Census Bureau: 45.8 Million Americans
Uninsured in 2004
On August 30, the
Census Bureau released its annual Current Population Survey
(CPS) poverty and health insurance data for 2004. The data
show continued trends since 2000 with one notable exception:
although the national poverty rate increased in 2004, the
overall uninsurance rate remained steady at 15.7 percent. The
overall number of uninsured increased by 800,000 to 45.8
million Americans.
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State Medicaid Program
Activities
Congress has the task of
cutting $10 billion from the Medicaid program over the next
five years. The recently appointed Medicaid Commission
provided recommendations to Health and Human Services
Secretary Michael Leavitt on how to accomplish this on
September 1 and the National Governors Association and others
have weighed in with their own recommendations. Still, some
states are moving ahead with their own proposals for reforming
their Medicaid programs.
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Update on Federal Legislative
Activities
Now that Congress has
reconvened, many issues pertaining to health care coverage are
being considered. Here is a brief update on the status of the
main coverage-related congressional actions.
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New Mexico State Coverage Insurance
Goes Live
Since October 2001, New
Mexico has been a State Coverage Initiatives demonstration
grantee. In July, the state began its unique public-private
partnership called New Mexico State Coverage Insurance
(NMSCI).
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Wisconsin and Arkansas Purchasing
Cooperatives Increase Access to Health
Insurance
Pooled purchasing has
been a mechanism of interest to bring small purchasers of
health insurance together and leverage their negotiating
power. The desired outcome is that community-based purchasing
cooperatives will provide access to more affordable insurance
options to individuals and small businesses. Wisconsin and
Arkansas recently adopted initiatives to allow communities to
pursue this strategy.
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AcademyHealth to Conduct Health
Policy Orientation October 24–27, 2005
Now in its fourth year, this three-and-a-half day
orientation has grown to be a highly regarded program that
provides a behind-the-scenes look at health policymaking in
Washington, D.C.
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SCI Summer Workshop: "Moving Beyond
Planning"
On July 28–29, the State
Coverage Initiatives (SCI) program, a national initiative of
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, hosted a summer workshop
attended by more than 100 officials from 41
states.
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Consumer-Directed Health Care:
Research and State Policy Implications
Policy leaders and researchers convened in
Nashville on Sunday, August 7, for a day-long pre-conference
meeting, Consumer-Directed Health Care: Research and State
Policy Implications. Co-sponsored by the Changes in Health
Care Financing and Organization (HCFO) initiative—a Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation program—and the National Academy for
State Health Policy (NASHP), the meeting was held in
conjunction with NASHP's 18th annual State Health Policy
Conference.
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Reports of Interest
Check for the most recently released reports on
coverage.
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Coming Soon from State Coverage
Initiatives
Check for updates on
SCI's latest publication and meetings.
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