The recent deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor are just the most recent manifestation of our nation’s long history of pernicious racism. There has been change for the better, but those changes have not eliminated Black people’s daily fear and unequal treatment that limit their opportunities and compromise their health and well-being.
Over its history, Urban Institute research has sought to identify policies that can help eliminate inequities across racial and ethnic groups. The Health Policy Center is committed to building on decades of its research to assess how existing policies can be used to achieve greater health equity and to identify and evaluate new solutions needed to meet the extreme health inequities in this country.
About one in five uninsured new moms reported at least one unmet need for medical care because of cost in the past year, and more than half were very worried about paying their medical bills. Our analysis provides new evidence on maternal health care access and affordability barriers and the potential benefits of a postpartum Medicaid extension or broader Medicaid expansion.
Fifteen states have yet to expand eligibility for Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, complicating federal policy to help workers losing their jobs because of the COVID-19 crisis. In a new research brief, we simulate how subsidized coverage eligibility would differ for expansion- and nonexpansion-state workers depending upon how unemployment compensation is treated when computing income.
For many voters, health care reform proposals can be cryptic. As the nation moves through pandemic and protest toward the presidential election, five core questions can help pull back the curtain on key issues in current health care reform proposals.
Analyzing enrollment trends by insurer type from 2016 to 2018, we find that Blue Cross Blue Shield insurers had about half the marketplace enrollment nationwide. But during this period, Medicaid insurers grew steadily in participation and enrollment, meaning further shifts between insurer types are possible, if not likely.
In almost every state, systemic and widespread gaps persist in affordable employee-sponsored insurance access. These gaps are especially pronounced for part-time workers and those in small firms or establishments with majority low-wage employees and may disproportionately burden workers in families with low incomes.
A stable and well-trained workforce is critical for effective home visiting programs, though median annual salaries for home visiting workers is $38,000. Our study shows that most of these workers have a strong educational background and extensive job-related experience. About half are very likely to remain in their job for the next two years, but others have other career plans.
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) has contracted with the Urban Institute and its subcontractor, HealthTech Solutions, to develop a new Electronic Health Record (EHR) Reporting Program. The EHR Reporting Program will provide publicly available, comparative information on certified health IT products to inform purchasing and implementation decisions. We are seeking public feedback on the draft voluntary user-reported criteria by August 10, 2020.
Visit our site for more information on the draft criteria and instructions for submitting feedback.
