Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law This is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader or to display this data on your own website or blog.

Arkansas's Novel Approach to Expanding Health Care Coverage
This article provides the background, political discourse, policy development, evaluation strategy, and progress report for this innovative new program. (Source: Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law)
Source: Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law - January 22, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Thompson, J. W., Wilson, J. C., Allison, A., Beebe, M. Tags: Health Policy & Education, Political Science, General, Public Policy Report from the States Source Type: research

To Extend or Not to Extend the Primary Care "Fee Bump" in Medicaid?
We describe the difficulties state Medicaid programs have experienced in implementing the fee bump, as well as how the resulting evidence gap and the broader political context have shaped the deliberations. To conclude, we identify policy alternatives and other factors policy makers should consider when deciding whether to extend or reinstitute the fee bump in the coming years. (Source: Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law)
Source: Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law - January 22, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Wilk, A. S., Jones, D. K. Tags: Health Policy & Education, Political Science, General, Public Policy Report on Health Reform Implementation Source Type: research

First Impressions: Geographic Variation in Media Messages during the First Phase of ACA Implementation
We examined geographic variation in the volume and content of mass media during the initial two-week rollout of the new health insurance marketplaces in October 2013 across 210 US media markets, using data from the Wesleyan Media Project. We found substantial geographic variation in the volume and tone of insurance product advertisements, political advertisements, and news coverage of the ACA marketplaces. News coverage of the ACA airing in media markets located in states operating federal or partnership marketplaces was more negative than coverage airing in markets located in states running their own marketplaces. Intrast...
Source: Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law - January 22, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Gollust, S. E., Barry, C. L., Niederdeppe, J., Baum, L., Fowler, E. F. Tags: Health Policy & Education, Political Science, General, Public Policy Report on Health Reform Implementation Source Type: research

State Variation in Health Care Spending and the Politics of State Medicaid Policy
This study investigates the factors that underlie large variation in Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) policies among states. Both eligibility and provider payment policies are examined for low-income children and parents. I find that state variation in the cost of providing health care, due to variation in the intensity of health care use, is a key determinant of eligibility policies, and I also find tentative evidence of an effect for payment policies. Because rising health care spending increases the cost of providing health insurance coverage, state policy makers in high-spending states enact less...
Source: Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law - January 22, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Lukens, G. Tags: Health Policy & Education, Political Science, General, Public Policy Articles Source Type: research

The New Jersey Medicaid ACO Demonstration Project: Seeking Opportunities for Better Care and Lower Costs among Complex Low-Income Patients
A small but growing number of states are turning to accountable care concepts to improve their Medicaid programs. In 2011 New Jersey enacted the Medicaid Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Demonstration Project to offer local provider coalitions the opportunity to share any savings they generate. Impetus came from initiatives in Camden that aim to reduce costs through improved care coordination among hospital high users and that have received considerable media attention and substantial federal and private grant support. Though broadly similar to Medicare and commercial ACOs, the New Jersey demonstration addresses the uni...
Source: Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law - January 22, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Cantor, J. C., Chakravarty, S., Tong, J., Yedidia, M. J., Lontok, O., DeLia, D. Tags: Health Policy & Education, Political Science, General, Public Policy Articles Source Type: research

Factors Associated with Increased Specialty Care Access in an Urban Area: The Roles of Local Workforce Capacity and Practice Location
This article explores how a specialty type's local workforce capacity and a specialty practice's location relate to the likelihood of denying care to children covered by Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) while accepting private insurance. Data on discriminatory denials of care to children with public insurance came from an audit study involving 273 practices across seven medical specialties serving children in Cook County, Illinois. These data were linked to physician workforce data and neighborhood poverty data to test for associations with discriminatory denials of public insurance, after adjust...
Source: Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law - January 22, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Bisgaier, J., Rhodes, K. V., Polsky, D. Tags: Health Policy & Education, Political Science, General, Public Policy Articles Source Type: research

Unforeseen Consequences: Medicaid and the Funding of Nonprofit Service Organizations
Medicaid reimbursements have become a key source of funding for nonprofit social service organizations operating outside the medical care sector, as well as an important tool for states seeking resources to fund social service programs within a devolving safety net. Drawing on unique survey data of more than one thousand nonprofit social service agencies in seven urban and rural communities, this article examines Medicaid funding of nonprofit social service organizations that target programs at working-age, nondisabled adults. We find that about one-quarter of nonprofit service organizations — mostly providers offeri...
Source: Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law - January 22, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Allard, S. W., Smith, S. R. Tags: Health Policy & Education, Political Science, General, Public Policy Articles Source Type: research

