Health Policy Commons^™

An Assessment Of The Safety Net In San Antonio, Texas, Marcia Wilson, Peter Shin, Marsha Regenstein, Karen C. Jones

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

This report examines key issues that shape the health care network available to uninsured and underserved residents in San Antonio. It provides background on the San Antonio health care safety net and describes key characteristics of the populations served by the safety net. It then outlines the structure of the safety net and funding mechanisms that support health care safety net services. The report also includes an analysis of key challenges facing providers of primary and specialty care services and specific barriers that some populations face in trying to access them.

An Assessment Of The Safety Net In Phoenix, Arizona, Lea Nolan, Lissette Vaquerano, Marsha Regenstein, Karen C. Jones

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

This report examines key issues that shape the health care network available to uninsured and underserved residents in Phoenix. It provides background on the Phoenix health care safety net and describes key characteristics of the populations served by the safety net. It then outlines the structure of the safety net and funding mechanisms that support health care safety net services. The report also includes an analysis of key challenges facing providers of primary and specialty care services and specific barriers that some populations face in trying to access them.

An Assessment Of The Safety Net In Queens, New York, Holly Mead, Marsha Regenstein, Karen C. Jones

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

This report examines key issues that shape the healthcare network available to uninsured and underserved residents in Queens. It provides background on the Queens health care safety net and describes key characteristics of the populations served by the safety net. It then outlines the structure of the safety net and funding mechanisms that support health care safety net services. The report also includes an analysis of key challenges facing providers of primary and specialty care services and specific barriers that some populations face in trying to access them.

Analysis Of State Laws Permitting Intoxication Exclusions In Insurance Contracts And Their Judicial Enforcement, Sara J. Rosenbaum, Henry Van Dyck, Mandy Bartoshesky, Joel B. Teitelbaum

Health Policy and Management Issue Briefs

This Policy Brief reviews judicial decisions construing state laws that permit insurers to include intoxication exclusionary clauses in their insurance policies. The cases and state laws examined in this analysis span health, life, disability, accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D), workers compensation, and unemployment insurance. Some variant of the intoxication exclusionary clause appears across all of these products, depending on the state. The widespread nature of such laws has its roots in the 1947 Uniform Accident and Sickness Policy Provision Law (UPPL), a model statute whose broader public policy purpose was to avoid the use of insurance to protect against the …

Democratic Ideas To Address The Problem Of Americans Without Health Insurance, Jeanne Lambrew

Health Policy and Management Congressional Testimonies

No abstract provided.

Public Health Insurance Design For Children: The Evolution From Medicaid To Schip, Sara J. Rosenbaum, Anne R. Markus, Colleen Sonosky

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

In 2005 Medicaid will turn 40, a momentous event in the life of the largest and most complex of all means-tested public entitlement programs. Since 1997, Medicaid has co-existed with the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), a small program which covers a fraction of the number of Medicaid enrolled children but whose legislative structure looms large against its much beleaguered companion. To the unpracticed eye, SCHIP and Medicaid appear to be quite similar in design; in reality however, their differences could not be more profound, and it is in these differences that clear directions for Medicaid’s possible future become …

Enhancement Of Casualty Data Collection & Management, Cisr

CISR Studies and Reports

The MAIC built upon research conducted in earlier phases of the project (2001-2002) to investigate the following unresolved questions regarding the development of an effective landmine casualty data system.

1. What kind of data about landmine victims is being collected and is it adequate to the needs of victim assistance service providers?

2. If it is not adequate, what additional data should be collected and how should it be managed?

3. What can be done to improve the dissemination of landmine casualty data?

These questions were addressed by investigating developments in landmine casualty data collection and management since 2002 and …

Implications Of A National Immunization Registry An Alliance To Win The Race For The Future Care And Accuracy Of Pediatric Immunization, Shoaib Chotoo Patail

Theses Digitization Project

This project examines the role of immunization registries and their effect on a health care delivery system. Recent efforts to attain coverage of child populations by recommended vaccines have included initiatives by federal and state agencies, as well as private foundations, to develop and implement statewide community-based childhood immunization registries.

Review Of Field Experiences: Integration Of Family Planning And Pmtct Services, Naomi Rutenberg, Carolyn Baek

HIV and AIDS

The Population Council and its research partners have been addressing several key questions about prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) services and how well they function in field settings. The World Health Organization asked the Population Council to provide a review of field experiences regarding the integration of family planning and PMTCT services. This report provides conclusions and recommendations as input into a WHO/UNFPA-sponsored consultative meeting on "The linkages between reproductive health and HIV/AIDS: Family planning and prevention of mother-to-child transmission."

Emtala: Dedicating An Emergency Department Near You, Brian Kamoie

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

This article offers a brief history of healthcare civil rights, describes a range of healthcare issues that have a civil rights component, and discusses the need for an expanded civil rights framework to guide the provision of health care. Unequal health care based on race and ethnicity has received renewed attention over the past several years, but healthcare discrimination based on socioeconomic status, disability, age, and gender also deserve careful attention.

