Healthcare Coverage & Access

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Past studies by federal agencies examined the impact of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 policies on beneficiaries and providers. While documenting changes in the supply of home health agencies (HHAs), these studies concluded that agency closings did not cause a shortage of Medicare home health providers and that beneficiaries' access to services were not generally affected.

Cash and Counseling, an innovative model of consumer direction, has been implemented as a three-state demonstration designed to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of allowing Medicaid beneficiaries to assume more responsibility for the supportive services they may need.

Implementation of the 1997 Balanced Budget Act's home health provisions dramatically reduced Medicare home health utilization and led to closures of many agencies. This paper examined the potential effects of the agency closings on beneficiary utilization rates. Findings suggest that agency closings, per se, had only a very small impact on changes in utilization rates between 1996 and 1999.

This study provides descriptions and information about overall application procedures under four major assistance programs in a variety of venues (e.g., welfare offices, hospitals, health clinics) at six sites (Arlington, VA; Dallas, TX; Raleigh, NC; New York, NY; Seattle, WA; and Sedalia, MO).

This review updates the previous literature on what we know about inmate needs and the programs designed to address those needs. A more neutral terminology than inmate "deficits" or "needs" is used by referring to the different domains as "skill sets." A skill implies mastery and competence rather than a personal liability.

This report was prepared under contract #HHS-100-97-0013 between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Disability, Aging and Long-Term Care Policy (DALTCP) and the Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.

This paper examines the current state of nurse practice acts and their implementing regulations to determine the extent to which they permit more consumer direction in home and community based services. This analysis may be helpful to consumers and states that are seeking ways to balance better state policies to support consumer-directed care. [38 PDF pages]

Contents Background About the Four Cities Immigrants Access to Medicaid and the State Childrens Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) Immigrants Access to Health Services Safety Net Providers Organizational and Financial Responses