Issue Briefs

ssue Briefs are designed to provide readers with relatively short, analytical research results that are policy relevant. Issue Briefs include the broader context for the research and lay out the range of related policy implications. The publications offer original HSC research results, summarize and make more accessible HSC research results that appear in peer-reviewed journals or report HSC conference proceedings. Most of the Issue Briefs are based on data from the CTS household, physician and employer surveys, CTS Site Visits or the Health Tracking Household and Physician Surveys.

Title	Date	Document Info
Public Coverage Provides Vital Safety Net for Children with Special Health Care Needs	September 2005	Issue Brief No. 98
Initial Findings from HSC's 2005 Site Visits: Stage Set for Growing Health Care Cost and Access Problems	August 2005	Issue Brief No. 97
Medicare Seniors Much Less Willing to Limit Physician-Hospital Choice for Lower Costs	June 2005	Issue Brief No. 96
An Update on Americans' Access to Prescription Drugs	May 2005	Issue Brief No. 95
More Americans Willing to Limit Physician-Hospital Choice for Lower Medical Costs	March 2005	Issue Brief No. 94
An Update on Medicare Beneficiary Access to Physician Services	February 2005	Issue Brief No. 93
Physician Incomes in Rural and Urban America	January 2005	Issue Brief No. 92
Tracking Health Care Costs: Spending Growth Slowdown Stalls in First Half of 2004	December 2004	Issue Brief No. 91
Most Uninsured People Unaware of Health Care Safety Net Providers	November 2004	Issue Brief No. 90
Limited Information Technology for Patient Care in Physician Offices	September 2004	Issue Brief No. 89
Rising Health Costs, Medical Debt and Chronic Conditions	September 2004	Issue Brief No. 88
Wall Street Comes to Washington	August 2004	Issue Brief No. 87
Rhetoric vs. Reality: Employer Views on Consumer-Driven Health Care	July 2004	Issue Brief No. 86
Tough Trade-offs: Medical Bills, Family Finances and Access to Care	June 2004	Issue Brief No. 85
Health Care Access For Low-Income People: Significant Safety Net Gaps Remain	June 2004	Issue Brief No. 84
Employers Shift Rising Health Care Costs to Workers: No Long-term Solution in Sight	May 2004	Issue Brief No. 83
Paying for Quality: Health Plans Try Carrots Instead of Sticks	May 2004	Issue Brief No. 82
Preferred Provider Organizations and Medicare: Is There an Advantage?	April 2004	Issue Brief No. 81
Federal Aid Strengthens Health Care Safety Net: The Strong Get Stronger	April 2004	Issue Brief No. 80
Managed Care Redux: Health Plans Shift Responsibilities to Consumers	March 2004	Issue Brief No. 79
Emergency Department Diversions: Hospital and Community Strategies Alleviate the Crisis	March 2004	Issue Brief No. 78
Leapfrog Patient-Safety Standards are a Stretch for Most Hospitals	February 2004	Issue Brief No. 77
Patient Cost-Sharing Innovations: Promises and Pitfalls	January 2004	Issue Brief No. 75
For-Profit Conversions and Merger Trends Among Blue Cross Blue Shield Health Plans	January 2004	Issue Brief No. 76
Getting Along or Going Along? Health Plan-Provider Contract Showdowns Subside	January 2004	Issue Brief No. 74
Prescription Drug Access Disparities Among Working-Age Americans	December 2003	Issue Brief No. 73
Patient Cost Sharing: How Much is Too Much?	December 2003	Issue Brief No. 72
Tiered-Provider Networks: Patients Face Cost-Choice Trade-Offs	November 2003	Issue Brief No. 71
Insured Americans Drive Surge in Emergency Department Visits	October 2003	Issue Brief No. 70
Disease Management: A Leap of Faith to Lower-Cost,Higher-Quality Health Care	October 2003	Issue Brief No. 69
Medical Malpractice Liability Crisis Meets Markets: Stress in Unexpected Places	September 2003	Issue Brief No. 68
Wall Street Comes to Washington	August 2003	Issue Brief No. 67
The Health Care Safety Net: Money Matters but Savvy Leadership Counts	August 2003	Issue Brief No. 66
Has Bioterrorism Preparedness Improved Public Health?	July 2003	Issue Brief No. 65
Unequal Access: African-American Medicare Beneficiaries and the Prescription Drug Gap	July 2003	Issue Brief No. 64
Health Care Cost and Access Problems Intensify	May 2003	Issue Brief No. 63
Specialty Hospitals: Focused Factories or Cream Skimmers?	April 2003	Issue Brief No. 62
Seeking Health Care Information: Most Consumers Still on the Sidelines	March 2003	Issue Brief No. 61
Physicians and Care Management: More Acceptance than You Think	January 2003	Issue Brief No. 60
SCHIP, Medicaid Expansions Lead to Shifts in Children's Coverage	December 2002	Issue Brief No. 59