Wednesday, December 10, 2003

The Medicaid Resource Book
This page provides links to chapter-length Adobe Acrobat files comprising a guide from the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured - "This reference book describes four pivotal aspects of how the Medicaid program operates -- who it covers, what it covers, how it is financed, and how it is administered. It was written to assist the public and policymakers in understanding the structure and operation of the Medicaid program."  
  

Reducing The Growth Of Medicare Spending: Geographic Versus Patient-Based Strategies
Health Affairs article - "This paper explores the potential of two alternative approaches for reducing the rate of growth in Medicare spending. One strategy would focus on reducing the expenditures of high-spending individuals. Given that a large share of Medicare spending is consumed by relatively few beneficiaries, this approach targets the small group responsible for most of the spending. The other strategy would focus on reducing expenditures in high-spending regions. Because either approach would have to overcome major hurdles before lowering Medicare spending, the likely payoff from the alternative strategies is far from clear. Viewed from a budgetary perspective, concentration in Medicare spending suggests the importance of focusing on high-spending patients." See also Getting Serious About Excessive Medicare Spending: A Purchasing Model in the same issue.