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Vaccines are among the greatest triumphs of medical science over illness and disease in the past half-century. In the United States, vaccine use has virtually eradicated smallpox and polio and has drastically reduced the incidence of the dangerous—and formerly common—childhood illnesses measles, mumps and rubella. Despite these strides, market forces and policy dilemmas have created […]

Medicare covers nearly 42 million beneficiaries who are elderly, or have a disability or end stage renal disease. Spending on Medicare benefits accounted for 17 percent of the nation’s total health care spending in 2004. The Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 made many changes to the program including the addition of a prescription drug benefit […]

Health care information about individual patients is one of the least automated aspects of the U.S. economy. Promoting greater access to secure, easily shared electronic health records for all Americans has strong support from the Administration and both parties in Congress. Widely used electronic records would allow health care providers and patients to access information […]

The federal government’s responsibility to provide access to health care for the nation’s 41 million Medicare beneficiaries implies another obligation: to spend taxpayer dollars wisely. This means assuring that the $250 billion+ spent for Medicare goes for services that are safe, timely and effective. How well is the Medicare program meeting these goals? Why is […]

A worldwide discussion is under way on the role of evidence-based medicine in evaluating the relative effectiveness of prescription drugs. Publicly funded health programs, large employers and managed care plans all are working to learn more about how the costs and benefits of one drug compare with those of another. At the same time, these […]

A newly launched website known as “Hospital Compare” is the most comprehensive attempt yet by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to display voluntary, self-reported information by hospitals on steps that can be taken to reduce the impact of three major causes of morbidity and mortality – heart attack, heart failure, and pneumonia […]

With rapidly rising health care costs and pressures on both federal and state budgets as a backdrop, lawmakers are considering a variety of changes to Medicaid this year. This briefing will offer a chance to learn more about the fundamentals of Medicaid, for those who would like to brush up on their knowledge as well […]

Millions of children are eligible for Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), but remain without coverage. How have state budget constraints affected outreach and enrollment in Medicaid and SCHIP? What are the goals of the Administration’s proposed “Cover the Kids” campaign? To help address these and related questions, the Alliance for Health […]

President Bush’s FY 2006 budget could have long-lasting effects on several health programs. If enacted as is, the budget would trim $60 billion in the growth in Medicaid spending over the next 10 years. At the same time, the budget offers $11 billion in new money to enroll children in Medicaid and the State Children’s […]

The budget season is upon us. The Congressional Budget Office’s January 2005 “Budget and Economic Outlook” provides an overview of where Congress will start, and the President’s budget request will arrive next week. The journey down the sometimes bumpy, sometimes difficult-to-understand road to a federal budget for FY 2006 is beginning. What are the basic steps […]

Evidence-based medicine offers a win-win proposition: improve the quality and effectiveness of care while at the same time identifying opportunities to reduce waste of valuable health care resources. But what evidence should employers, health care providers and consumers pay attention to? And how should this information be disseminated to those who need it? The answers […]

In 2003, the Trust for America’s Health released a report on state preparedness in the age of bioterrorism. The study found that despite nearly $2 billion in federal funding, state public health systems were insufficiently prepared to handle a bioterrorist attack. In 2004, the federal government allocated an additional $1 billion to address these problems. […]