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AcademyHealth
$290,000.00
Simplification in Health Care Administration
Earlier this year, AcademyHealth and the Fund began a collaboration to identify sources of administrative complexity within health insurance and explore policy options that could lead to greater simplification. With a small grant from the Fund, AcademyHealth held a planning meeting in May 2004 with key thought leaders to assess known areas of administrative complexity, identify research needs for developing a better understanding of the administrative burden, and devise public and private remedies. This project will build on the recommendations of meeting participants by funding new research projects and case studies. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Changes in Health Care Financing and Organization Program will provide cofunding. |
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W. David Helms, Ph.D.,
President and Chief Executive Officer
1801 K Street, Suite 701-L
Washington, DC 20006-1301
Tel: (202) 292-6700
david.helms@academyhealth.org
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Brandeis University
$199,934.00
Medical Debt and the Insured: Investigating Failures of Insurance to Protect Patients from Financial Harm
As many as two-fifths of adults under age 65 have problems paying their medical bills or are paying off accrued medical debt. These individuals sometimes exhaust their savings or borrow against their homes to pay medical bills. Moreover, many patients with debt are either actively discouraged or feel deterred from returning for care to the facility to which they owe money. This project will explore the reasons why health insurance sometimes fails to protect patients from potentially crippling medical debt. In addition to surveying patient account managers in hospitals and examining the administrative data they will be asked to provide, the investigators will review hospital policies and procedures for collecting the self-pay portion of insured patients' bills. The aim of this work is to determine the relative contributions of insurance and hospital policies to patient debt, identify exemplary hospital practices for handling debt, and develop institutional, state, and federal policy remedies. |
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Jeffrey Prottas, Ph.D.
Research Professor
P.O. Box 549110, SIHP/MS 035
Waltham, MA 02454-9110
Tel: (781) 736-3955
prottas@brandeis.edu
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Columbia University
$182,741.00
Examining Insurance Issues and Developing Policy Options to Expand and Establish Coverage, 2004-05
The Fund's Task Force on the Future of Health Insurance explores ways to extend health insurance coverage to uninsured working Americans and their families. In the year ahead, this core grant to Columbia University will support analysis of cutting edge reforms to help keep low-income children continuously insured; examine emergency room use by patients who lack insurance or have unstable coverage; and assess how unstable or otherwise inadequate coverage affects the quality and continuity of patient care. The grant will also support Fund Task Force staff and grantees by providing programming support for the analysis of large federal databases regarding out-of-pocket and catastrophic health costs, the near-poor, and the latest trends in coverage for young adults. |
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Sherry Glied, Ph.D.
Department Chair
Joseph L. Mailman School of Public Health
Department of Health Policy and Management
600 West 168th Street, Room 611
New York, NY 10032
Tel: (212) 305-0295
sag1@columbia.edu
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Economic and Social Research Institute
$99,846.00
Assessing the Effectiveness of Tax Credits as an Aid for the Uninsured: The Trade Act Experience, Phase 2
The Trade Act of 2002 offers an opportunity to examine how effective tax credits can be in helping people obtain health insurance coverage. Under the law, a small subset of uninsured Americans-early retirees and workers displaced from their jobs due to foreign competition-qualify for fully refundable health coverage tax credits that pay for 65 percent of their health insurance premiums. With Fund support, Stan Dorn of the Economic and Social Research Institute has examined the program's early experiences over the past year and is becoming one of a small number of experts on the new tax credit. Both the administration and Congress have relied on his research findings to explore ways to expand the credit's impact. In Phase 2, Dorn will examine an additional year of experience with the credit, track data on enrollment, accessibility, and affordability, and continue to support evidence-driven policymaking through reports and presentations. |
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Stan Dorn, J.D.
Senior Policy Analyst
2100 M Street, NW, Suite 605
Washington, DC 20037
Tel: (202) 833-8877 ext. 14
sdorn@esresearch.org
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Kaiser Foundation Research Institute
$227,630.00
Assessing the Impact of High-Deductible Health Plans
High-deductible health plans (HDHPs) are a focal point in discussions about how to contain health care costs. In June 2004, Kaiser Permanente (KP) began offering these plans, and to date it has enrolled approximately 80,000 individuals. For this study, researchers will assess the impact of HDHPs on health care consumption, costs, and health outcomes by examining KP plan data and interviewing approximately 2,500 enrollees. The research team will be comparing the experiences of enrollees before and after they switched to an HDHP, as well as with a comparison group of KP members who did not join an HDHP. Additional analyses will gauge the effects of these plans on low-income enrollees and chronically ill patients. Findings will inform national policy, as well as benefit plan design within the private sector. KP will provide $327,681 in cofunding for the project. |
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John Hsu, M.D., M.B.A., M.S.C.E.
