View Research by Author - Mindy Cohen

Citation URL: http://www.urban.org/MindyCohen

In April 2006, Massachusetts enacted a health care reform bill that seeks to move the state to (almost) universal coverage through a combination of Medicaid expansions, subsidized private health insurance coverage, and insurance reforms. As part of an evaluation of the impacts of the state's reform effort, we conducted a baseline survey of 3010 adults aged 18 to 64 years old in Massachusetts. The survey was conducted by ICR/International Communications Research between October 16, 2006, and January 7, 2007, using a Computer Assisted Telephone (CATI) interviewing system. This report provides a detailed overview of the Massachusetts population in Fall 2006.

This brief examines Medicaid beneficiaries who receive long-term care services using data from the Medicaid Statistical Information Summary files. Medicaid long-term care users accounted for 7 percent of the Medicaid population in 2002 but over half of total program spending. Three-quarters of these dollars were spent on long-term care and 25 percent were spent on acute care and supportive services. About 55 percent of long-term care spenders were elderly and 34 percent were nonelderly disabled individuals. Children and adults not deemed disabled but using long-term services are a unique population whose medical needs should be assessed in light of recent DRA-related Medicaid changes. (Available from the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured.)

This paper profiles cost changes in Missouri's Medicaid program between 2001 and 2005. Missouri’s Medicaid expenditures increased by almost 50 percent (from $4.2 billion to $6.3 billion), predominately due to increases in enrollment, as well as changes in case mix. This report analyzes the growth in Medicaid spending using data provided by the Missouri Department of Social Services on expenditure by eligibility group and service category.

Spending in Medicaid is concentrated among a small percentage of enrollees with very high costs, suggesting opportunities to develop cost-containment strategies that focus on this group while maintaining access to appropriate care. This brief uses data from the Medicaid Statistical Information System Summary File to examine the distribution of Medicaid spending for all enrollees with a focus on "high-cost" individuals. In 2001, 8 percent of Medicaid enrollees exceeded $10,000 in annual spending and accounted for roughly two-thirds of Medicaid dollars. Most other enrollees spent less than $5,000. (Available from the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured)

This policy brief presents the first national analysis of Medicaid health care spending on children in foster care and children adopted from foster care. Data from the Medicaid Statistical Information System (MSIS) document that states expended approximately $3.8 billion of Medicaid on 869,087 foster and adopted children in Federal Fiscal Year 2001. The brief documents the types of services most commonly received by foster children and the amount states expended on these services. The brief also highlights variation in spending across states; among children of different genders, ages, and races; and among children receiving and not receiving capitated health care services.

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