ebook img

Insurance status of Massachusetts residents PDF

44 Pages·2000·1.8 MB·English
Save to my drive
Quick download
Download
Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.

Preview Insurance status of Massachusetts residents

Massachusetts Division ofHealth Care Finance and Policy Insurance Status of Massachusetts Residents Second Edition GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS BISDbb 0281 Sb5S 7 COLLECTION maSSt JUL2T';001 Massachusetts University of Depository C.py December 2000 Louis Freedman, Commissioner I. Argeo Paul Cellucci, Governor William D. O'Leary, Secretary Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services Insurance Status of Massachusetts Residents Second Edition December 2000 Louis Freedman, Commissioner I. Health Insurance Status of Massachusetts Residents Summary Executive • The numberofuninsured peopleresiding in lower income households has declined more than any other income group. Unin- surance rates for those living in households with income between 134 through 150% of the federal poverty level (FPL) declined more than 55% between 1998 and 2000. • Households with income between 151 through 200%oftheFPLdidnot experience Section 25 of Chapter 203 of the Acts of any significant improvement in uninsur- 1996 required the Massachusetts Divi- ance rates. Within the five income groups sion of Health Care Finance and Policy these households now show the highest to file two reports on the findings of a uninsured rate at 14.3%. comprehensive surveyofthe uninsured and the underinsured in the Commonwealth. • Uninsurance rates have declined across The first report, Health Insurance Status of all racial/ethnic groups between 1998 and Massachusetts Residents, was completed in 2000. The Hispanic population has experi- October of 1998. This second report con- enced the least improvement in uninsured tains the findings from the second survey rates with a 10.5% decline in uninsured on health insurance coverage which was rates compared to around 30% improve- completed in the summer of 2000. ments for both the white and black popula- tions. Key Findings • Although nearly 32% of the uninsured reside in the greater Boston area, of all • The number ofuninsured people in Mas- Bostonarearesidents, lessthan6%areunin- sachusetts has declined from an estimated sured. In comparison, about 24% of the 8.2% of the population in 1998 to 5.9% in uninsured reside in the Southeast region of 2000. the state, and of all Southeast region resi- dents, about 8.2% are uninsured. • The number of uninsured has declined for both adults and children, with children • Nearly three times as many of uninsured under age 19 showing the largest percent adultsareself-employedcomparedtoinsured decline between 1998 and 2000 of more adults. than 52%. • Morethanthreequartersoftheuninsured • Young adults ages 19 through 39 have work for small firms of 50 employees or less. the largest proportion of uninsured at 11.3%, compared to children with the • Nearly three quarters of uninsured work- smallestproportion ofuninsured ataround ing adults report they are ineligible for 3%. health insurance coverage through work. iii • For those working uninsured adults who • Uninsured adults report higher utiliza- are eligible for health insurance coverage tion of emergency room services compared through work, nearly 70% report cost as the to insured adults. reason for being uninsured. • Uninsured adults and children report • Nearly86%oftheuninsuredreportbeing fewer physician office visits compared to aware of the MassHealth program. insured adults. iv Executive Summary - Health Insurance Status of Massachusetts Residents Foreword Satisfying the Need for Health Care Information The effectiveness of the health care system depends in part upon the availabil- ity of applicable information. In order for this system to function properly, purchas- ers must have accurate and useful infor- mation about quality, pricing, supply and available alternatives. Providers need infor- The Division of Health Care Finance mation on the productivity and efficiency and Policy collects, analyzes and dis- oftheir business operations to develop strat- seminates information with the goal egies to improve the effectiveness ofthe ser- of improving the quality, efficiency and vices they deliver. State policy makers need effectiveness of the health care delivery to be advised of the present health care system in Massachusetts. In addition, the environment, as theyconsider where policy Division administers the Uncompensated investigation or action maybe appropriate. Care Pool, a fund that reimburses Massa- As part of its health care information chusetts acute care hospitals and commu- program, the Division of Health Care nity health centers for services provided to FinanceandPolicypublishesreportstomeet uninsured and underinsured individuals. this need for information. These reports Mission The Division's mission is to contribute to the development of policies that improve the delivery and financing of health care in Massachusetts by: • collecting and analyzing data from throughout the health care delivery system; • disseminating accurate information and analysis on a timelybasis; • facilitatingthe use ofinformation among health care purchasers, providers, consumers and policymakers; and • ensuringaccess to health care forlow-incomeuninsured andunderinsured Massachusetts residentsthrough thoughtful administration ofthe Uncompensated Care Pool. v focus on various health care policy and improve health services to uninsured and market issues. underinsured persons while reducing the demand on the Pool to finance free care. Organizational Structure Finally, the group is charged with providing information to consumers on managed care The Division of Health Care Finance organizations in Massachusetts. and Policy is an administrative agency within the Executive Office of Health Health Data Policy Group and Human Services. The Commissioner is The Health Data Policy Group (HDPG) appointed by the Governor. is chargedwith thedevelopment and appro- The organizational structure is com- priate use of Division databases and is prised of several distinct groups: responsible for evaluating health care data managementissuesacrossorganizationsand • Health Systems Measurement and providing information and reports to pro- Improvement Group viders, plans, researchers and the govern- ment. • Health Data Policy Group HDPG is responsible for the collection and release of hospital discharge data and • Pricing Policy and Financial observation stay data. The group is also Analysis Group responsible for managing the release of accurate hospital and nursing home cost • Audit Compliance and Evaluation and financial data. HDPG, in partnership Group with other organizations, uses these data for projects that involve benchmarking. Each group is responsible for a differ- HDPG develops products that meet antici- ent aspect ofthe agency mission. pated information needs includingindustry trends, data products and custom reports. Health Systems Measurement As well, HDPG is responsible for developing andImprovement Group and implementing confidentiality and pri- The Health Systems Measurement and vacyprotocols fortheuse ofdata. Thegroup Improvement Group (HSMIG) works to conducts research and evaluates new health improvethedeliveryofhealthcareinMassa- data policyissues such as nationalstandards chusetts by evaluating the changing health for electronic data interchange and privacy care system and providing useful analyses legislation. and information to policy makers, health care providers, and purchasers. The group PricingPolicy also conducts health services research and andFinancialAnalysis Group policy analysis for a variety of different The Pricing Policy and Financial Anal- audiences to improve the delivery and value ysis Group develops health care policies, of care. In recent years, the Group has ana- methods and payment rates that support lyzed and reported on several areas of inter- theprocurementofhigh quality services for est, including preventable hospitalizations, public beneficiaries and that promote pro- hospital readmissions, health care reform in gram goals and efficiency in the health care HMO Massachusetts, trends in premiums deliverysystem. Thisgroupalso administers and insurance status. The group manages the Uncompensated Care Pool in a manner demonstration projects funded through the that ensures access to health care for low- Uncompensated Care Pool whose goal is to income uninsured and underinsured indi- vi Foreword

See more

The list of books you might like

Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.