Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

What's Happening: August 15, 2001, Maine Medical Center

What's Happening

No abstract provided.

W-2 In 2001: Wisconsin Works At Welfare Reform, Jennifer Ryan, Randy Desonia

National Health Policy Forum

This site visit took federal participants to Wisconsin, widely regarded as one of the pioneers of welfare reform. This site visit focused on Wisconsin Works (W-2), a statewide effort to reduce the state's welfare caseload and send clients to work. In particular, site visitors examined welfare reform policy, service delivery, and financing issues in Milwaukee, at that time the home of 85 percent of W-2 participants. Site visit participants heard from state officials, private-sector representatives, researchers, and advocates on the structure of W-2, its operating policies, and the effects of program implementation on low-income families. They toured a variety of …

Medicare Coverage: Lessons From The Past, Questions For The Future, Robin J. Strongin

National Health Policy Forum

This paper describes the Medicare coverage process for emerging technologies and the ways it has changed over time. Issues addressed include both the national coverage process and local medical review policies, which account for 90 percent of the coverage determinations. The paper also includes a discussion of the relationship between the coverage process and technology assessment, payment systems and the ongoing debate over coverage criteria and levels of evidence.

What's Happening: August 1, 2001, Maine Medical Center

What's Happening

No abstract provided.

Income Support Policy And The U.S. Child Support System, Jane Koppelman

National Health Policy Forum

This paper examines the economic profile of custodial and noncustodial parents and the status of the federal/state child support enforcement system. It discusses the reasons for the historically low rate of child support collection; the prospects for new computerized systems to improve the rates of both paternities established and payments collected; ways the system can sustain funding; and the extent to which child support payments can improve the well-being of low-income families.

What's Happening: July 18, 2001, Maine Medical Center

What's Happening

No abstract provided.

Pharmacy Benefit Managers: A Model For Medicare?, Veronica V. Goff

National Health Policy Forum

This issue brief uses large-employer experiences with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to shed light on their potential as Medicare outpatient drug benefit administrators. PBM management techniques are discussed, as well as employer perspectives on PBM strengths and weaknesses and lessons learned. Considerations for Medicare policy are also examined. The brief built on a previous NHPF issue brief entitled The ABCs of PBMs.

What's Happening: July 3, 2001, Maine Medical Center

What's Happening

No abstract provided.

An Examinaton Of The Enhanced Primary Care Model For The Organization Of Team Care In Managing Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus In The Elderly Population, Carolyn Morcom Rutledge

Health Services Research Dissertations

The healthcare system is faced with overwhelming demands as a result of the growing elderly population, especially those with chronic illnesses. One disease that significantly impacts the morbidity and mortality of the elderly population, especially the minority and poor population, is type 2 diabetes. This population often lacks access to resources and quality healthcare that may be due to inadequate knowledge by the patients and their healthcare providers regarding available services. Current models of healthcare have not been effective in meeting the healthcare demands of this population. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Enhanced …

Trends. The Privileged Status Of The Physical In Health Ideology: The Security Consequences Of Aids, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author discusses the importance of recognizing both physical and psychological factors of the AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) pandemic on security.

Federal And State Perspectives On Gme Reform, Karen Matherlee

National Health Policy Forum

This issue brief examines financial support of graduate medical education (GME), a standard budget item in the federal Medicare program and in some state Medicaid programs. It looks at objections to the way in which GME dollars are distributed, especially in terms of variations in Medicare GME payments across states. It explores various reform proposals that are circulating to address this and other GME problems and the odds for major reform.

What's Happening: June 20, 2001, Maine Medical Center

What's Happening

No abstract provided.

What's Happening: June 6, 2001, Maine Medical Center

What's Happening

No abstract provided.

Nurse Workforce: Condition Critical, Wakina Scott

National Health Policy Forum

This issue brief provides an overview of the current nursing shortage. It discusses the multiple factors that make this shortage in the nurse workforce different from earlier ones. It also examines steps taken by nursing schools, the health care industry, the federal government, and states to address this issue.

Youth Violence Prevention: How Does The Health Care Sector Respond?, Anthony S. Raden

National Health Policy Forum

This background paper examines the health care sector's response to the complex problems associated with youth violence, identifies the unique challenges health professionals face in dealing with young victims and perpetrators of violence, and raises questions about the ability of health professionals in various types of practice settings to assume a more proactive role in preventing youth violence.

