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Ginsburg Testifies Before the Massachusetts Division of Health Care Finance and Policy

Paul B. Ginsburg, Ph.D., HSC president and research director of the National Institute for Health Care Reform, testified before the Massachusetts Office of Health and Human Services, Division of Health Care Finance and Policy, on health care spending trends.

Quantitative/Qualitative Researchers Join HSC

Anna S. Sommers, Ph.D., and Tracy Yee, Ph.D., recently joined the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC) as health researchers.

Growing California Hospital-Physician Market Power Foreshadows Challenges to National Health Reform

While the high cost of private health insurance has drawn plenty of attention in the health reform debate, an underlying driver of higher insurance premiums—the growing market power of hospitals and physicians to negotiate higher payment rates—has gone largely unexamined, according to an HSC study published online today by Health Affairs.

Modest and Uneven—Physician Efforts to Reduce Racial/Ethnic Disparities

While many U.S. physicians identify language or cultural barriers as obstacles to providing high-quality patient care, physicians' efforts to overcome communication barriers are modest and uneven, according to a new national study released today by HSC.

Medicare Fees and Volume of Physicians' Services

While Medicare physician fees have remained relatively flat in recent years—and actually have declined when considering inflation—the volume of services to Medicare beneficiaries has grown. To many, this implies a "volume offset,"—physicians respond to fee cuts by increasing services. Examining eight services provided to Medicare beneficiaries (different types of visits and two cardiac diagnostic tests), this study found no evidence of volume-offset behavior by physicians.

Early Impacts of the Recession on Health Care Safety Net Providers

While the recession increased demands on the health care safety net as Americans lost jobs and health insurance, the impact on safety net providers has been mixed and less severe—at least initially—than expected in some cases, according to a new HSC study of five communities—Cleveland; Greenville, S.C.; northern New Jersey; Phoenix; and Seattle.

Episode-Based Payments: Charting a Course for Health Care Payment Reform

As consensus grows that true reform of the U.S. health care system requires a move away from fee-for-service payments, designing alternative payment methods, including episode-based payments, has emerged as a high priority for policy makers, according to a new Policy Analysis from the National Institute for Health Care Reform.

Elizabeth Docteur Joins HSC as Vice President and Director of Policy Analysis

Elizabeth Docteur, M.S., former deputy director of the health division of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), will join the Center for Studying Health System Change on Jan. 11 as vice president and director of policy analysis.

Gap Exists Between Vision for Electronic Medical Records and Clinicians' Experiences

A gap exists between policy makers' expectations that current commercial electronic medical records (EMRs) can improve coordination of patient care and clinicians' real-world experiences with EMRs, according to a study by HSC published online in The Journal of General Internal Medicine.

Use of Care Management Tools for Patients with Chronic Conditions Varies Widely

Use of care management tools—such as group visits or patient registries—varies widely among primary care physicians whose practices care for patients with four common chronic conditions—asthma, diabetes, congestive heart failure and depression—according to a new national study released today by HSC.

California's Health Economies: Cost Pressures, Changing Markets and New Models of Care

In July 2009, the California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF), in partnership with HSC, published six regional health care market reports resulting from site visits to California communities. The six markets—Fresno, Los Angeles, Oakland/San Francisco, Riverside/San Bernardino, Sacramento, and San Diego—reflect a range of economic, demographic, health care delivery, quality, and financing conditions. Today, CHCF published four reports examining specific health system issues illuminated by this six-market study.

• Shifting Ground: Erosion of the Delegated Model in California
  
• California's Safety Net: The Role of Counties in Overseeing Care
  
• A Tighter Bond: California Hospitals Seek Stronger Ties with Physicians
  
• Managed Care in California: Cost Concerns Influence Product Design

HSC's Paul B. Ginsburg Named Research Director of the National Institute for Health Care Reform

While continuing in his role as HSC President, Paul B. Ginsburg will serve as research director of the nonpartisan, nonprofit National Institute for Health Care Reform—an initiative of the International Union, UAW; Chrysler Group LLC; Ford Motor Company; and General Motors to conduct high-quality, objective health policy research and analyses to improve the organization, financing and delivery of U.S. health care.

Getting to the Real Issues in Health Care Reform

If current congressional health care reform proposals become law it would be only the start of the reform process, according to a policy perspective by HSC President Paul B. Ginsburg, Ph.D., published online on Nov. 12 by the New England Journal of Medicine.

Despite Transparency, New Hampshire Health Care Price Variation Remains

Price variation for certain outpatient medical procedures has not decreased in New Hampshire since the state launched the HealthCost price transparency program in early 2007, according to a study released today by HSC and funded by the California HealthCare Foundation.

Health Insurers Pursue Growth Potential of Individual Market

Insurers are pursuing strategies to tap the growth potential of the individual health insurance market, including entering less-regulated markets and developing lower-cost, less-comprehensive products targeting younger, healthy consumers, according to a study released today by HSC.

Hospital Strategies to Engage Physicians in Quality Improvement

While physicians are essential to hospital quality improvement efforts, competing time and financial pressures pose hurdles to physician participation, according to a study released today by HSC.

University of California Physician Joins HSC as Visiting Senior Fellow

Patrick S. Romano, M.D., M.P.H., has joined the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC) as a visiting senior fellow while on sabbatical as a professor of medicine and pediatrics at the University of California, Davis School of Medicine.

Policy Perspective: Affordable Health Coverage for Near-Elderly Americans

Among the policy options to expand health coverage for Americans aged 55 to 64—the near elderly—comprehensive reform of the individual insurance market, coupled with a Medicaid expansion for those with very low incomes, would be the most effective and far-reaching approach, according to a new Policy Perspective from HSC.

Two HSC Articles Appear in September/October Health Affairs

Two September/October Health Affairs articles from HSC researchers explore whether U.S. health care spending is excessive and the role of Medicare governance in provider payment policy.

A Snapshot of U.S. Physicians: Key Findings from the 2008 Health Tracking Physician Survey

Almost 75 percent of physicians were accepting all or most new Medicare patients, the vast majority of physicians contracted with managed care plans, and slightly fewer than six in 10 physicians provided charity care in 2008, according to findings released today from the nationally representative HSC 2008 Health Tracking Physician Survey.

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