Here’s what states get when they expand Medicaid: more savings, more revenue, more jobs, more access to care for their communities.
Recent stories address prescribing by doctors paid by drug companies; excessive lead levels in nearly 2,000 US water systems; how to understand candidates’ claims about health insurance reforms; and more.
Economists have suggested that people with traditional insurance coverage over-consume healthcare because each doctor visit or lab test requires a relatively low co-payment. If we paid more for each service – had “skin in the game” – the thinking goes, we’d be more judicious about the healthcare we consume and shop around for the best value. But evidence is mounting that asking people to pay more for care doesn’t turn them into smarter shoppers.
Affordable Care Act
Study: Medicaid, CHIP score higher than private insurance on access to kids’ preventive care
Public health insurance programs often get a bad rap, despite a growing positive evidence base on their patient care, quality and outcomes. Earlier this month, another study emerged that found Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program not only outperform private insurance when it comes to children’s preventive care, they can serve as a model of comprehensive children’s coverage.
Affordable Care Act
Adult Vaccine Access Coalition launches to rally efforts to increase adult immunization rates
When it comes to immunization rates in the United States, the story is a mixed one. Among children, we’ve absolutely excelled. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers the nation’s childhood vaccination rate as one of the greatest public health achievements of the 20th century. But when it comes to American adults — 50,000 of whom die every year from vaccine-preventable diseases — it’s a very different story.
Findings from new and old studies suggest that requiring people to pay more for their healthcare results in less consumption of healthcare — but that’s not necessarily a good thing.
Affordable Care Act
Study: Affordable Care Act driving reductions in racial, ethnic insurance disparities
More good news from the Affordable Care Act: Since it became the law of the land, uninsurance disparities between white, black and Hispanic residents have narrowed significantly.
Recent pieces address the impact of soda taxes on consumption; sports’ teams approaches to preventing antibiotic-resistant infections; doctors’ responses to women’s pain; and more.
One of the big criticisms that opponents of the Affordable Care Act love to trot out is its impact on the economy — one phrase you often hear is “job killer.” In fact, in 2011, Republicans in the House actually introduced legislation officially titled “Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act.” That bill didn’t make it far. However, a new report finds that “job-killing” isn’t just hyperbole; it’s just plain wrong.
Affordable Care Act
HPV vaccine study highlights how health reform is driving patients toward prevention
In a perfect example of how the Affordable Care Act is broadening access to relatively low-cost and potentially life-saving interventions, a new study finds that the health reform law likely led more than 1 million young women to seek out the human papillomavirus vaccine and protect themselves against cervical cancer.