Archives

"Access Denied" – America's Growing Health Care Crisis		Community Health Centers (CHCs): Addressing The Access Problem		"Access Capital": Bolstering America's Primary Care Infrastructure
[ Read More ]		[ Read More ]		[ Read More ]

Success of Community Health Centers (CHCs)

The year 2001 launched a major national expansion of the Community Health Center (CHC) network, the main source of health care for some of the most vulnerable populations across the country. CHCs funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) provide comprehensive primary care to those who would otherwise either go to overcrowded and costly Emergency Rooms, or simply forego badly-needed care. Reports show that HRSA-funded Health Centers touch more than 16 million llives annually.

Using patient stories, Health Center examples, and background statistics, a new report entitled Health Centers: America´s Primary Care Safety Net - Reflections on Success 2002-2007 details the broad reach of CHCs across the country, offering a glimpse into the work of these Centers in overcoming economic, cultural, and language barriers that can too often stand in the way of health care for patients on the margins of society.

Click here to access the complete document through HRSA´s website.

"Medical Home" Model: Full Steam Ahead

Both public and private health care stakeholders are increasingly moving toward innovative models of service delivery that better support effective, patient centered primary care. An issue briefing recently released by the National Association of State Health Policy (NASHP), in partnership with the Patient Centered Primary Care Collaborative, focuses on the growing shift towards the concept of a "Patient Centered Medical Home," which establishes primary care teams that attend to the comprehensive needs of patients and that provide whole person, patient centered care.

This briefing, Strategies States Can Use to Support the Infrastructure of a Medical Home, examines ideas states can utilize to support practices that facilitate the Medical Home model.  To access this briefing through NASHP's website, click here.

Indiana Ranked 34th Among States in Child Well-Being  

The 19th annual Kids Count Data Book is a major initiative of the Annie E. Casey Foundation to develop a national and state-by-state profile of the well-being of America's children.  It ranks states on 10 key measures and provides data on the economic, health, education, and social conditions of America's children and families. The latest Kids Count Data Book ranks Indiana 34th among states in child well-being.

The study found that the percentage of Indiana's children living in poverty in 2006 rose one percentage point to 18% - the same percentage as the declining rate nationally. Indiana is ranked 39th in infant mortality rate and 38th in child death rate. To access the 2008 Kids Count Data Book, click here.

Health Care Coverage for Young Adults: An Important Update

Young adults 19 - 29 years old are the leading subset of the U.S. population lacking health insurance, with 13.7 million being uninsured in 2006. Nearly 40% of high school graduates not attending college, as well as 1/3 of college graduates, are typically uninsured at some time during their first year following graduation. Employer-based health policies cover dependents only up to a certain age; however, some states are passing laws to expand such coverage to the ages of 24 or 25 under parental policies.

[ Read More ]

Children's Health Across the 50 States

A great many children in all 50 states receive health care funded by the federal government. While child health is a major agenda item for state officials, many states struggle more than others in addressing this priority.  The Commonwealth Fund Commission recently examined the performance of each state using the State Scorecard on Health System Performance, concluding that access to health care - as well as health care quality, costs, outcomes, and equity - vary widely among states, creating numerous opportunities for improvement.

[ Read More ]

Hospital Emergency Departments Looking to Primary Health Centers for Help

With hospital emergency departments (EDs) around the nation teeming with non-urgent patients, many are working to redirect appropriate patients to outpatient clinics or Community Health Centers. Efforts to promote greater use of primary care providers are being made in an attempt to increase access to care, enhance quality, and contain costs, especially for low-income, uninsured, and Medicaid patients.

[ Read More ]

Integration of Behavioral Health and Primary Care

Important recent findings indicate that while approximately 50% of all behavioral health care was delivered in a medical setting, many behavioral disorders were undiagnosed and others were under-treated. But health care professionals are now looking at a more comprehensive approach to patient care, utilizing a treatment system in which coordinated and holistic avenues of care generate more desirable outcomes, leading to a healthier society.

