Important Publications

This report by State Coverage Initiatives, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, describes California's efforts to initiate health reform in 2007. Through analyzing the role of political leadership, financial challenges, the limitations imposed by constitutional provisions and federal statutes, and efforts to overcome policy hurdles the report tells California's story.

This report by State Coverage Initiatives, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, examines recent coverage expansion efforts in five states—California, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Illinois. Through monitoring public reports and interviewing key figures the report analyzes crucial issues in health reform such as the systemic environment, financial challenges, policy development, the role of interest groups, and the role of political leadership.

This report by the Medicaid Institute at the United Hospital Fund identifies best practices in financing and delivering behavioral health services for Medicaid managed care beneficiaries with severe and persistent mental illness. In order to achieve better outcomes at a more reasonable cost, the report suggests integrated management of physical and mental health services.

This study supported by The Commonwealth Fund examines a new payment model using evidence-informed case rates (ECRs) paid to providers for patients with specific conditions. With the help of medical professionals, health care researchers, and data modeling experts, estimate ECRs for 10 different conditions were developed.

This study supported by The Commonwealth Fund and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation finds that warranties could improve the care that patients receive while enabling medical providers to improve their profit margins.

Small Business United for Health Care released this report on New York small business owners’ experiences with health insurance and views on reform. The report, The Pulse of Main Street New York, is based on a survey of over 200 small business owners from across the state.

This new analysis by New Yorkers for Accessible Health Coverage (NYFAHC) and funded by NYSHealth contrasts the approaches of New York's major commercial insurers to enrolling immigrant communities and finds that community credibility makes a difference. The most successful strategies integrated linguistically and culturally appropriate services with the marketing of coverage to immigrants. The report also suggests developing intermediaries between insurers and enrollees, or "connectors," that can establish group buying power and help consumers navigate coverage options.

This tool kit, prepared by the Research Foundation of SUNY, was designed to help refugees in the Buffalo, New York area enroll in health insurance. It includes guides to health insurance in six languages: Arabic, Burmese, English, Karen, Vietnamese, and Somali. Each guide contains information on the eligibility and documentation criteria of various programs, as well as contact information for where refugees and immigrants can enroll.

A new report released by the Small Business Majority compares the impacts of three health care reform scenarios on small businesses by applying the Gruber Microsimulation Model (GMSIM). Small businesses are struggling under the current health care system, and the report concludes that the reform options being debated in Washington will likely save small businesses money, protect wages and jobs, and encourage small business owners to reinvest in and grow our economy.

A new report issued by the Health Policy Research Center at the Rockefeller Institute of Government and funded by the New York State Health Foundation (NYSHealth) evaluates revenue and saving strategies the State could consider to confront the challenges of implementing universal health care coverage.

A new report issued by the Community Service Society of New York (CSS) and funded by the New York State Health Foundation (NYSHealth) finds that African Americans are more likely to be disenrolled from Medicaid.  More than 40% of all enrollees in New York’s public health insurance programs lose their coverage each year although many remain eligible. The analysis of Medicaid health plan data reveals that among racial/ethnic groups, African-Americans have the lowest annual retention rates (59%) while Asian/Pacific Islanders have the highest retention rates (65%).

A new report issued by the Community Service Society of New York (CSS) and funded by the New York State Health Foundation (NYSHealth) urges New York State to promote health equity more effectively through its popular public insurance programs. These programs—Child Health Plus, Family Health Plus and Medicaid Managed Care—serve nearly 3 million New Yorkers, approximately 30% of whom are African American, and another 37% are Latino.

The Medicaid Institute at United Hospital Fund has published a comprehensive report on Medicaid long-term care programs in New York, which serve 247,000 Medicaid beneficiaries each month and account for roughly one quarter of all Medicaid spending. Care for these beneficiaries can be intensive and costly.

New York State's Medicaid Excess Income Program (EIP) is bogged down by complicated processing requirements that lead to high costs and delays in much-needed coverage and care for patients, according to this NYSHealth-funded study conducted by Manatt Health Solutions.

This NYSHealth-funded survey conducted by PHI (formerly the Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute) finds that only 25% of home care workers employed by Upstate agencies have employer-sponsored health insurance.

