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Quarterly Update: January - March 2013

Announcements

Webinar: Young Adult Coverage Expansion Policies - Further Analysis and New Questions

SHARE hosted a webinar on April 2, 2013, featuring Dr. Joel Cantor, Director of the Center for State Health Policy at Rutgers University. Dr. Cantor addressed a range of questions from his SHARE-funded research evaluating state and federal young adult dependent coverage expansion policies using the Current Population Survey (CPS). Dr. Cantor was joined by Dr. Thomas Buchmueller, Professor of Risk Management and Insurance and Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.  Dr. Buchmueller discussed findings from similar research on young adult coverage using the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) and presented findings from an NHIS-based analysis of the impact of the expansion of young adult dependent coverage on access to care.  Access the webinar recording, presentation slides, and supporting materials.
 

Premium Contribution Requirements for CHIP Coverage Decrease Enrollment

A research team led by José Escarce, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, published findings from its SHARE-funded research in an article in Health Services Research (HSR).  The authors of the article, led by Carole Roan Gresenz, PhD, used a selection correction simulation model to examine the effects of Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) income eligibility thresholds and premium contribution requirements on health insurance coverage outcomes among children. They found that premium contribution requirements decreased enrollment in public coverage and increased enrollment in private coverage, with larger effects for greater contribution levels.

Strict Network Adequacy Standards Could Exacerbate Rural Access Problems

A research team led by Andrew Coburn, PhD, Director of the Maine Rural Health Research Center at the University of Southern Maine, has published findings from its SHARE-funded research in The Journal of Rural Health. The article, under the lead authorship of Jean Talbot, PhD, examines rural issues surrounding network adequacy standards and offers recommendations for crafting standards that incorporate a degree of flexibility in order to ensure the willingness of Qualified Health Plans to serve rural areas.

RWJF Highlights SHARE Grant Results

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is highlighting project results from a number of SHARE grants in a series of online reports:

• "How Will Health Reform Impact Rural Communities?"
  Grantee: Andrew Coburn, PhD, University of Southern Maine
• "How Well Did Maryland Identify and Enroll Uninsured Children Who Are Potentially Eligible for Medicaid or CHIP?"
  Grantee: David Idala, MA, Hilltop Institute
• "Determining Eligibility for Insurance Affordability Programs"
  Grantee: John Czajka, PhD, Mathematica Policy Research
• "Evaluating Health Reform at the State Level"
  Grantee: Beth Kilbreth, PhD, University of Southern Maine
• "Studying Expansion of Coverage and Access to Care in Three States"
  Grantee: Sharon K. Long, PhD, Urban Institute
• "What Was the Impact of States Expanding Eligibility to CHIP?"
  Grantee: Jose Escarce, MD, PhD, UCLA
• "Can Expanding Dependent Coverage to Young Adults Reduce the Number of Uninsured?"
  Joel Cantor, ScD, Rutgers University

Preliminary Findings from Connecticut’s Health Enhancement Program

Dr. Richard Hirth, Research Director at the Center for Value-Based Insurance Design (V-BID) at the University of Michigan, issued preliminary findings on Connecticut’s state employee Health Enhancement Program (HEP).  The program provides financial incentives for participants to obtain high-value services and has thus far seen significant positive results. For example, monthly emergency room visits fell from approximately 3,500 in July 2011 to about 2,700 in May 2012.  Dr. Hirth and his team are currently conducting a rigorous SHARE-funded evaluation of HEP to identify trends in utilization and expenditures made by HEP enrollees, with results available within the next year.

Grantee Spotlight

Lindsey Leininger, PhD, MA

Dr. Leininger is the Principal Investigator on a SHARE-funded project assessing the value of collecting self-reported health measures at the time of application for Medicaid—a novel use of Medicaid enrollment systems—for the purpose of predicting health care utilization.  Dr. Leininger is an Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois, where her current work focuses on how state Medicaid agencies can optimize and improve upon their existing data resources to implement cost-effective quality improvement initiatives.  Her research expertise includes the health care safety net and the health care utilization experiences of children and adolescents. Learn more.

 

New Publications

Gresenz, C.R., Edgington, S.E., Laugesen, M.J., & Escarce, J. 2013. "Income Eligibility Thresholds, Premium Contributions, and Children's Coverage Outcomes: A Study of CHIP Expansions." Health Services Research 48(2 pt 2): 884-904.

Talbot, J.A., Coburn, A., Croll, Z., & Ziller, E. 2013. "Rural Considerations in Establishing Network Adequacy Standards for Qualified Health Plans in State and Regional Health Insurance Exchanges." The Journal of Rural Health. DOI: 10.1111/jrh.12012. 

News and Events

Calls for Papers

• Society for Medical Decision-Making 2013 Annual Meeting
  Abstract submission deadline: May 17, 2013.  View the call for papers.

Upcoming Conferences & Workshops

• View a comprehensive list of upcoming conferences and workshops.
   

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