[ Read More ]

National Report: "Do Primary Care Physicians Treating Minority Patients Report Problems Delivering High-Quality Care?"

Racial and ethnic disparities can contribute not only to health problems within a primary care physician's patient population, but also to lower reimbursements for the provider. A recent study - "Do Primary Care Physicians Treating Minority Patients Report Problems Delivering High-Quality Care?" (Health Affairs, Vol. 26/No. 3, April 2008) - indicates that physicians in high-minority practices with substantial reliance on low-paying Medicaid also receive lower private insurance reimbursements, and thus have lower incomes. Such constrained resources make it harder to provide optimal care by inhibiting full care coordination, minimizing time spent with individual patients, etc.

[ Read More ]

Indiana Ranked Next to Last in Public Health Spending

A new study by the Trust for America's Health, a nonprofit organization working to protect and enhance the health of US communities, ranks Indiana 49th - better than only Kansas - in spending for public health. The study, Shortchanging America's Health 2008: A State-by-State Look at How Federal Public Health Dollars are Spent, analyzes key state health statistics and public health funding levels.

[ Read More ]

New Study Shows Health Insurance Costs Outstripping Insurance Coverage

An issue of critical national importance is that of potentially devastating health insurance cost inflation in the face of slowing increases in family income. Working Americans are increasingly worried not only about holding onto their jobs, but also about maintaining affordable health insurance for their families.

[ Read More ]

Access to Care for All America - Making the Dream a Reality
Cover the Uninsured Week: April 27 - May 3, 2008

With less than a week left, communities around Indiana are gearing up for Cover the Uninsured Week, a national campaign organized by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Through cooperative efforts, this week is yet another stepping stone to increasing national awareness about the critical need for affordable and accessible health care coverage.  With more than 840,000 uninsured in Indiana (47 million in the U.S.), this week presents a powerful opportunity to bring about structural health care reform. 

Study Results: Hoosiers Dying Due to Lack of Health Coverage

It's no surprise that the number of America's uninsured is at an all-time high, and rising. Each year, more Americans struggle with the often insurmountable problem of access to affordable healthcare. Their struggles range from going into medical debt to not being able to receive appropriate care at all, which too often results in serious medical problems or even death.

[ Read More ]

New Trend Likely in Personal Health Care Costs

The last four years have seen a consistent decline in personal spending on health care. But given economic trends and a general downturn in health status, the spending picture isn't going to continue looking up. That's the conclusion of a recent study, Don't Break Out the Champagne: Continued Slowing of Health Care Spending Growth Unlikely to Last, published in Health Affairs (Vol. 27, No. 1, Jan.-Feb . 2008).

[ Read More ]

Recent Study: "Uninsured and Dying Because of It"

The absence of health care for the uninsured has become an increasing problem that not only reduces quality of life, but also increases the risk of death. Uninsured and Dying Because of It- a report recently released by the Urban Institute - updates extended research by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) on the powerful relationship between health coverage and health outcomes.

[ Read More ]

New Study Shows Health Impact of Income, Education, Related Factors

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's new report - Overcoming Obstacles to Health: Toward a Healthier, More Fair America - dramatically demonstrates how the chances of becoming ill or even dying prematurely are impacted by powerful social forces.  The study also provides new evidence of how health disparities relate to race, ethnicity, etc.

[ Read More ]

Special Report:
"The Medical Home: Disruptive Innovation for a New Primary Care Model"

A new report from the Deloitte Center for Health Studies addresses the growing concept of the "medical home."  This is a model in which primary care clinicians and allied health professionals provide not only continuing hands-on health services, but also coordination of the full spectrum of care needed by their patients.  In many respects, this is the model employed by Community Health Centers.

[ Read More ]

Community Health Centers (CHCs) Wrestle with Rising Demand
More Patients – Primarily Uninsured – Being Seen

Despite federal funding increases, Community Health Centers (CHCs) – the backbone of the nation's safety net – are struggling to meet rising demand for care, particularly for specialty medical, dental and mental health services, according to a recent report by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC).

[ Read More ]