Law Commons^™

Medicare Competitive Pricing: Lessons Being Learned In Phoenix And Kansas City, Nora Super

National Health Policy Forum

Written as policymakers scrutinized two Medicare competitive bidding demonstration projects set to take place in Phoenix and Kansas City, this issue brief analyzes two demonstration projects designed to test whether Medicare could pay health plans in a competitive manner. The brief reviews decisions made by the Competitive Pricing Advisory Commission (CPAC), including design considerations such as plan eligibility and participation, the standard benefit package, the bidding process, and the government contribution to premiums. It also looks at the reasons for opposition to the project and the relationship of this demonstration to broader efforts to reform the Medicare program.

The Public Stake In Biomedical Research: A Policy Perspective, Karen Matherlee

National Health Policy Forum

An introduction to a Forum series on biomedical research policy issues, this paper provides background on the organization and structure of both public and private research entities. It outlines the federal components, from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to the Department of Veterans Affairs. It also looks at the rapid growth in pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device research and development and the varying responses from managed care plans, practice-based research networks, and contract research organizations. After laying out various tensions in the field, such as competition among disease-oriented advocates, alignment of different priorities, allocation of dollars between basic and …

If Deliberative Democracy Is The Solution, What Is The Problem?, Emily Hauptmann

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Presented March 18, 1999 for the Center for the Study of Ethics in Society.

The Abcs Of Pbms, Robin J. Strongin

National Health Policy Forum

This issue brief describes the evolution of the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) industry since the late 1960s and outlines current business practices in the areas of payment, services, drug formularies, and rebates. Tools of the trade, such as cost-sharing and generic substitution, used to control costs and improve quality are also discussed.

Chip And Medicaid Outreach And Enrollment: A Hands-On Look At Marketing And Applications, Judith D. Moore

National Health Policy Forum

The State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP or CHIP), enacted as part of the Balanced Budget Act (BBA) in 1997, has enrolled eligible low-income children in innovative ways and tackled a variety of challenges to make sure that families know about the new program. This issue brief describes the outreach, application, and enrollment process for both SCHIP and Medicaid, analyzing the difficulty in simplifying applications, and noting problems that states must solve around systems design, immigration issues, and the stigma sometimes associated with government programs.

Keto Pure Diet: Shark Tank Reviews (Side Effects, Ingredients) Cost …, Keto Pure Diet Shark Tank

Keto Pure Diet Shark Tank

Site Visit To Baltimore And Fort Detrick, Maryland — Preparing For A Bioterrorist Incident: Linking The Public Health And Medical Communities, Robin J. Strongin

National Health Policy Forum

As follow-up to the NHPF's February 1999 session entitled "Biological Terrorism: Is the Health Care Community Prepared?" the Forum organized a site visit on October 4 and 5, 1999, to Baltimore and Fort Detrick, Maryland. The site visit provided federal congressional and agency staff with the opportunity to learn first-hand how one local area is preparing for the possibility of a bioterrorist incident. Several themes were stressed throughout the two days, including the following: distinguishing bioterrorism from chemical terrorism, understanding the relationships between various agencies and institutions and their related funding streams, determining how the federal government can …

Mid-Atlantic Ethics Committee Newsletter, Fall-Winter 1999

Mid-Atlantic Ethics Committee Newsletter

No abstract provided.

1999 Scholars And Artists Bibliography, Michael Schwartz Library, Cleveland State University, Friends Of The Michael Schwartz Library

Scholars and Artists Bibliographies

This bibliography was created for the annual Friends of the Michael Schwartz Library Scholars and Artists Reception, recognizing scholarly and creative achievements of Cleveland State University faculty, staff and emeriti

Gun Control, Hugh Lafollette

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Presented October 22, 1998 for the Center for the Study of Ethics in Society.

A Chicken (Nugget?) In Every Pot: What's At Stake In The Budget Debate, Karl Polzer

National Health Policy Forum

This paper explores various aspects of the 1999 budget debate fueled in large part by federal agencies' projection of a $2.9 trillion surplus over 10 years. The tax bill, which would provide about $400 billion in tax relief, is also discussed; special attention is given to the health care provisions of this legislation.

