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New Brief Offers Short-Term Options for Bolstering Medicaid in a Recession
With the economy in recession and unemployment on the rise, states see demand for Medicaid go up at the same time that their budgets are constrained by sagging tax revenue. Against that backdrop, the Kaiser Family Foundation's Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (KCMU) has issued a new policy brief examining several short-term options for shoring up the Medicaid program in these tough times. The brief can be viewed online.
New Journal Article Examines Medicaid's Role in Preconception Care
A new scholarly article by experts at the Kaiser Family Foundation examines the evolution and current role of Medicaid in improving access to preconception care for low-income women. The paper reviews Medicaid's eligibility policy and benefits of relevance to women of reproductive age and discusses challenges facing the program, as well as opportunities to use it to promote preconception care to low-income women. Preconception care emphasizes the importance of health promotion, screening and interventions for women of reproductive age to reduce risk factors that might affect future pregnancies. The article was authored by Alina Salganicoff, vice president and director of women's health policy for the Foundation, and research assistant Jane An. It was published in the journal Women's Health Issues as part of a special supplement examining preconception health and health care. A PDF version can be viewed online.
Statehealthfacts.org Updates Data on Unemployment, Food Stamp Enrollment, State Budget Shortfalls, Cost of Living Variation, SCHIP Financing and More
Statehealthfacts.org has added the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on state unemployment rates for October 2008, monthly food stamp enrollment for September 2008 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and projected state budget shortfalls for state fiscal year 2009 from The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Other updates include the data on the cost of living variation among families living in selected urban areas across the states based on analysis of the 2008 ACCRA Cost of Living Index (COLI) and state-level data from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Census Bureau on tax collections in 2007. New on statehealthfacts.org are data from the Congressional Research Service (CRS) on State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) financing, including states' own projected federal spending, federal SCHIP allotments, and projected shortfall amounts for FY2008 and FY2009. Also new on the site are data based on Cornell University’s analysis of the American Community Survey (ACS) on the percentage of adults with disabilities for 2007. The latest 2007 medical malpractice claims data from the National Practitioner Bank, 2005 mortality data from the Annie E. Casey Foundation for teens aged 15 to 19 years, and information from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for deaths among women caused by breast cancer and cervical cancer have also been added and are available for all states and the nation.
In addition to Kaiser Family Foundation events listed above, a number of external organizations conduct activities at the Foundation's Barbara Jordan Conference Center in Washington, D.C. On Wednesday, December 17, The National Council on Patient Information and Education (NCPIE) held their Board of Directors Meeting.
Health on the Hill from kaisernetwork.org and CQ
CQ HealthBeat's Mary Agnes Carey looks at recent activity on the Hill
More Medicaid funding for states, more money for health information technology and for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) are likely candidates to be included in the economic stimulus package Congress is likely to consider early next year. As expected, president-elect Barack Obama named former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle to head both the Department of Health and Human Services and new White House office of Health Reform. On Capitol Hill, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said he plans to unveil his health reform bill early next year.
 A podcast is available.
Michael Leavitt: Increased Role of Health Diplomacy in U.S. Foreign Policy
Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
A podcast is available.
NIH Summit: The Science of Eliminating Health Disparities
National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities
NOTE:
Due to the Foundation's offices being closed for Christmas and New Year's holidays, there will be no Weekly Update for the next two weeks.
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