In this NYSHealth-funded report, PHI advances recommendations to increase the number of home care workers enrolled in health insurance. The report recommends that New York State strengthen existing public health insurance options, including the Family Health Plus Buy-In option. It also recommends creating a new multi-employer benefit fund that would pool risks and contributions for home care workers across the State.

This United Hospital Fund Issue Brief presents an overview of the Medicaid High-Cost Care Initiative and highlights the program development work done by seven participating health care providers with grant support from the Fund.

This Special Edition of the Medicaid Update highlights the reform measures advanced in this year’s Budget.

This NYSHealth-funded report was created by the Rockefeller Institute of Government. It analyzes the role of asset transfers in New York county officials’ decisions to deny Medicaid coverage for nursing home care.

Some national health reform proposals would create a “public plan” that would compete for enrollment with the private insurance industry. The details of such a plan would work are uncertain. This paper presents impact estimates under several variations on the public plan model. Each variation assumes that the public plan is implemented together with President Obama’s coverage expansion proposals, which are estimated to cover about 28 million uninsured people.

The State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) was created by Congress to reduce the number of uninsured children in low-income families who do not qualify for Medicaid. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently examined the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) and states’ efforts to minimize the incidence of individuals substituting SCHIP for private health insurance—known as crowd-out.

Health Care for All New York (HCFANY) is a statewide coalition of more than 60 organizations whose mission is to bring affordable, comprehensive, and high-quality health care to all residents of New York. In May 2008, more than 200 citizens, elected representatives, and activists gathered in the Legislative Office Building in Albany to hold a People’s Public Hearing on Health Care Reform, organized by HCFANY.

In response to the growing number of New Yorkers who risk losing health
insurance coverage in the current troubled economy, the United Hospital Fund prepared this guide with support from the New York State Health Foundation.

Financial distress among health centers is grave and growing, according to initial findings unveiled in this NYSHealth-produced issue brief by the Primary Care Development Corporation.

This NYSHealth-funded issue brief by the Children’s Defense Fund – New York (CDF-NY) reviews public health insurance policies implemented in 2007 and 2008 that may have collectively influenced child and adult enrollment in 2008.

Approximately one-third of enrollees in New York State's public health insurance programs-Medicaid, Child Heath Plus, and Family Health Plus-fail to complete the annual recertification process and lose coverage despite remaining eligible, according to this NYSHealth-funded study conducted by Lake Research Partners. Some former beneficiaries manage to reenroll months later, resulting in a high churn rate that undermines efforts to provide continuous and stable health insurance to low-income New Yorkers.

New Yorkers for Accessible Health Coverage and the New York Immigration Coalition have produced an analysis of the potential impact of the nine leading proposals for health reform on immigrants. The NYSHealth-funded report is part of a broad analysis of how health coverage among immigrants can be increased.

A new study conducted by the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government, with funding from NYSHealth, compares New York State to 18 other large states on various aspects of long term care. Long-term care includes nursing facilities, care for the mentally retarded and mentally ill, and home and personal care. Comparison states include California, Texas, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.

CHCANYS teamed up with the Empire Justice Center, the statewide legal services organization, to develop this handbook detailing health care coverage for immigrants.

This Columbia University report, funded by NYSHealth, models five plans to reduce the number of uninsured in New York State. The analysis indicates that the plans differ vastly in both their potential impact on the problem and costs. This is the first model to compare proposals on the basis of the number of people who would gain coverage; drop private coverage in favor of public options; and how each plan would increase statewide health care spending, including the cost to State government to finance expansions.

Based on 2006 and 2007 surveys of working-age adults (ages 18–64)in Massachusetts, this paper examines employers' responses to health reform as reported by their employees.

This paper examines employers’ views and responses to health care reform after employer and individual mandates went into effect in Massachusetts based on a spring 2008 survey of 1,003 randomly selected Massachusetts firms. The paper looks at the degree of crowd-out that occurred.

This Cornell University report, funded by NYSHealth, explores the opinions of New Yorkers on health care reform and summarizes the findings of a statewide survey of 475 employers and 1,200 residents.

This report, produced by Families USA, examines growing health care premiums in relation to stagnant wages and what these trends mean for New York State’s working families.