The Nursing Center In Concept And Practice: Delivery And Financing Issues In Serving Vulnerable People, Karen Matherlee

National Health Policy Forum

This issue brief looks at ways in which nurse-managed centers — with support from the Health Resources and Services Administration and private foundations — are carving a role in providing preventive and primary care to vulnerable populations. Two case studies — one in Philadelphia and the other in the Utah-Nevada border area — llustrate nursing centers' mission, outreach, services, workforce, payment concerns, and educational tie-ins.

Santa Clara Magazine, Volume 41 Number 2, August 1999, Santa Clara University

Santa Clara Magazine

8 - APOCALYPSE PAST: Y1K By Thomas Turley. The year 2000 is upon us. But what about Y1K? History Professor Thomas Turley takes an historical look at the millennial fever of a thousand years ago.

12 - THE FUTURE IS MATH By Susan Vogel. Math Lecturer David Sul is on a mission: to get more Hispanics and African-Americans into Calculus and onto college through SCU's Calculus 100 program.

16 - The Class of 1999 Moves On By Sug Ramire '98. Optimism is the byword for the last graduating class of the millennium. Six 1999ers share their impressions, hopes, and fears …

Mental Health Coverage Parity: Separating Wheat From Chaff, Karl Polzer

National Health Policy Forum

This paper examines the issue of mandating parity in coverage of mental health services in the context of the growing use by private-sector employers of managed behavioral health care providers. Existing parity laws are reviewed, along with estimates of the costs of parity. The tools used by behavioral health care firms to manage care and costs are also discussed.

Access To Home Health Services Under Medicare's Interim Payment System, Nora Super

National Health Policy Forum

This issue brief explores the impact of the interim payment system (IPS) for home health agencies established under the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA). IPS was intended to constrain program outlays by imposing limits on spending per beneficiary and spending per visit in the existing cost-based reimbursement system. This issue brief examines the impact of the IPS on access to home health care, including home health agencies' responses to the payment system and its impact on provider availability and, ultimately, access to care for the sickest or most expensive populations

Implementing The Bba: The Challenge Of Moving Medicare Post-Acute Services To Pps, Karen Matherlee

National Health Policy Forum

This issue brief examines the challenge of putting skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), medical rehabilitation units, and home health under prospective payment, requiring the development of classification systems for each. It looks at the three-year phase-in of SNF resource utilization groups (RUGs) that began July 1, 1998 and the debate over classification systems for medical rehabilitation facilities and home health. The paper goes beyond issues of classification to consider coordination problems in placing these post-acute services under Medicare PPS.

Research To Practice: Working It Out: Workplace Experiences Of Individuals With Hiv And Individuals With Cancer, Sheila Fesko

Research to Practice Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

This brief describes the experiences of individuals with these illnesses, underlines similarities and differences between the two groups, and provides strategies for disclosure, support, and personal advocacy in the workplace.

Mid-Atlantic Ethics Committee Newsletter, Summer 1999

Mid-Atlantic Ethics Committee Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Canada's Generalist Training: Are There Lessons For The United States?, Lee Hawkins

National Health Policy Forum

Addressing the premise of an inappropriate skewing of the U.S. medical education system toward specialty medicine, this issue brief compares and contrasts the U.S. and Canadian graduate medical education (GME) systems, including the organization and financing of each. The issue brief also explores various lessons that might be learned from the Canadian GME system, such as full integration of primary care and GME and the use of incentives to achieve desired policy goals.

