Studies have shown the United States faces a shortage of physicians, making it increasingly difficult for people to access needed health care. Physicians need graduate medical education (GME) training before they can practice medicine independently and often practice in the same geographic area as their training. The vast majority of federal…

Members of Congress and others have questioned whether expanding the scope of the Medicare graduate medical education (GME) program to include nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) could help mitigate the effects of a physician shortage in the United States. A Senate Committee on Appropriations report asked the US Government…

House Republicans passed a bill that would dismantle the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the current health care insurance plan provided to low income families. The non-Partisan Congressional Budget Office reviewed the legislation, and has determined that if some portion of the legislation is also passed by the Senate, it would leave 14 million more…

Medicare Part D was enacted to help elderly and disabled individuals pay for prescription drugs, but it was structured with a gap providing no coverage in 2010 between $2,830 and $6,440. Patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are especially likely to be affected due to high costs of dialysis-related drugs and the importance of adherence for…

Public spending on children aims to support their healthy development and help them fulfill their human potential. As such, federal spending on children is an investment in the nation's future. To inform policymakers, children's advocates, and the general public about how public funds are spent on children, this 13th edition of the annual…

Health care has been an ongoing issue of public concern for decades, well before President Obama took office. Passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, in March 2010 and upheld by a Supreme Court in June 2012. With Republicans now in control of both the House and Senate as well as the presidency, the ACA in its current…

Public spending on children aims to support their healthy development, helping them fulfill their human potential. As such, federal spending on children is an investment in the nation's future. To inform policymakers, children's advocates, and the general public about how public funds are spent on children, this 12th edition of the annual…

Public spending on children is an investment in the nation's future, as it aims to support their healthy development and human potential. To inform policymakers, children's advocates, and the general public about how public funds are spent on children, this 14th edition of the annual "Kids' Share" report provides an updated analysis of…

Purpose: To evaluate the impact of a multicomponent health promotion and disease self-management intervention on physical function and health care expenditures among Medicare beneficiaries. To determine if these outcomes vary by urban or rural residence. Design and Methods: We analyzed data from a 22-month randomized controlled trial of a health…

Purpose: Medicare Cost Reports (MCR), Internal Revenue Service Form 990s (IRS 990), and Audited Financial Statements (AFS) vary in their content, detail, purpose, timeliness, and certification. The purpose of this study was to compare selected financial data elements and characterize the extent of differences in financial data and ratios across…

The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA) established new reimbursement systems in the Medicare home health fee-for-service benefit. Reimbursements were reduced to 1993 levels and per-beneficiary capitated limits were introduced for the first time. This article analyzes the impact of these changes on chronically ill older adults and their families.…

Purpose: To examine how local health care resources impact travel patterns of patients age 65 and older across the rural urban continuum. Methods: Information on inpatient hospital discharges was drawn from complete 2004 hospital discharge files from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) State Inpatient Databases (SID) for New York,…

Public spending on children by federal, state, and local governments is an investment in the nation's future because it supports children's healthy development, helping them fulfill their potential. To help interested stakeholders assess the government's investment in children, this 11th edition of the annual "Kids' Share" report…

Purpose: This article describes a strategy for rural providers, communities, and policy makers to support or establish accountable care organizations (ACOs). Methods: ACOs represent a new health care delivery and provider payment system designed to improve clinical quality and control costs. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA)…

Federal officials have proposed a plan to stop reimbursements for some of the services schools provide to Medicaid-eligible students, a move long predicted--and dreaded--by local educators. The policy changes were announced recently by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.…