Friday, June 18, 2004

Health Care Access For Low-Income People: Significant Safety Net Gaps Remain
An Issue Brief from the Center for Studying Health System Change - "Despite signs that low-income and uninsured people's access to primary health care services has improved, serious gaps in care exist, especially for specialty physician, mental health and dental care, according to the Center for Studying Health System Change's (HSC) 2002-03 site visits to 12 nationally representative communities. Key factors contributing to these gaps in the safety net include declining private physician and dentist involvement, changes in funding and facilities, and more people in need. Community leaders have developed a variety of innovative strategies to add specialty, mental health and dental services but could benefit from more support from state and federal policy makers."  
  

The Impact of Recent Changes in Health Care Coverage for Low-Income People: A First Look at the Research Following Changes in Oregon's Medicaid Program
An issue paper, in Adobe Acrobat format, from the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured - "Oregon recently restructured its Medicaid program through a Section 1115 waiver and other program changes, largely in response to particularly difficult state budget problems. This report summarizes key findings on the impact of Oregon's changes, based on work conducted by a research collaborative within the state. The experience in Oregon may be instructive, as other states have implemented or are considering implementing similar changes."