Insurance, Medicare & Medicaid

Finalist projects for the inaugural Milbank Memorial Fund and AcademyHealth State and Local Innovation Award leverage data to improve health and outcomes in their communities.

Section 1115 Medicaid demonstrations are being used to test alterations in Medicaid’s eligibility, service delivery and its potential role in achieving broader social aims. Experts outline recommendations to ensure evaluations of these demonstrations produce robust results and create usable knowledge.

As the country and its leaders consider the future shape and scope of health care coverage, hundreds from across the health policy community converged at the National Health Policy Conference.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation recently awarded seven grants with broad relevance to current health reform debates. From analysis of insurer marketplace exits to the effects of Medicaid expansion on physicians’ capacity to meet rising demand, these studies will produce findings to inform a range of current and potential health policies in the U.S.

Experts note that Section 1332 waivers are key for state innovation under the Affordable Care Act, but outline recommendations for rigorous, timely, and independent assessments to ensure robust waiver evaluations by researchers.

Funding sources, financing strategies, and payment models can all influence a health system’s consideration to invest in or fund non-clinical population health.

AcademyHealth and the Colorado Children’s Immunization Coalition announce a partnership to improve vaccination rates of low-income children and pregnant women.

Individuals in Medicaid expansion states experienced positive results across multiple dimensions of personal finance including a reduced likelihood of new medical collections, decreased risk of medical out-of-pocket expenditures, and fewer ultimately unpaid medical bills.

With funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, AcademyHealth hosted this expert meeting to explore research priorities related to the evaluation of Section 1115 Medicaid demonstrations and Section 1332 state innovation waivers.