Physicican Scientist
Division of Research
Northern California Region
2000 Broadway
Oakland, CA 94611-5714
Tel: (510) 891-3601
jth@dor.kaiser.org
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The President and Directors of Georgetown College
$85,601.00
Federal Grants to State High-Risk Pools: Tracking State Efforts to Strengthen Coverage
To help lower premiums in the individual health insurance market, many states have created high-risk pools that provide coverage to people with high medical expenses. Legislation has recently been introduced to expand a new federal grant program that provides $80 million in matching funds to help finance state high-risk insurance pools. For this project, the investigators will conduct a six-month study of how states use these federal matching grant funds. After first assessing the adequacy, affordability, and accessibility of high-risk pool coverage relative to a benchmark health plan, they will next determine if the matching funds were used to make improvements in these three areas. Through interviews and examination of high-risk pool reports, the project team will also ascertain if funding has been used to offset risk pool losses or reduce insurers' or hospitals' contributions to the pool. This information will assist policymakers as they determine what role, if any, high-risk pools can or should play in health care reform strategies. |
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Karen Pollitz, M.P.P.
Project Director
2233 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W., Room 525
Washington, DC 20007
Tel: (202) 687-3003
pollitzk@georgetown.edu
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University of Kansas
$202,430.00
Designing a Small Business Subsidy Program for Low-Income Workers in Kansas
The lack of affordable health insurance coverage is a growing crisis for small businesses. In Kansas, where less than half of small firms offer health coverage to their employees, legislation in 2001 enabled creation of a Business Health Partnership to offer the state's small businesses an alternative insurance product that would rely on public subsidies of premiums for low-wage employees. Although the initiative has stalled due to budget constraints, it is anticipated that the Kansas governor will request subsidy funding in 2005 as part of a health reform package. This project will inform state policymakers about the small group insurance marketplace in Kansas, the potential impact of proposals that would use subsidies and tax credits, and the optimum magnitude of these subsidies. If it succeeds, the Kansas approach to covering low-income workers could be a model for other states. Cofunding is being provided by the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund. |
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Barbara Langner, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
3901 Rainbow Boulevard, MS 4043
Kansas City, KS 66160
Tel: (913) 588-1654
blangner@kumc.edu
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Princeton Survey Research Associates
$260,700.00
The Commonwealth Fund 2005 Biennial Health Insurance Survey
In 1999, 2001, 2002, and 2003, Princeton Survey Research Associates International conducted national surveys for the Fund to assess the stability of adults' health insurance coverage, cost-related difficulties in accessing care, and the extent and impact of medical bill problems. Policymakers learned about the results of these important surveys through widely cited media reports and journal articles, as well as through testimony to Congress. A new survey will update information on coverage and access trends and explore emerging areas of policy concern, including the effect of high-deductible health plans and health savings accounts on lower-wage workers and people with chronic health conditions. This information, which is not available elsewhere, will inform both federal and state debate concerning the future of health insurance coverage. |
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Mary E. McIntosh, Ph.D.
Principal, President
1211 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 305
Washtington, D.C. 20036
Tel: (202) 293-4710
marymcintosh@psra.com
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Small Grants—Task Force on the Future of Health Insurance
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Economic and Social Research Institute
$36,763.00
Analyzing Policy Options for Childrens' Automatic Enrollment in Medicaid and SCHIP |
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Stan Dorn, J.D.
Senior Policy Analyst
2100 M Street, NW, Suite 605
Washington, DC 20037
Tel: (202) 833-8877 ext. 14
sdorn@esresearch.org
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Economic and Social Research Institute
$49,972.00
Showcasing Innovations in Coverage and Efficiency |
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Sharon Silow-Carroll, M.B.A., M.S.W.
Senior Vice President
2100 M Street, NW, Suite 605
Washington, DC 20037
Tel: (202) 833-8877
silow@optonline.net
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Employee Benefit Research Institute Education and Research Fund
$35,500.00
Sustaining Membership in the Employee Benefit Research Institute Education and Research and Supporting the EBRI Annual Health Confidence Survey |
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Dallas L. Salisbury
President and Chief Executive Officer
Employee Benefit Research Institute and
EBRI Education and Research Fund
2121 K Street, N.W., Suite 600
Washington, DC 20037-1896
Tel: (202) 775-6322
salisbury@ebri.org
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Health Research and Educational Trust
$40,040.00
Employer Views of Employee Benefits and Policy Options to Expand Health Insurance Coverage |
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Jon R. Gabel
Vice President, The Center for Studying Health System Change
600 Maryland Ave, SW #550
Washington, DC 20024
Tel: (202) 484-5269
JGabel@hschange.org
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National Women's Law Center
$5,000.00
Women's Access to Health Insurance Project: Updating Diagnosing Disparities in Health Insurance for Women |
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Judy Waxman
Vice President, Reproductive Rights and Health
11 DuPont Circle NW, Suite 800
Washington, DC 20036
Tel: (202) 588-5180
jwaxman@nwlc.org
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University of Nebraska
$11,056.00
An Empirical Analysis of Summary Plan Description Language in Employer-Sponsored Health Plans |
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Richard Weiner, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
600 S 42nd St
Omaha, NE 68198-6545
Tel: (402) 472-1137
rweiner2@unl.edu
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University of Washington
$18,324.00
Cost Containment and Expanded Access to Coverage in Washington State |
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Carolyn Watts, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Health Services
Box 357660
Seattle, WA 98195
Tel: (206) 616-2986
watts@u.washington.edu
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