A Cost-Benefit Analysis Of Hollow Water First Nation’S Community Holistic Healing Process, Ed Buller

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

No abstract provided.

Social Capital In First Nations Communities: Concept And Measurement, Javier Mignone, Janet Longclaws, John O'Neil, Cameron Mustard

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

No abstract provided.

Transferring Whose Knowledge? Exchanging Whose Best Practices? On Knowing About Indigenous Knowledge And Aboriginal Suicide, Michael J. Chandler, Christopher E. Lalonde

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

No abstract provided.

A Framework For Aboriginal Health Systems, Laurel Lemchuk-Favel, Richard Jock

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

No abstract provided.

Covering The Uninsured: What Is It Worth?, Wilhelmine Miller, Elizabeth Richardson Vigdor, Willard G. Manning

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

One out of six Americans under age sixty-five lacks health insurance, a situation that imposes sizable hidden costs upon society. The poorer health and shorter lives of those without coverage account for most of these costs. Other impacts are manifested by Medicare and disability support payments, demands on the public health infrastructure, and losses of local health service capacity. We conclude that the estimated value of health forgone each year because of uninsurance ($65?$130 billion) constitutes a lower-bound estimate of economic losses resulting from the present level of uninsurance nationally.

Schip-Enrolled Children With Special Health Care Needs: An Assessment Of Coordination Efforts Between State Schip And Title V Programs, Anne R. Markus, Sara J. Rosenbaum, Soeurette Cyprien

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

This study explores how the State Children's Health Insurance Program serves children with special needs and assesses the role of the Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant program in filling in gaps in coverage. It also discusses the implications of state choices on publicly-funded health coverage for pediatric health care.

Maximizing Resources To Meet Client Needs: Evaluation Of A Comprehensive Hiv/Aids Care And Support Model In India, Yrg Care, Horizons Program, International Hiv/Aids Alliance

HIV and AIDS

To examine the benefits and feasibility of service delivery, the Horizons program and the International HIV/AIDS Alliance undertook a multifaceted operations research study of YRG CARE, a nongovernmental organization which offers services to PLHA in southern India. Data from this study suggest that comprehensive care and support services have had a positive impact on perceived quality of life, serostatus disclosure, number of illness episodes, and household expenditures for those patients who participated in the study. The results of this component of the study support the value of scaling-up the YRG CARE service model to other NGOs in India to expand …

Expanding The Care Continuum For Hiv/Aids: Bringing Carers Into Focus, Jessica Ogden, Simel Esim, Caren Grown

HIV and AIDS

This review by the International Center for Research on Women explores the specific issues that cluster around the provision of care in the context of the global HIV/AIDS pandemic. With the support of the Population Council’s Horizons program, this review applies the care economy lens to two key sectors, health and social protection, and finds that while important strides are being made, much more needs to be known and done to enable individuals, families, and households to survive in a world shaken by AIDS. The report documents the challenges faced by family care providers, who are primarily women and unlinked …

Expanding Care And Support In South India: Scaling Up Yrg Care's Patient-Centered Approach, Yrg Care, Horizons Program, International Hiv/Aids Alliance

HIV and AIDS

This study examines the experiences of YRG CARE, a Chennai-based NGO, which provides an integrated continuum of prevention, care, and support services for PLHA in South India. In this Horizons report, the authors examine the process of scaling up YRG CARE’s patient-centered approach and how this led to the enhanced provision of care and support services at four selected sites. Networking and collaboration among providers at all sites were essential parts of the strategy. At the end of project workshop, scale-up participants and YRG CARE affirmed their intention to continue collaboration in order to build on the successes of the …

Succession Planning In Uganda: Early Outreach For Aids-Affected Children And Their Families, Horizons Program, Makerere University Department Of Sociology, Plan Uganda

HIV and AIDS

This publication reports on an intervention study that evaluated the effectiveness of a succession planning (SP) program in Uganda. Unlike most other programs for AIDS-affected children, succession planning reaches children and their families while their HIV-positive parents are still living and in a position to plan for their children’s long-term well-being. Research carried out by the Department of Sociology at Makerere University (Kampala) and the Population Council Horizons program suggests that succession planning is a promising approach: despite AIDS-related stigma and cultural resistance to acknowledging illness and death, qualitative research indicates that the approach met with a high degree of …

Combining Community Approaches And Government Policy To Prevent Hiv Infection In The Dominican Republic, Deanna Kerrigan, Luis Moreno, Santo Rosario, Bayardo Gomez, Hector Jerez, Ellen Weiss, Johannes Van Dam, Eva Roca, Clare Barrington, Michael D. Sweat