This study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), sought to identify predictors of uninsurance among U.S. children and adolescents with insured parents.

This United Hospital Fund Report, funded by NYSHealth, models the effects of merging three segments of New York State’s commercial health insurance market: Direct Pay, Healthy New York, and Small Group. This research hopes to contribute to the creation of a viable market in which individuals in New York State can purchase affordable, comprehensive health insurance policies.

This report grades New York State Assembly Members and Senators on their track records with legislation related to health care.

This report summarizes the findings of an assessment of barriers to obtaining health care in underserved communities in New York City, with a focus on community residents’ articulation of their experiences accessing primary health care.

This Rockefeller Institute of Government report, made possible by an NYSHealth grant, looks at statewide strategies for improving private health insurance coverage to small groups. It examines rating policies, group purchasing arrangements, premium subsidies, refundable credits, and reinsurance as strategies for increasing access to private health insurance.

This NYSHealth-funded report was created by the Rockefeller Institute of Government. It provides an overview of the strategies all 50 states have used to increase insurance coverage in the small-group market including what is known about the effectiveness of these strategies.

This transcript from the Manhattan Institute’s 2008 Medical Progress Conference (an NYSHealth-funded event) brings together a variety of perspectives about affordable health care for the uninsured in New York.

This presentation is a proposal by the Community Service Society for establishing universal health care coverage in New York State.

Continuing its reporting on health insurance issues affecting New Yorkers, the United Hospital Fund (UHF) has released a data update on Offer, Eligibility, and Take-up Rates of Employer-Sponsored Coverage in New York, 2005.

This report is the initial product of Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health's project whose overarching purpose is to analyze both qualitatively and quantitatively, meaningful and lasting options to expand health insurance coverage in New York State.

This presentation shares the findings from a statewide health poll conducted in November 2007 by the Community Service Society.

Targeted at small business owners and self-employed individuals, the Office of Citywide Health Insurance Access published this guide to provide helpful information about health insurance options in New York City.

This is a transcript of the first of two panels hosted by the Manhattan Institute and funded by NYSHealth to explore options to increase health insurance coverage.

The United Hospital Fund has released a new report on the 900,000 New Yorkers who are eligible for public insurance but not enrolled in any of the available programs.

This report commissioned by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation includes a state-by-state analysis of public health insurance coverage for chronically ill children. New York State is home to 572,503 children with special health care needs—11,531 of whom are uninsured.

A 2008 Employee Benefit Research Institute study investigates immigration and health insurance coverage. The large foreign-born population in New York is increasing, and is a key group for efforts to expand insurance coverage.

This presentation reports on the findings of a citywide survey that details managed care consumers’ experiences obtaining and utilizing public health insurance.

This Community Service Society presentation provides facts about the uninsured in New York State with a focus on women.

This Community Service Society presentation is a public testimony about establishing universal health coverage in New York State.

This Migration Policy Institute report presents different options for immigration reform and their implications for access to health care reform. The report seeks to maintain a healthy workforce and protect public health.

The first in a series of policy briefs from the Health Care for Health Care Workers campaign, this report provides basic facts about the health care crisis for direct-care workers.

This commentary published in the New England Journal of Medicine in February 2008 argues that the presidential candidates may be overstating the case for prevention as the key to cutting the cost of health care.

This United Hospital Fund report explores Medicaid enrollment data in New York State.

This study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) sought to assess the effect of acquiring Medicare coverage on the health of previously uninsured adults.

The New York State Insurance Department released this annual evaluation report about Healthy NY, an organization that offers health insurance coverage to small business owners and employees.

This blueprint from the United Hospital Fund proposes a set of strategies to achieve universal health insurance coverage by addressing the unique characteristics of New York State’s uninsured population.

This report was produced by the Commission on Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century, an organization created to review and strengthen New York State's acute and long term care systems.

This report by the Children’s Defense Fund looks at how coordination of New York’s Medicaid and Food Stamp Programs would make it easier for families to access critical public benefits.

This report, prepared for the Medicaid Institute at the United Hospital Fund, provides general background information about the Medicaid program from a national and a New York State perspective.

This report, by the Commonwealth Fund, examines the weakening of employer-sponsored health insurance and whether the state’s employers are making more use of public health insurance programs than in the past.