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Medicare
Medicare provides essential coverage for seniors and those with disabilities. However, skyrocketing health costs threaten its short- and long-term viability. And, for the most vulnerable Medicare beneficiaries -- those with multiple chronic conditions or those that are also eligible for Medicaid – Medicare largely fails to offer the kind of comprehensive, coordinated care that would keep them healthy. Community Catalyst believes that there is a critical need to reform the health delivery system for these populations and works to promote models of integrated care that, among other things, place individuals and families at the center of care planning and delivery and coordinates care across medical and non-medical services and from acute to long-term settings.
- January 15, 2013 Better Care at Lower Costs An approach to reduce federal health spending by weeding out wasteful spending.
- October 05, 2012 Comments to the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services on Medicaid Managed Long-Term Services and Supports Policies Community Catalyst provides another perspective on some of the recommendations made by the National Association of Medicaid Directors to the Center.
- September 14, 2012 Best Practices for Meaningful Consumer Input in New Health Care Delivery Models This issue brief outlines a framework for thinking about the best practices that are needed to ensure a meaningful consumer voice in new care delivery models.
- August 21, 2012 Guide to Recess Activities to Protect Medicaid & Medicare Medicaid and Medicare are under attack, and August recess provides an opportunity to educate Members of Congress about the importance of Medicaid and Medicare and of protecting them against cuts this year, and to raise the profile of the programs more broadly.
- July 03, 2012 Letter to Secretary Sebelius Regarding the Dual Demonstration Projects As states have rapidly rolled out their proposals, we have become increasingly concerned that claims of potential savings and/or the speed with which those savings can be achieved is being overstated. In particular, we have three closely related concerns: that savings targets are not yet transparent, that the assumptions on which projected savings are based may be either opaque or overly optimistic and that insufficient safeguards are in place to guard against the potential for either windfall profits or catastrophic losses, either one of which would undermine the goals of the demonstration, and cause harm to people with disabilities and seniors.
- April 10, 2012 Dual Eligible Demonstration Projects: Top Ten Priorities for Consumer Advocates The Affordable Care Act created demonstration projects aimed at integrating care for low-income seniors and people with disabilities who are eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. This issue brief was created to assist advocates in states where duals demonstration project proposals are being created.
- February 22, 2012 Integrated System of Care for Dual Eligibles: Capitated Approach Guidance recently released from the Medicare-Medicaid Coordination Office provides several opportunities to engage in payment models for dual eligibles.
- November 15, 2011 Three Steps to Save Billions of Health Care Dollars This paper outlines Community Catalyst's practical approach to reduce federal health spending on Medicare by providing incentives for quality and efficiency.
- October 03, 2011 Letter to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction Community Catalyst and other national organizations sent a letter to the Super Committee asking the group to create a deficit reduction package that protects the most vulnerable Americans.
- July 11, 2011 Letter to Senator Hatch and Representative Upton regarding their Medicaid letter to Governors Community Catalyst and 118 other organizations representing consumers, health care providers, and people of faith in 33 states (plus D.C.) joined together to send an important message to Congress: Don’t shift more Medicaid costs onto states!
- May 17, 2011 Caps Miss the Mark Concern is growing about projected rising long-term debt which is driven largely by anticipated growth in health care costs. Many potential solutions to the debt problem are under discussion in political and policy circles.
- May 17, 2011 Health Care Cost Containment: Getting It Right This chart guides you through options on cost containment and outlines top-level approaches, problems and example solutions.
- March 30, 2011 A Better Path to Solving the Debt Problem: Capping Federal Health Expenditures Misses the Mark Concern is growing about projected rising long-term debt which is driven largely by anticipated growth in health care costs. Many potential solutions to the debt problem are under discussion in political and policy circles.
- December 13, 2010 The "Dual Eligible" Opportunity: Improving Care and Reducing Costs for Individuals Eligible for Medicare and Medicaid As states facing record budget deficits and the federal government look to enact quality and efficiency provisions in the Afforadable Care Act for the 8.8 million Americans enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid -- or "dual eligibles" -- governments need to take concrete steps to ensure better health outcomes for this population, a Community Catalyst and Center for American Progress report finds.
- April 08, 2010 Chronic Illness: The Cost to Society This Campaign for Better Care fact sheet outlines how the costs to treat chronic conditions could overwhelm patients, families and caregivers – and strain the health care system. It points out how care coordination improves quality and cuts costs.
- April 08, 2010 The Case for Better Care: Care coordination for people with complex, multiple health conditions This Campaign for Better Care fact sheet outlines the challenges of care for people with chronic conditions, and makes the case for coordinating care for better results.
- August 31, 2009 Paying for Better Care: A Consumer Advocate’s Reference Guide to Payment Reform Our current method of paying for health care has created a system that is expensive, fragmented, and largely unresponsive patients' needs. It does not emphasize preventive, patient-centered care based on quality outcomes. This brief outlines new payment options as a way to improve patient care and slow the growth of health care spending.
- May 22, 2009 Special Delivery: How Coordinated Care Programs Can Improve Quality and Save Costs This is the fourth in a series of Community Catalyst publications on consumer-friendly options to improve quality and contain costs.
- July 17, 2008 The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008: Special Needs Plans On July 15, 2008, Congress voted to override the President’s veto of a broad-ranging Medicare bill that prevented fee reductions to doctors serving Medicare patients. The bill, which is now law, also includes many key safeguards for beneficiaries. Among the law’s many provisions are a number relating to Special Needs Plans (SNPs), a subset of Medicare Advantage plans. The SNP provisions of the Medicare law represent a great step forward in helping to realize the promise of the program. This fact sheet outlines these provisions.
- July 16, 2008 Comments on the Proposed rules for the Medicare Advantage program (CMS-4131-P) Community Catalyst provides proposed changes to Part 422 – Medicare Advantage Program
- June 30, 2008 Medicare Special Needs Plans: A Critical Need for Quality Standards of Care This brief discusses the risk that exists to beneficiaries without a comprehensive set of federal quality guidelines for SNPs. It then highlights best practices for providing quality care through SNPs and suggests standards to ensure that SNP enrollees receive coordinated, integrated care.
- February 29, 2008 Medicare Special Needs Plan: A Consumer Advocate's Guide To Opportunities, Risks and Promising Practices This report provides an easy to read analysis of Special Needs Plans (SNPs)
- November 26, 2007 Medicare Special Needs Plans (SNPs): What Consumer Advocates Should Know About Integrating Medicare and Medicaid Benefits for Dually Eligible Enrollees This brief describes SNPs and the populations they are meant to serve, with a particular emphasis on dually eligible beneficiaries. It then discusses how SNPs, when they are fully integrated with state Medicaid programs, offer the potential to (1) improve the quality of care for beneficiaries with complex care needs; and (2) produce efficiencies that will give state health access advocates a tool to protect or expand state Medicaid benefits for enrollees.
- June 28, 2007 Special Needs Plans (SNPs): Overpayment Debate Ignores Need for Reform to Achieve Original Program Goals This brief describes SNPs and the populations they are meant to serve. It then suggests ways to ensure that SNPs bring high quality care to beneficiaries with complex care needs while also receiving appropriate compensation.
- April 01, 1999 Medicare HMO Marketing and Information: Keeping the Focus on What Consumers Need April 1999 edition of "States of Health"