Time lags in receiving data from long-standing, large federal surveys complicate real-time estimation of the coverage effects of full Affordable Care Act (ACA) implementation. Fast-turnaround household surveys fill some of the void in data on recent changes to insurance coverage, but they lack the historical data that allow analysts to account for trends that predate the ACA, economic fluctuati...

More than 15% of medical practice patients are in a high-risk category for leaving their current doctor and medical practice, according to a new study conducted by Press Ganey. The white paper, “Protecting Market Share in the Era of Reform: Understanding Patient Loyalty in the Medical Practice Segment,” was released in December 2013 and explores one of the key risks of increased access to healt...

Increasing health care value has become a central objective of payment policies, insurance design and purchasing, and patient and provider decision-making. The word “value” appeared in the title of seven sections of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and earlier this year CMS set a goal of having 50 percent of reimbursement based on value. This brief reviews nurses’ contribution to value, highlight...

INTRODUCTION At the end of 2013, UnitedHealthcare announced it would drop hundreds of doctors from its network (Kaiser 2013). In Connecticut, UnitedHealthcare terminated about 2,250 physicians, including 810 specialists. In New York City, it terminated 2,100 physicians, affecting some 8,000 patients (data from the Medical Society of New York). UnitedHealthcare justified its decision as necessar...

BACKGROUND Pain is strongly associated with significant personal and societal costs. A crucial element of any initiative on pain must focus on eliminating pain care disparities that are pervasive throughout the United States health care settings. OBJECTIVES This report focuses on macro-level factors related to pain care disparities in the United States that may be amenable to policy intervent...