An Analysis Of Implementation Issues Relating To Chip Cost-Sharing Provisions For Certain Targeted Low Income Children, Sara J. Rosenbaum, Anne Rossier Markus, Dylan Roby

Health Policy and Management Issue Briefs

This analysis, prepared for the Health Care Financing Administration and the Health Resources and Services Administration, examines issues that arise under laws designed to avert excessive cost-sharing in the case of low income families whose children participate in the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). High cost-sharing has been shown to significantly affect children’s participation in insurance programs, as well as their utilization of health services. As a result, the Federal CHIP legislation, while permitting cost-sharing under certain circumstances, also places limitations on the total amount of cost-sharing to which families can be exposed for services covered by State CHIP …

Shaping Responsible Behavior: Lessons From The Aids Front, Harlon L. Dalton

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Reducing Medical Error: Can You Be As Safe In A Hospital As You Are In A Jet?, Lisa Sprague

National Health Policy Forum

This issue brief looks at the incidence of error in the health care system, opportunities for a systems-based approach to error reduction, and changes needed in health system culture and training. The lessons of human factors research are considered, with examples of their application in the aviation industry. The paper reviews some error-reduction and patient-safety initiatives undertaken by private-sector organizations and by the Veterans Health Administration.

Santa Clara Magazine, Volume 41 Number 1, May 1999, Santa Clara University

Santa Clara Magazine

8 - A BRIDGE BETWEEN WORLDS By President PaulL. Locatelli, S.J. 'Go. President Locatelli examines the value of service learning for students, the University, and America's social fabric.

12 - A GIANT ARTIST By Ann Granning Bennett. Auguste Rodin's sculptures are now on view at the de Saisset Museum. The question is: How do high-profile art shows like this one come about?

18 - ARIZONA'S DIPLOMATIC TOP COP By Tamara Straus. Janet Napolitano ' 79 , Arizona's newly elected attorney general , discusses the challenges of public office as well as politics, ethics, and fighting crime.

Substance Abuse Prevention: Could An Improved D.A.R.E. Program Help Bridge The Gap Between Research And Practice?, Colomba Sirica

National Health Policy Forum

This issue brief provides background information on the popular Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program, begun in 1983 and supported by education and law enforcement communities throughout the country to provide drug abuse prevention programs in schools. It describes recent efforts to conduct evaluative studies to assess the short- and long-term impact of the D.A.R.E. curriculum on drug-using behavior of children and youth and the new dialogue opening between D.A.R.E. proponents and the research community.

Hipaa As A Regulatory Model: Early Experiences And Future Prospects, Karl Polzer

National Health Policy Forum

In the context of the debate over bolstering consumer protection in health care without imposing excessive costs or onerous regulatory requirements, this paper examines the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) as a regulatory model. The paper reviews the provisions of the legislation, examines the roles of the Department of Labor and the Health Care Financing Administration in implementing HIPAA, raises issues surrounding implementation and enforcement, and examines the usefulness of the HIPAA model as a vehicle for applying consumer protection measures.

Mid-Atlantic Ethics Committee Newsletter, Spring 1999

Mid-Atlantic Ethics Committee Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Sexual Harassment In The Virginia Dental Hygiene Profession, Anne Pennington

Dental Hygiene Theses & Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Margins As Measures: Gauging Hospitals' Financial Health, Karen Matherlee

National Health Policy Forum

Recognizing the considerable controversy over ways to measure hospitals' financial viability, this issue brief reviews various ways to assess their fiscal strength. The paper looks first at operating margins, traditional measures that some experts say are inadequate when considered alone. It then explores several recommendations: (a) net income, liquidity and cash flow, and debt burden, suggested by the National Advisory Panel; (b) factors that determine year-to-year changes in hospitals costs, such as hospital input price inflation, changes in care patterns, and the complexity of patients treated, put forth by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission; and (c) 35 financial indicators and …

Examining The Links Between Retirement And Health Insurance: Implications For Medicare Eligibility, Nora Super

National Health Policy Forum

This issue brief examines trends in labor force participation and health care coverage for early retirees, as well as the relationship between retirement and health insurance and health status.

Providing Outpatient Prescription Drugs Through Medicare: Can We Afford To? Can We Afford Not To?, Robin J. Strongin

National Health Policy Forum

The continuing debate over the issue of Medicare coverage for outpatient prescription drugs gave rise to this background paper, which discussed several key questions: Whose responsibility is it to provide coverage? Who should be covered? What should be covered? Who should pay for prescription drug coverage? How should costs be controlled? In addition, the paper explored options for structuring a Medicare outpatient prescription drug benefit. It also contained a glossary.