Tuesday, May 11, 2004

Public opinion on the uninsured
The latest Health Poll Report from the Kaiser Family Foundation - "The debate over how to expand health insurance coverage to the 41 million Americans without it continues to be one of the most challenging issues facing policy makers. In conjunction with Cover the Uninsured Week, May 10-16 2004, this Featured Topic examines the public’s opinion on the importance of expanding health coverage for the uninsured, personal concern about their own ability to access and pay for health insurance, knowledge and perceptions about the uninsured, as well as views on different policy options for expanding access to health care for more Americans."  
  

McLean Study Reveals Discrepancies in Care for Medicaid Recipients With Carve-Out Insurance
Ascribe Newswire press release reprinted at PsycPORT - "Health insurers commonly hire subcontractors to manage their mental and behavioral health benefits for them, but a study headed by a researcher at McLean Hospital suggests Medicaid patients with schizophrenia whose treatment is managed under a so-called "carve-out" arrangement are less likely to receive some treatments associated with improved outcomes. The study, in the May issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, is led by Alisa B. Busch, M.D., M.S., and utilizes a large database from a single state to illustrate the effect of a carve-out on evidence-based treatments for patients with schizophrenia in a publicly funded insurance program. It found that patients with schizophrenia enrolled in the carve-out were significantly less likely to receive some evidence-based outpatient treatments, compared to those enrolled in the traditional state Medicaid program. Notably, in this Medicaid program the carve-out and associated clinical programs had a financial incentive to limit hospital and outpatient services."