To Retain Or Destroy--That Is The Health Care Records Question, Christine L. Glover

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

What's Happening: May 21, 2001, Maine Medical Center

What's Happening

No abstract provided.

What's Happening: May 7, 2001, Maine Medical Center

What's Happening

No abstract provided.

State-Based Pharmaceutical Assistance Programs: Temporary Fix Or Lessons For Medicare?, Robin J. Strongin

National Health Policy Forum

By early 2001, more than one-half of the states had established some type of pharmaceutical assistance programs for the elderly. This issue brief considers specific program parameters, such as eligibility criteria, cost-sharing arrangements, program administration, and marketing and outreach. It also considers programs in the broader context of a future Medicare outpatient prescription drug benefit.

What's Happening: April 23, 2001, Maine Medical Center

What's Happening

No abstract provided.

Tanf And Work Support Services: On The Job In Greater Philadelphia, Lisa Sprague

National Health Policy Forum

This site visit looked at programs in the greater Philadelphia area to move welfare recipients into employment and support services aimed at keeping them employed. Four years after implementation of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, welfare caseloads were much reduced, but challenges remained. Pennsylvania officials described their plans to assist beneficiaries who would reach their five-year lifetime cash assistance limit beginning in 2002. Site visitors met with state and county assistance office staff, employers, consumer advocates, and employment and training contractors. They participated in discussions of how work support services, such as medical assistance, child care, and …

What's Happening: April 9, 2001, Maine Medical Center

What's Happening

No abstract provided.

Accuracy Of Cpt Evaluation And Management Coding By Family Physicians, Mitchell S. King, Lisa Sharp, Martin S. Lipsky

Community Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Limited data are available on physicians’ accuracy in coding for their services. The purpose of this study was to determine the current procedural terminology (CPT) evaluation and management coding accuracy of family physicians and define demographic variables associated with coding accuracy.

Methods: Six hundred randomly selected active members of the Illinois Academy of Family Physicians were sent six hypothetical progress notes of office visits along with a demographic survey. The study group assigned CPT evaluation and management codes to each of the progress notes and completed the demographic survey. Five expert coders also assigned codes to each of the …

Quality In The Making: Perspectives On Programs And Progress, Lisa Sprague

National Health Policy Forum

This background paper considered the evolution of quality evaluation efforts, tracing their development from early initiatives to keep track of patients after surgery through the various guidelines, surveys, and measurement tools currently in use. It looked at both quality assurance and quality improvement strategies, highlighting the different philosophies that guide them. The paper examined the roles of purchasers, providers, consumers, and governments in furthering a quality agenda. Both regulatory and voluntary approaches were assessed.

The Health Care Safety Net In A Time Of Fiscal Pressures, Richard Hegner

National Health Policy Forum

This background paper reviewed the role played by the health care safety net in serving the nation's uninsured, underinsured, and indigent populations as well as those Americans who experience problems in obtaining access to health care. Against the backdrop of the March 2000 Institute of Medicine report, America's Health Care Safety Net: Intact But Endangered, the paper examined the recurrent choice in U.S. health policy between underwriting public insurance and subsidizing direct provision of health care. It recounted a number of reasons for direct federal interest in the safety net — including the important role played by Medicaid, the major …

What's Happening: March 26, 2001, Maine Medical Center

What's Happening

No abstract provided.

Welfare Reform And The Well-Being Of Families: Successes To Date And Challenges Ahead, Jane Koppelman

National Health Policy Forum

This issue brief discusses a key issue in evaluating the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA): the status of families after the implementation of this landmark welfare reform program. The new block grant program to states to administer the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families(TANF) program has been extremely effective when measured by lower welfare rolls and higher work rates and earnings for recipients. However, an equally important dimension described by the paper is what is known about longer-term effects and the status of people who have left welfare, with special emphasis on how children have …

What's Happening: March 19, 2001, Maine Medical Center

What's Happening

No abstract provided.

Welfare Reform And Substance Abuse: Innovative State Strategies, Ginger P. Parra

National Health Policy Forum

This issue brief highlights key facts about the impact of substance abuse on welfare reform and recipients of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, or TANF. After outlining some of the data on the incidence of substance abuse as well as its costs and treatment, it concludes by describing innovative state welfare programs attempting to lower barriers to employment and self-sufficiency.

What's Happening: February 28, 2001, Maine Medical Center

What's Happening

No abstract provided.