June 23, 2009 - This Commonwealth Fund issue brief considers the benefit of a broad federal minimum standard for health benefits by comparing existing state benefit mandates with the services and providers covered under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) standard benefit package.
Issue Brief
June 22, 2009 - Community Care of North Carolina (CCNC) is a public–private partnership between the state and 14 nonprofit community care networks. The networks comprise essential local providers that deliver key components of a "medical home" for low-income adults and children enrolled in Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program.
Case Study
June 22, 2009 - HealthPartners is the nation's largest nonprofit, consumer-governed health care organization, providing health and dental care and coverage to more than 1 million individuals in Minnesota and surrounding states.
Case Study
June 22, 2009 - Kaiser Permanente—comprising the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, and Permanente Medical Groups in eight regions—is the largest nonprofit integrated health care delivery system in the United States.
Case Study
June 22, 2009 - Geisinger Health System is a physician-led, not-for-profit, integrated delivery system serving an area with approximately 2.6 million people in northeastern and central Pennsylvania with innovative products and services designed to drive higher performance.
Case Study
June 16, 2009 - Warranties are commonly available for many consumer products. But could they possibly work in health care as well? In a new Commonwealth Fund-supported Health Affairs Web Exclusive, the authors argue that warranties could improve the care delivered to patients while giving medical providers the opportunity to improve their profit margins.
In the Literature
June 11, 2009 - This report focuses on those who would benefit from such health reforms, including the estimated 116 million working-age adults, or two-thirds of all adults, who report that they are uninsured or underinsured, have medical bill or debt problems, or experience difficulties obtaining needed care.
Fund Report
June 5, 2009 - Agencies in Australia, France, Germany, and the U.K. have comparative effectiveness research agencies that offer lessons for the United States.
In the Literature
June 3, 2009 - Large physician practices adopt clinical information technology at higher rates when they participate in quality improvement initiatives and when they are evaluated for pay-for-performance and public-reporting purposes, according to this Commonwealth Fund-supported study.
In the Literature
June 2, 2009 - Out-of-pocket health care expenses for workers covered by employer-sponsored plans grew by more than one-third between 2004 and 2007, according to a Commonwealth Fund-supported study in Health Affairs. The higher costs are particularly burdensome for people who are sick or have modest incomes.
In the Literature
May 28, 2009 - More than two years after implementation of its landmark health insurance reforms, Massachusetts had achieved historically high levels of coverage and widespread improvements in access to care, according to this study—the latest in a series of reform updates, funded by the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, The Commonwealth Fund, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
In the Literature
May 28, 2009 - This issue brief describes how the Connector works to promote administrative ease, eliminate paperwork, offer portability of coverage, and provide some standardization and choice of plans. Some of the structural components and functions of the Connector may be transferable to a national health reform model, say the authors.
Issue Brief
May 27, 2009 - It can be argued that much of the evidence generated in the United States on the importance of early childhood to future health and attainment has had a greater effect on the national policies of other countries than it has in the U.S., which lacks a national policy agenda for young children.
Fund Report
May 26, 2009 - Eighty-seven percent of patients recently discharged from Parkwest Medical Center said they would recommend the hospital to a family member or friend—a patient satisfaction level 19 percentage points higher than the national average.
Case Study
May 22, 2009 - This issue brief proposes a measurement framework for comprehensive well-child care to capture a richer view of children's health care and take a more efficient approach to data collection.
Issue Brief