Recent Health Policy Briefs
The Affordable Care Act will expand the ability of employers to reward workers who achieve health improvement goals. MAY 10, 2012
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Essential Health Benefits
States will determine the minimum set of benefits to be included in individual and small group insurance plans. What lies ahead? APRIL 25, 2012
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The Independent Payment Advisory Board
EDITOR'S NOTE: An earlier brief was published December 15, 2011.
Starting in 2013, a new entity will have authority to curb Medicare spending if growth exceeds targets. Should it? APRIL 4, 2012
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Premium Support in Medicare
The nation's fiscal crisis has renewed the focus on structural reform. Can a market-oriented solution cut costs and improve care? MARCH 22, 2012
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Public Reporting on Quality and Costs
Do report cards and other measures of providers' performance lead to improved care and better choices by consumers? MARCH 8, 2012
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Medicare Payments to Physicians
EDITOR'S NOTE: An earlier brief was published November 3, 2011.
Congress has enacted another short-term 'doc fix.' A permanent solution to this perennial problem remains elusive. FEBRUARY 28, 2012
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The Prevention and Public Health Fund
A $15 billion effort to improve health by preventing disease has been cut amid debate over whether it's really needed. FEBRUARY 23, 2012
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Small Business Insurance Exchanges
States must form new marketplaces aimed at helping small companies buy coverage more easily and cheaply. FEBRUARY 9, 2012
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Current Issue
- From the Editor-in-Chief
- Access Declines for Adults over Past Decade
- Differences in Medicaid Enrollment Rates
- Will ACA Reduce Disparities in Uninsurance?
- Coverage Gains for Ex-Prisoners
- States Shifting Costs for Younger Dual Eligibles?
- A New Look at Variations
- Influence of the Relative Value Update Committee
- Providers' Market Power
- Simplifying the Choices in Insurance Exchanges
- Mental Health Care for Medicaid-Eligible Kids
- Coverage and Addiction Disorders Treatment
- Potential Savings from Consumer-Directed Plans
- 'Grand-Aides' for Primary Care
- Shared Decision Making Obstacles
- Japan's Success in Containing Costs
- China's Health Reforms
- Overprescribing in China
- View Table of Contents »
- The Latest Health Wonk Review 25 May 2012
- Health Affairs Briefing: The Care Span For The Elderly And Disabled 24 May 2012
- Most Individual Polices Would Not Meet Affordable Care Act Standards 24 May 2012
- Health Care Economics 101 And The Supreme Court 23 May 2012
- Six Strategic Variables In Predicting The Impact Of Accountable Care 22 May 2012
- Americans’ Thoughts on the Role of the United States in Global Health: Foundation Survey 24 May 2012
- The Joplin, Missouri, Tornado: Director’s Cut; How a Foundation Has Been Helping 22 May 2012
- Alzheimer’s Disease & Other Dementias: What Are Foundations Doing to Increase Knowledge and Prevent Suffering? 18 May 2012
- Foundation Funding to Eliminate Food Deserts and to Improve Oral Health 15 May 2012
- Should California Establish a Basic Health Program for Certain Low-Income Residents? 10 May 2012
- "Value In Cancer Care" Event April 12, 2012
- Amy Berman - "Living Life In My Own Way—And Dying That Way As Well" Narrative Matters April 09, 2012
- Teeb Al-Samarrai - "Adrift In Africa: A US Medical Resident On An Elective Abroad" Narrative Matters April 04, 2012
- Laurie McClellan - "Chronic Lyme Disease: It's Time To Solve The Medical Mystery Inside An Enigma" Narrative Matters March 05, 2012
- Antibiotics being overprescribed for sinusitus - WTOP Interview February 15, 2012
- Trends in The Adoption of Health Information Technology April 25, 2012
- Value In Cancer Care April 12, 2012
- Confronting the Growing Diabetes Crisis January 10, 2012
- Growth In US Health Spending 2010 January 09, 2012
- Growth Of Consumer-Directed Health Plans To One-Half Of All Employer-Sponsored Insurance Could Save $57 Billion Annually
- Authoritarian Physicians And Patients’ Fear Of Being Labeled ‘Difficult’ Among Key Obstacles To Shared Decision Making
- A Decade Of Health Care Access Declines For Adults Holds Implications For Changes In The Affordable Care Act
- Reasons For The Wide Variation In Medicaid Participation Rates Among States Hold Lessons For Coverage Expansion In 2014
- Growth Of Consumer-Directed Health Plans To One-Half Of All Employer-Sponsored Insurance Could Save $57 Billion Annually
- The Growing Power Of Some Providers To Win Steep Payment Increases From Insurers Suggests Policy Remedies May Be Needed
- Authoritarian Physicians And Patients’ Fear Of Being Labeled ‘Difficult’ Among Key Obstacles To Shared Decision Making
- A Decade Of Health Care Access Declines For Adults Holds Implications For Changes In The Affordable Care Act
- Living Life In My Own Way—And Dying That Way As Well
- An Analysis Of Whether Higher Health Care Spending In The United States Versus Europe Is ‘Worth It’ In The Case Of Cancer
- Urologists’ Self-Referral For Pathology Of Biopsy Specimens Linked To Increased Use And Lower Prostate Cancer Detection
- An Actuarial Analysis Shows That Offering Lung Cancer Screening As An Insurance Benefit Would Save Lives At Relatively Low Cost
- Hospitals’ Geographic Expansion In Quest Of Well-Insured Patients: Will The Outcome Be Better Care, More Cost, Or Both?