HIV and AIDS

A recent Horizons study conducted jointly with two Dominican NGOs assessed the impact of two environmental-structural models in reducing HIV-related risk among female sex workers in the Dominican Republic and compared their cost-effectiveness. In the two cities studied, there were improvements from pre- to post-intervention in the key outcome variables, however the type and level of these changes varied by intervention approach. Based on our findings, program planners and policymakers involved in the study in the Dominican Republic agree that the integrated solidarity and policy model in conjunction with ongoing peer education and community mobilization activities is an appropriate, cost-effective, …

Involving Young People In The Care And Support Of People Living With Hiv/Aids In Zambia, Eka Esu-Williams, Katie D. Schenk, Joseph Motsepe, Scott Geibel, Anderson Zulu

HIV and AIDS

The Population Council, in collaboration with CARE International and Family Health Trust, conducted a study in Zambia to determine which care and support needs of people living with HIV and AIDS and their families could be met by trained youth, and to establish whether youth engaged in formalized care and support activities would increase their adoption of protective behaviors or reduce the stigma faced by members of AIDS-affected households. Discussions with caregivers and clients demonstrated that trained youth are able to meet a range of the needs of clients and orphans and vulnerable children, and that their efforts may be …

A Rapid Situation Analysis Of The Access To Care Project In Northern Thailand, Ratana Panpanich

HIV and AIDS

A rapid situation analysis (RSA) study, supported by the Horizons program, was undertaken to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the Thai government’s Access to Care (ATC) project in northern Thailand. The ultimate aim of the study was to make recommendations for action that will improve the quality of the antiretroviral (ARV) therapy that clients receive and to enhance their adherence to HAART. The RSA has shown high levels of support for the ATC project from health providers, HAART clients, their relatives, and even those who had dropped out of the program. However, the RSA has also shown that there …

Public Posting As A Strategy To Increase Walking: A Worksite Intervention, Rayleen Earney, Timothy J. Bungum

Environmental & Global Health Faculty Research

Because most American adults do not meet recommended physical activity guidelines, the need for new and innovative strategies is apparent. The current study employed public posting in an attempt to increase walking behavior in a worksite setting. Pedometer generated data was publicly posted in a prominent location in the worksite. In our study that utilized a pre-experimental design, we found that walking steps were statistically higher during the intervention and in a post intervention period as compared to the baseline data. We conclude that the public posting of physical activity data has the potential to increase walking behavior.

Armed Conflict, Health And Human Rights, Alex Deraney, Hafsteinn Hafsteinsson

Human Rights & Human Welfare

This section highlights resources with information on health concerns that arise from armed conflict. It examines human rights violations as derived from health issues and the humanitarian efforts to alleviate them. The vast majority of available literature approaches conflict-related healthcare shortfalls in terms of intervention. Literature dealing with armed conflict and health as it applies to human rights is much harder to come by, which indicates the need for additional emphasis in this area.

Politics, Power, And Public Health: A Comment On Public Health’S New World Order, Laurence R. Helfer

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Right To Health, Sarah Friedmann

Human Rights & Human Welfare

In the human rights discourse and practice the right to health has been and continues to be a contentious arena. Primarily located within legal frameworks that focus on civil and political rights, the right to health is more frequently being used to challenge abuses of health by invoking social and economic rights, even though this places the right to health on slippery terrain that is not as internationally accepted as civil and political rights.

Access To Health, Natalie Huls

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Access to health is an often-overlooked aspect of the right to health. Without practical access, the right to health becomes an empty promise. International human rights conventions and declarations do not directly mention access to health, but the above comment on the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights does address the issue.

Transitions To Adulthood In The Context Of Aids In South Africa: The Impact Of Exposure To Life Skills Education On Adolescent Knowledge, Skills, And Behavior, The Transitions To Adulthood Study Team

HIV and AIDS

This study is a collaborative research project of the University of Natal-Durban, the Horizons program, and Tulane University. One objective of the study was to contribute to understanding the effectiveness of life skills education in changing behavior in South Africa. The findings indicate substantial short-to-medium-term effects of exposure to life skills education on certain areas of sexual and reproductive health-related knowledge, confidence to use condoms, and condom use behavior. Further research is needed to assess whether the observed effects are transitory or long-term in nature, whether the observed behavioral changes have an impact on HIV infection rates among youth, and …

Using Incentives To Encourage Aids Programs And Policies In The Workplace: A Study Of Feasibility And Impact In Thailand, Simon Baker, Srisuman Sartsara, Patchara Rumakom, Philip Guest, Katie D. Schenk, Anthony Pramualratana, Suparat Suksakulwat, Surachai Panakitsuwan, Sikarat Moonmeung

HIV and AIDS

A recently completed Horizons study in Thailand examined the question of how to encourage the private sector to become actively involved in developing and improving workplace HIV/AIDS programs. The study found that the AIDS-response Standard Organization (ASO) initiative mobilized a moderate proportion of different types of companies to develop and improve HIV/AIDS workplace policies and programs. The data also reveal that companies that were eligible for the insurance discount made the greatest improvements. Thus a financial incentive combined with efforts to tap into managers’ willingness to respond to the epidemic can be important motivators for certain companies to improve their …