Breaking Down the Abortion Ruling — and the Legal Questions It Doesn’t Address
The Supreme Court didn’t only overturn a basic constitutional protection recently, it created a cascade of legal questions that could take decades to resolve. Legal and health policy experts Sara Rosenbaum, Timothy Jost, and Katie Keith discuss the Court’s decision in two posts for To the Point. The United States Supreme Court Ends the Constitutional Right to Abortion
summarizes the key points in the majority, concurring, and dissenting opinions. Dobbs: The Immediate Aftermath and the Coming Legal Morass asks how far states will be able to go in regulating abortion and other critical legal questions.
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Symposium: Transforming Care to Advance Black Maternal Health Equity
In the midst of a national maternal health crisis, new policies and initiatives hold promise to bring lifesaving, equitable care to more Black women and birthing people than ever before. The Commonwealth Fund recently held a virtual symposium that examined ideas for financing health care transformation and innovation, strategies for implementing respectful, high-quality care, and ways to use data to advance maternal health equity. Recordings of the panel discussions are available on
www.commonwealthfund.org.
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How Can State Medicaid Programs Reduce Racial and Ethnic Disparities?
Research shows that Black enrollees in Medicaid managed care use fewer services overall than white enrollees but have higher rates of avoidable emergency department use. What can be done to tackle these and other racial and ethnic disparities in Medicaid? Yale University’s Jacob Wallace and Chima Ndumele explore a range of potential reforms on To the Point.
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Medicaid Safety-Net Providers Poised to Stanch Coverage Losses When Continuous Enrollment Ends
Once the COVID-19 public health emergency ends and Medicaid’s guaranteed continuous enrollment policy winds down, up to 16 million people will likely lose their health coverage. George Washington University’s Sara Rosenbaum and colleagues explain how safety-net health care providers can help lessen the impact of this loss. Community health centers, they say, are already preparing for eligibility redetermination by hiring additional outreach and enrollment staff, identifying patients at risk for losing coverage, and scheduling advance renewal appointments. Hospitals and state insurance marketplaces, meanwhile, can also take steps to ensure Medicaid enrollees can access coverage and care.
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COVID-19 May Have Amplified Disparities in Medicare Home Health
Medicare home health care use shifted during the COVID-19 pandemic, and that has implications for both health equity and the quality of caregiver assistance, according to a new Commonwealth Fund brief. Avalere’s Melissa Morley and colleagues describe changes in the characteristics of home health users between 2019 and 2020, including differences in race, gender, and overall health status, and detail shifts in service use during 2020. The authors also examine caregiver availability to learn how Medicare beneficiaries’ home health needs vary by race and health status.
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It’s Time to Address Medicare’s Finances
The Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund is now estimated to run out in 2028 — two years later than the previous projection. The reprieve buys Congress a brief window to shore up financing for the program that provides health coverage to 65 million Americans. On the Health Affairs Forefront blog, the Commonwealth Fund’s Gretchen Jacobson and colleagues explore options for replenishing the trust fund, as well as the potential consequences of insolvency. Regardless of what action Congress decides to pursue, the authors say it’s important to begin addressing the issue now, while there’s still time.
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Colorado to Offer Public Health Insurance Options
Starting next year, Colorado will introduce public option–style health insurance plans on its exchange. The plans will be offered by private carriers but subject to stringent rules. A recent Commonwealth Fund report looks at
four purchasing alliances that are seeking to bring down costs in the private health insurance market. One is in Western Colorado, where an alliance of self-insured employers, local government, and individuals who buy coverage on the exchange have reduced premiums by increasing price transparency and negotiating with providers.
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Communicating Complex Health Information: A Conversation with YouTube’s Top Doctor
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the dangers of health misinformation online and the importance of enhancing health literacy. Garth Graham, M.D., YouTube’s director and global head of healthcare and public health partnerships, talks with the Commonwealth Fund about the importance of establishing trust and credibility with consumers and engaging people in meaningful ways.
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