Editor's Note
(Source: Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law)
Source: Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law - January 22, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Grogan, C. M. Tags: Health Policy & Education, Political Science, General, Public Policy Editor ' s Note Source Type: research

Books Received
(Source: Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law)
Source: Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law - October 10, 2014 Category: Health Management Tags: Books Received Source Type: research

What Passes and Fails as Health Policy and Management
The field of health policy and management (HPAM) faces a gap between theory, policy, and practice. Despite decades of efforts at reforming health policy and health care systems, prominent analysts state that the health system is "stuck" and that models for change remain "aspirational." We discuss four reasons for the failure of current ideas and models for redesigning health care: (1) the dominance of microeconomic thinking; (2) the lack of comparative studies of health care organizations and the limits of health management theory in recognizing the importance of local contexts; (3) the separation of HPAM from the rank and...
Source: Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law - October 10, 2014 Category: Health Management Authors: Chinitz, D., Rodwin, V. G. Tags: Behind the Jargon Source Type: research

Wyden's Waiver: State Innovation on Steroids
This article reviews the statutory provisions and related regulations of this new and unprecedented state waiver authority, as well as the legislative history of section 1332. Finally, it reviews the limited activities thus far by states contemplating use of this provision and considers ways this authority may be considered for use by states in the future. Section 1332 has the potential to instigate a new, varied, and unprecedented array of state health sector innovations from both sides of the political divide over health care reform. (Source: Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law)
Source: Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law - October 10, 2014 Category: Health Management Authors: McDonough, J. E. Tags: Report on Health Reform Implementation Source Type: research

Arkansas's Alternative to Medicaid Expansion Raises Important Questions about How HHS Will Implement New ACA Waiver Authority in 2017
This essay presents Arkansas's alternative to Medicaid expansion as a case study motivating John McDonough's assessment of the recommendations states may want to make to the Department of Health and Human Services regarding the implementation of statewide Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act–alternative waivers scheduled to begin in 2017. Arkansas's private option uses federal funds to purchase marketplace silver-level qualified health plans for low-income, low-risk participants, while "medically frail" adults are covered through Medicaid. By improving the size and risk profile of Arkansas's health insurance ma...
Source: Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law - October 10, 2014 Category: Health Management Authors: Allison, A. Tags: Report on Health Reform Implementation Source Type: research

Wellness as a Worldwide Phenomenon?
This article examines the concept of wellness through a comparative political economy and legal framework. It asks whether wellness, an increasingly defined term within US federal and state legislative instruments including, for example, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, is primarily a US-centric phenomenon. Or is wellness, in its various different guises, a worldwide phenomenon? By focusing on three distinctly different jurisdictions — the United States, Germany, and Australia — this article examines wellness through the lens of employers, the health care system, employment and tort law, and the ...
Source: Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law - October 10, 2014 Category: Health Management Authors: Elliott, H., Bernstein, J., Bowman, D. M. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

What's Bad about Wellness? What the Disability Rights Perspective Offers about the Limitations of Wellness
This article argues that wellness programs institutionalize disability bias and a false perception of health attainability. People with substantial physical or mental impairments will not be able to control many aspects of their health, even with concerted efforts. Embedded in this approach is the notion of responsibility for and control over all aspects of one's health, including disability. This kind of orientation further perpetuates a neoliberal approach to society where autonomy trumps community-based supports and acceptance of differences. (Source: Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law)
Source: Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law - October 10, 2014 Category: Health Management Authors: Basas, C. G. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

Using Reporting Requirements to Improve Employer Wellness Incentives and Their Regulation
Employer interest in offering financial incentives for healthy behaviors has been increasing. Some employers have begun to tie health plan–based rewards or penalties to standards involving tobacco use or biometric measures such as body mass index. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act attempts to strike a balance between the potential benefits and risks of wellness incentive programs by permitting these incentives but simultaneously limiting their use. Evidence about the implications of the newest generation of incentive programs for health, health costs, and burdens on individual employees will be critical ...
Source: Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law - October 10, 2014 Category: Health Management Authors: Madison, K., Schmidt, H., Volpp, K. G. Tags: Articles Source Type: research