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
The Community Tracking Study:	August 1996	Issue Brief No. 01
Tracking Changes in the Public Health System:	September 1996	Issue Brief No. 02
Medicaid Eligibility Policy and the Crowding-Out Effect:	October 1996	Issue Brief No. 03
Policy Implications of Risk Selection in Medicare HMOs:	November 1996	Issue Brief No. 04
A Primer on Understanding Health Care Cost Trends:	December 1996	Issue Brief No. 05
Tracking Health Care Costs:	January 1997	Issue Brief No. 06
An Inadequate Supply of Qualified People Will Slow the Pace of Health System Change	March 1997	Issue Brief No. 07
Access to Health Care:	April 1997	Issue Brief No. 08
Patients, Profits and Health System Change:	May 1997	Issue Brief No. 09
Health Care Costs:	June 1997	Issue Brief No. 10
Perception, Reality and Health Insurance: Uninsured as Likely as Insured to Perceive Need for Care but Half as Likely to Get Care	October 2005	Issue Brief No. 100
Rising Pressure: Hospital Emergency Departments as Barometers of the Health Care System	Nov. 18, 2005	Issue Brief No. 101
Can Money Buy Quality? Physician Response to Pay for Performance	December 2005	Issue Brief No. 102
Do Specialty Hospitals Promote Price Competition?	January 2006	Issue Brief No. 103
Stretching the Safety Net to Serve Undocumented Immigrants: Community Responses to Health Needs	February 2006	Issue Brief No. 104
The Community Safety Net and Prescription Drug Access for Low-Income, Uninsured People	April 2006	Issue Brief No. 105
Clinical Information Technology Gaps Persist Among Physicians	November 2006	Issue Brief No. 106
Behind the Slow Growth of Employer-Based Consumer-Driven Health Plans	December 2006	Issue Brief No. 107
Physician Financial Incentives: Use of Quality Incentives Inches Up, but Productivity Still Dominates	January 2007	Issue Brief No. 108
Benefit Design Innovations: Implications for Consumer-Directed Health Care	February 2007	Issue Brief No. 109
Will Hospital Report Cards Make the Grade?	July 1997	Issue Brief No. 11
Consumer Tolerance for Inaccuracy in Physician Performance Ratings: One Size Fits None	March 2007	Issue Brief No. 110
High-Performance Health Plan Networks: Early Experiences	May 2007	Issue Brief No. 111
Distorted Payment System Undermines Business Case for Health Quality and Efficiency Gains	July 2007	Issue Brief No. 112
Massachusetts Health Reform: Employers, Lower-Wage Workers and Universal Coverage	July 2007	Issue Brief No. 113
Health Care Cost and Access Challenges Persist	October 2007	Issue Brief No. 114
Hospital Emergency On-Call Coverage: Is There a Doctor in the House?	November 2007	Issue Brief No. 115
Community Health Centers Tackle Rising Demands and Expectations	December 2007	Issue Brief No. 116
Relief, Restoration and Reform: Economic Upturn Yields Modest and Uneven Health Returns	January 2008	Issue Brief No. 117
Health Plans Target Advanced Imaging Services	February 2008	Issue Brief No. 118
Consumer-Directed Health Plans: Mixed Employer Signals, Complex Market Dynamics	March 2008	Issue Brief No. 119
Next Steps in Incremental Health Insurance Expansions:	April 1998	Issue Brief No. 12
Safety Net Hospital Emergency Departments: Creating Safety Valves for Non-Urgent Care	May 2008	Issue Brief No. 120
Health and Wellness: The Shift from Managing Illness to Promoting Health	June 2008	Issue Brief No. 121
Community Efforts to Expand Dental Services for Low-Income People	July 2008	Issue Brief No. 122
Despite Regulatory Changes, Hospitals Cautious in Helping Physicians Purchase Electronic Medical Records	September 2008	Issue Brief No. 123
Massachusetts Health Reform: High Costs and Expanding Expectations May Weaken Employer Support	October 2008	Issue Brief No. 124
Rising Rates of Chronic Health Conditions: What Can Be Done?	November 2008	Issue Brief No. 125
Designing Effective Health Care Quality Transparency Initiatives	July 2009	Issue Brief No. 126
Hospital Strategies to Engage Physicians in Quality Improvement	October 2009	Issue Brief No. 127