News, April 4, 2011
Headlines:
Lynn Blewett Attends HHS
Evaluators Meeting
County Health Rankings
Updated
IHIS Hands-on Training
Offered
National Health Interview
Survey Early Release Report
Provides 2010 Coverage
Estimates
SHARE Webinar Recording
Available
Kathleen Call Publishes on
Cell Phone Only Sampling
Sharon Long Presents at
PAA
RWJF Safety Net Brief
Released
NCSL Releases Online State
Legislative Tracking
Database
SCI Releases Report on
Basic Health Program
Option
NASHP Issues ACA
News and Announcements
Lynn Blewett Attends HHS Evaluators Meeting
SHADAC Director Lynn Blewett participated in the Department
of Health and Human Services (HHS) Evaluators Meeting, held
March 9 in Washington DC. The purpose of the meeting was to
assess evaluation needs related to implementation of the
Affordable Care Act (ACA). Convened by the office of the
Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, the meeting
was attended by 45 health policy leaders from across the
country.
County Health Rankings Updated
County Health Rankings are updated for 2011, ranking nearly
every county in every state in the nation on their overall
health. The Rankings provide a standard way for counties to
see where they are doing well and where they are not so they
can make changes to improve health. Also new this year is the
County Health Calculator web application, an interactive online
tool that shows, for U.S. states or counties, the impact that
education and income have on health and well-being. The
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is collaborating with the
University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute to develop
these Rankings.
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Enrollment Brief

Colorado Health Report

Card Released Hands-on IHIS Training Offered

Vermont Health Care

Integrated Health Interview Series (IHIS) staff members Dr.
Reform Report Released Miriam King and Katie Genadek will teach the course, "Using
U.S. and International Census and Survey Data for Health
Connect with
Research," through the University of Minnesota's Summer
SHADAC
Follow us on Twitter Public Health Institute, June 6-10, 2011. This course offers
Become a fan hands-on training in the use of IHIS and other Minnesota
Read our blog Population Center datasets. Students will learn how to find

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or colleague
variables related to their research interests, interpret the
documentation, use the on-line tabulator, create and download
a data file, and answer research questions by analyzing the
data using a statistical package. IHIS is led by SHADAC
Director Lynn Blewett. Read more news from IHIS.

National Health Interview Survey Early Release

Report Provides 2010 Coverage Estimates
The National Center for Health Statistics released, "Health
Insurance Coverage: Early Release of Estimates From the
National Health Interview Survey, January-September 2010."
This report provides estimates of health insurance coverage for
the first three quarters of 2010. Results show that from
January through September 2010, 49.5 million persons of all
ages (16.3%) were uninsured at the time of interview, up from
15.4% for all of 2009. Uninsurance for children remained
unchanged, at 8.2% for both time periods. This report does
not include state-level estimates, but does provide breakouts
by age and type of coverage.

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Publications

SHARE Webinar Recording Available

The recording of the March 23 SHARE webinar is now available
for viewing. This webinar featured Genevieve Kenney, Senior
Fellow and Health Economist at the Urban Institute, and
Edward Miller, Associate Professor of Gerontology and Public
Policy at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Drs. Kenney
and Miller discussed findings from their SHARE-sponsored
studies evaluating the influence of benefit design on coverage
take-up and preventive care utilization in state access
expansion initiatives. Dr. Kenney looked at expansions in
Kentucky and Idaho, and Dr. Miller discussed Rhode Island's
HEALTHpact initiative.

Kathleen Call Publishes on Cell Phone Only

Sampling
SHADAC Investigator Kathleen Call led a research team that
published the article, "Bias in telephone surveys that do not
sample cell phones: uses and limits of post-stratification
methods," in the April 2011 edition of Medical Care. This
research examines bias in health surveys when cell phone-only
households are omitted from the sample, and explores
poststratification adjustments to reduce this bias. They found
that poststratification reduces bias in all health-related
estimates for the nonelderly population. However, these
adjustments work less well for Hispanics and blacks and even
worse for young adults. Co-authors include: Mike Davern, Vice
President and Director of Public Health Research at National
Opinion Research Center; Michel Boudreaux, Research

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Assistant at SHADAC; Pamela Johnson, Senior Research
Scientist, Center for Healthcare Innovation, Allina Hospitals and
Clinics; and Justine Nelson, Research Scientist at the Minnesota
Department of Human Services.

Sharon Long Presents at PAA

Sharon Long, Senior Economist at SHADAC and Karen Stockley
of the Urban Institute presented, "Preparing for National Health
Reform:Learning from Massachusetts' Reform Efforts" at the
Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America, held
March 31-April 2 in Washington, DC.

RWJF Safety Net Brief Released

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation released the brief, "Who
Will Be Uninsured After Health Insurance Reform?" authored by
Matthew Buettgens, research associate at Urban Institute, and
Mark Hall of Wake Forest University. This brief provides the
likely composition, state-by-state, of the population who will
remain uninsured after implementation. They find that the ACA
would reduce the number of nonelderly people without health
insurance by 28 million. Of the 23 million who would still be
uninsured under health reform, 40 percent would be eligible for
Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP),
but not enrolled. A further 22 percent would be undocumented
immigrants.

Health Reform News

NCSL Releases Online State Legislative Tracking
Database
The National Conference of State Legislatures has a new State
Legislative Tracking Database for bills filed in response to the
Affordable Care Act (ACA). Users can search 2011 legislation

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by state, topic, keyword, status, and/or primary sponsor. The
database will be updated weekly.

SCI Releases Report on Basic Health Program

Option
State Coverage Initiatives (SCI) has released a report titled
“The Basic Health Program Option under Federal Health
Reform: Issues for Consumers and States,” authored by Stan
Dorn of the Urban Institute. The report details the specifics of
the Basic Health Program (BHP) and looks at implementation
through the lens of how states can make BHP coverage
affordable for low-income residents. To that end, the report
suggests several possible implementation approaches,
exploring the consumer trade-offs for each option, along with
important considerations for states themselves in the areas of
financing, risk-pooling, and the relationship between the BHP
and the exchange.

NASHP Issues ACA Enrollment Brief

The National Association for State Health Policy (NASHP) has
issued a new brief, “Paving an Enrollment Superhighway:
Bridging State Gaps Between 2014 and Today.” Authors Alice
Weiss and Laura Grossman examine the enrollment system
envisioned by the ACA and consider four areas that states will
need to address before 2014 in order to successfully implement
such a system: consumer experience; eligibility and enrollment
policy; technology and systems infrastructure; and governance
and administration. The authors suggest opportunities for
states to move toward the ACA’s streamlined enrollment
system in each of these areas, and they also identify to more
general steps that states can take to prepare for 2014.

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News from the States
Colorado Health Report Card Released
The Colorado Health Foundation has released the 2010
Colorado Health Report Card. The Report Card includes
detailed information about 38 health indicators that span the
life course and which, if left unchanged, could pose significant
risks to the health and well-being of Coloradans.

Vermont Health Care Reform Report Released

D. William Hsiao has issued the final version of his health care
reform report for Vermont. “Achieving Affordable Universal
Health Care in Vermont” outlines three potential health care
models for the state: a single-payer plan, a public option, and
his own recommended single-payer plan. Dr. Hsaio predicts
that his single-payer plan, which is designed to provide
coverage for all Vermonters, would save $1.6 billion in total
health expenditures through 2024. The report was required by
statute under Act 128 and is being considered by lawmakers
during the current legislative session.

Visit SHADAC's blog for regular

updates and commentary

Read our latest blog posts and encourage your colleagues to

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mail list. These updates include our bi-weekly newsletter;
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pertinent to state health policy.

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