Julie Sonier presented "Framework for Tracking the Impacts of the ACA in California" at the Dialogue4Health Data for Evaluating Health Webinar on September 19, 2012. 

Presentation by Lynn Blewett, "Assessing State Administrative Data to Monitor Health Care Reform" at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Data Council Meeting on September 9, 2012. 

Dr. Blewett briefed the Council on highlights of a preliminary report from an ASPE funded study entitled Assessing the Potential of State Administrative Data to Monitor Health Care Reform.

The purpose of this project is to use the experience of leading States on Exchange implementation to develop a framework for thinking about State-level data required for evaluation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) with a specific focus on new administrative data from the Exchange. The project also offers examples of specific administrative data that will be needed from the Exchange for annual reporting and evaluation, and discusses where and how those reports might be produced.

State Health Reform Assistance Network- Heather Howard; State Health Access Data Assistance Center- Elizabeth Lukanen; Center for Health Care Strategies- Shannon McMahon; Manatt Health Solutions- Deborah Bachrach

View a PDF of the webinar slides HERE.

The health insurance estimates from the 2012 CPS, reflecting calendar year 2011, were released on September 12, 2012. The estimates from the 2011 ACS were released on September 20.

Webinar Resources:

• Presentation slides
• ACS state-level coverage estimates compiled from American FactFinder
• SHADAC's brief, Comparing Federal Government Surveys that Count the Uninsured, September 2012.
• SHADAC's brief, Understanding 1-, 3-, and 5-year ACS Estimates: Summary Tabulations and Public Use Files, September 2012.
• Census Bureau's Health Insurance web page
• Census Bureau report: Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance coverage in the United States: 2011
• Census Bureau ACS brief: Health Insurance Coverage of Young Adults Aged 19 to 25: 2008, 2009, and 2011
• American FactFinder

This brief containts a worksheet and considerations table that can serve as a guide for states considering their own Medicaid expansion analysis. Created by State Network experts at the State Health Access Data Assistance Center (SHADAC), Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS), and Manatt Health Solutions, this analysis approach is limited to financial considerations related to the state’s decision to expand and therefore excludes many important financial aspects related to the ACA as a whole (e.g. remaining mandatory provisions). 

State specific Medicaid expansion analysis should take into account existing program structure, available data sources (both state and national) and realistic assumptions about enrollment and costs. 

States should also note within the analysis whether costs are directly related to the Medicaid expansion or if they are likely to occur despite expansion (e.g., the woodwork effect for individuals eligible but not currently enrolled).

Download a PDF of the brief.