improve Medicare's cost-effectiveness, including enhanced use of primary care case management. Project staff will also assess how beneficiaries are faring under recent changes to Medicare, and how they would fare under proposed changes to benefits. Four separate studies will: 1) analyze patterns of physician services in fee-for-service Medicare to assess the potential of primary care case management to serve beneficiaries better; 2) model the impact of proposals for cutting benefits, including projections of the relative burdens on beneficiaries and taxpayers; 3) assess service use and out-of-pocket spending by beneficiaries with chronic health conditions; and 4) examine the effects of a possible high-deductible coverage option. Marilyn Moon, Ph.D. Vice President and Director, Health Program 10720 Columbia Pike, Suite 500 Silver Spring, MD 20901 Tel: (301) 592-2101 mmoon@air.org Medicare Rights Center, Inc. $100,205.00 Waiting for Medicare Coverage: What It Means for the Disabled After qualifying for Social Security disability support, severely and permanently disabled adults under age 65 must undergo a two-year waiting period before they can enroll in Medicare. Recent Fund-supported studies found that removing this barrier to insurance coverage would allow the disabled to access the critical care they need and gain control over their lives. To draw attention to a policy that sometimes produces devastating consequences, this project will develop a series of narratives describing the real-life experiences of individuals in the waiting period over the course of a year. Project staff also will develop retrospective case histories of those who have completed the waiting period and now have Medicare coverage. The final collection of narratives will be publicized widely to policymakers and the media. Robert M. Hayes, J.D. President 1460 Broadway, 17th Floor New York, NY 10036 Tel: (212) 204-6223 rhayes@medicarerights.org President and Fellows of Harvard College $275,100.00 Learning About the Quality and Cost of Care for Hospitalized Medicare Beneficiaries With support from the major hospital associations, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are collecting and publicly reporting information provided by nearly all U.S. hospitals on 10 quality-of-care measures for three conditions common among Medicare beneficiaries. Under this grant, Harvard University researchers will link hospital reports with information on hospital characteristics and patient volume data on the three conditions to investigate the following: 1) how hospital performance varies across quality measures; 2) the types of hospitals that report higher-quality care; 3) whether hospitals that score well have lower mortality rates; and 4) the relationship, if any, between hospitals that perform well on quality measures and those that perform well on efficiency measures. These analyses will produce information that could be used to improve the care provided to Medicare beneficiaries as well as other patients. Arnold M. Epstein, M.D., M.A. Chair Department of Health Policy and Management 677 Huntington Avenue, Room 403 Boston, MA 02115 Tel: (617) 432-3415 aepstein@hsph.harvard.edu The President and Directors of Georgetown College $126,361.71 Program Direction Grant for The Commonwealth Fund's Program on Medicare's Future Passage of the Medicare bill entailed some of the most significant changes to the program in its history. Although the new prescription drug benefit will provide substantial assistance to low-income individuals, its true impact remains unclear. Other changes, including incentives intended to greatly expand the role of private health plans, may in some cases prove detrimental to the frail, sick, and poor. The Fund's Program on Medicare's Future provides independent analysis of changes to Medicare and develops policy options that could improve coverage for beneficiaries. This grant will provide overall strategic direction for the program, develop new projects, coordinate ongoing work, and direct efforts to disseminate findings of program-supported work to policy leaders and the public. The program director will also participate in the critical review of Medicare-related reports submitted for Fund publication, prepare issue briefs and summaries of Fund work, and represent the program in public forums. Barbara S. Cooper 2233 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, Suite 525 cooperbarbs@cs.com The President and Directors of Georgetown College $182,759.00 Developing Models of Standardized Benefits for Medicare With passage of the new Medicare law, beneficiaries will increasingly be expected to choose from among a number of private health plan options with varying benefits and features. For many seniors, the options are confusing and, for some, overwhelming. The research team will develop two models of standardized benefits-one for Medicare Advantage plans and one for standalone prescription drug plans-to stimulate debate about the need for standardization in Medicare and the form standardized benefits should take. Project staff will conduct a literature review, interview a range of experts, convene panels to design a set of standard benefits, and hold focus groups with beneficiaries and health insurance counselors to help assess the potential impact of proposed options. This work will improve understanding of what choice in Medicare currently entails for beneficiaries, and how standardized benefit options might simplify their health plan decisions. Jack Hoadley, Ph.D. Research Professor Institute for Health Care Research and Policy 2233 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, Suite 525 Washington, DC 20007 Tel: (202) 687-1055 jfh7@georgetown.edu Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania $193,526.00 Improving Quality and Efficiency: A Coordinated Care Benefit for Medicare Beneficiaries with Heart Failure Evidence shows that heart disease management programs that include coordinated post-hospital care can improve patients' outcomes and reduce readmissions. Medicare, however, does not reimburse providers for services targeting the transition between hospital and home. Drawing from their previous research, the project team, in collaboration with the International Heart Failure Consortium, will propose a new, post-discharge coordinated care benefit for Medicare beneficiaries with heart failure. Project staff will: a) highlight which specific interventions produce the greatest gain in health outcomes for different categories of patients; b) estimate the potential costs, benefits, and savings of such a benefit; and c) work with policymakers to develop a benefit prototype. This work could also inform similar efforts targeting other chronic conditions. Julie Sochalski, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Nursing University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing 420 Guardian Drive, Room 358 Philadelphia, PA 19104 Tel: (215) 898-3147 julieas@nursing.upenn.edu Small Grants—Medicare's Future Columbia University $29,879.00 The Potential for Medicare-Led Malpractice Reform William M. Sage, M.D., J.D. Professor, School of Law 435 West 116th Street New York, NY 10027-6902 Tel: (212) 854-5332 wsage@law.columbia.edu Metropolitan Jewish Health System Corporation $40,000.00 Funding Medicare Out-of-Pocket and Long-Term Care Costs: Evaluating the Case for the Integration of Enhanced Private Savings Incentives Integrated with Public Financing Eliot Fishman, Ph.D. Department of Health Policy One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1077 New York, NY 10029-6574 Tel: (212) 241-5561 efishman@mjhs.org Project HOPE/The People-to-People Health Foundation $49,711.00 Developing a Framework for Analyzing Clinical and Cost-Effectiveness of Medicare Expenditures Gail R. Wilensky, Ph.D. John M. Olin Senior Fellow 7500 Old Georgetown Road, Suite 600 Bethesda, MD 20814-6133 Tel: (301) 656-7401 gwilensk@projecthope.org University of Maryland $2,940.00< Implications of Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Coverage on Home and Community-Based Services Waiver Programs Charles J. Milligan, Jr., J.D., M.P.H. Executive Director Center for Health Program Development and Management 1000 Hilltop Circle, 3rd Floor Social Science Baltimore, MD 21250 Tel: (410) 455-6274 cmilligan@chpdm.umbc.edu     Previous | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 | Next Previous Article | Next Article