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…

The National Association of School Nurses (NASN) believes school nursing services that are reimbursed in other healthcare environments should also be reimbursed in the school setting. The registered professional school nurse (hereinafter referred to as the school nurse) bridges education and healthcare and delivers quality, cost-effective…

Research shows that access to school health services improves health and academic outcomes, particularly for students with chronic health issues. Finding sustainable funding has been an ongoing struggle. This policy brief presents opportunities to expand access to--and resources for--school health services using available Medicaid funds. In…

Medicare home health care provides critical skilled nursing and therapy services to patients in their homes, generally after a period in an inpatient facility or nursing home. Disparities in access to, or outcomes of, home health care can result in patient deterioration and increased cost to the Medicare program if patient care needs intensify.…

Background: School health services improve health and academic outcomes; however, sustainable funding for these services is an ongoing struggle. In December 2014, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services clarified how Medicaid will reimburse school health services. School districts, once restricted to reimbursement for services delivered…

Illinois has an important opportunity to dramatically expand comprehensive school-based health services for the state's most vulnerable children by making a simple change to its Medicaid policy. In 2014, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a letter to state Medicaid directors clarifying which health services could be…

Access to health care is, in part, determined by the availability of physicians, a function of the physician supply. Policymakers have demonstrated a long-standing interest in access to care, both in general and for specific populations. Moreover, federal support for medical residency training (a.k.a., graduate medical education [GME]) is the…

Financial incentives are being used increasingly to encourage a wide array of health behaviors because of their well-established efficacy. However, little is known about how to translate incentive-based strategies to public health practice geared toward improving population-level health, and a dearth of research exists on how individuals respond…

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…

In the first chapter titled "Cognitive Ability, Education, and Fertility Risk", I explore the role of cognitive ability in fertility timing. Women in the bottom quartile of the cognitive ability distribution are nine times more likely to have their first child as a teenager. First, I document the differences in age at childbirth by…

After years of non-stop increases--national k-12 per-pupil spending is up by "one-third" in inflation-adjusted dollars since 1995--schools now face the near-certainty of repeated annual budget cuts for the first time since the Great Depression. In some states and districts, reductions will be dramatic--well into the double digits. And…

This document updates a recent report by the General Accounting Office (GAO) which compared Medicare catastrophic health insurance proposals. The update includes H.R. 2470, as passed by the House of Representatives and S. 1127, as reported by the Senate Committee on Finance. An introduction explains the roles of Medicare, Medicaid, the Veterans…

In this Gerontological Society of America-sponsored Congressional Briefing Seminar, authorities from several disciplines summarize history, rationale, strengths, weaknesses, and future challenges of Medicare program. In current arena of health care reform, role of Medicare is far from certain, and it is crucial to understand and confront multitude…

Hearings on the status of medical education funded under the Medicare program are presented, with attention to how the program reimburses hospitals for medical education costs. The Social Security Act Amendments of 1983 provided for a radical reform in hospital payment. By the end of a 3-year phase-in period, the program was designed to set…

This paper begins by noting that at the time that Medicare was enacted in 1965, the plans for funding Medicare through a mix of public and private financing mechanisms seemed quite adequate. It goes on to explain how, 20 years later, the situation is changing enough to create a need to examine whether there is a fairer or more efficient way to…