Studies in the News is a very current compilation of items significant to the Legislature and Governor's Office. It is created weekly by the State Library's Research Bureau to supplement the public policy debate in California’s Capitol. To help share the latest information with state policymakers, these reading lists are now being made accessible through the State Library’s website. This week's list of current articles in various public policy areas is presented below.

Service to State Employees:

• When available, the URL for the full text of each item is provided.

• Items in the State Library collection can be checked out to state officials and staff.

• Access to all materials listed will be provided by the State Information Reference Center, either by e-mail to cslsirc@library.ca.gov or by calling 654-0261.

HEALTH

ALCOHOL & DRUG USE

Student Health Risks, Resilience, and Academic Performance: Year 1 Report. By Thomas L. Hanson and others, WestEd. (WestED, San Francisco, California) 2003. 125 p.

Full Text at: www.wested.org/hks/apirpt.pdf

["The number of marijuana users among seventh-graders dropped from 19 to 12 percent, alcohol use fell from 13 to 9 percent and cigarette use declined from 5 to 3 percent. Among ninth-graders, 25 percent reported using marijuana in 2002 compared with 34 percent in the study two years earlier. Cigarette use dropped from 17 percent to 11 percent, but alcohol use among ninth-graders inched up 1 percentage point to 35 percent. Eleventh-graders reported declining alcohol use, from 50 percent to 39 percent, cigarette use, from 23 to 21 percent; and marijuana use, from 34 to 26 percent."]

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HHS, Public Health Partners Unveil New Campaign to Promote Awareness of Proper Antibiotic Use: Press Release. By the Office of Communication, Centers for Disease Control. (The Centers, Atlanta, Georgia) September 17, 2003. 1 p.

Full Text at: www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/r030917.htm

[“The government has a new strategy for reducing the unnecessary use of antibiotics: Persuade mothers to stop pestering pediatricians to write prescriptions for runny noses. Health officials have already hammered on doctors to quit dispensing antibiotics in situations where they are practically guaranteed not to work, such as common colds. A straight-to-Mom campaign is next.”]

[Request #S9248]

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Financing Health Care for Women with Disabilities: White Paper. By Janice Blanchard and Susan Hosek, Rand Health. Prepared for the Federation of Independent School Alumni WP-139. (RAND, Santa Monica, California) 2003. 66 p.

Full Text at: www.rand.org/publications/WP/WP139/WP139.pdf

["This paper describes the major financial issues affecting access to appropriate primary health care for women with disabilities.... The findings and recommendations should be of interest to public and private decisionmakers seeking to improve access to health care for women with disabilities."]

[Request #S9250]

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Beyond 50: A Report to the Nation on Independent Living and Disability. By American Association of Retired Persons. (AARP, Washington, DC) 2003. Various pagings.

Full Text at: research.aarp.org/il/beyond_50_il.html

["Disabled Americans age 50 and over want independence in and control over their daily lives but often can't afford to pay for it. The national survey ... said 51 percent of people 50 and over with disabilities are managing independently. Forty-nine percent receive regular help with a daily activity, such as cooking, bathing or shopping." Associated Press (April 29, 2003) 1.]

[Request #S9251]

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American Health Care: Why So Costly? By Karen Davis and Barbara S. Cooper, The Commonwealth Fund (The Fund, New York, New York) June 11, 2003. 33 p.

Full Text at: www.cmwf.org/programs/quality/davis_senatecommitteetestimony_654.pdf

["The U.S. has relied on a mixed public–private system of insurance, managed care, and market competition to shape the health care system. Yet, the U.S. has the highest health care spending per capita in the world ... We need to shift our attention to reducing errors, eliminating waste and duplication in clinical care, modernizing and streamlining administration, promoting transparency and accountability for performance, and aligning financial incentives for physicians, hospitals, and other health care providers to reward high-quality and efficient care."]

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Health Insurance Premiums and Cost-Sharing: Findings from the Research on Low-Income Populations. By Julie Hudman and Molly O’Malley, The Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured. (The Commission, Washington, DC) March 2003. 19 p.

Full Text at: www.kff.org/content/2003/4071/4071.pdf

[“Health insurance coverage is a vital component to ensure access to needed health care services, including preventive care. This brief reviews the studies that have investigated the impact of premiums and cost-sharing, particularly on low-income populations and finds generally that premiums depress participation in public programs and cost-sharing affected health care utilization, access and outcomes.”]

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Health Care Reform Returns to the National Agenda: The 2004 Presidential Candidates' Proposals. By Sara R. Collins, The Commonwealth Fund (The Fund, New York, New York) September 2003. 38 p.

Full Text at: www.cmwf.org/programs/insurance/collins_reformagenda_671.pdf

["As of September 2003, seven candidates, including the incumbent president, have made proposals to extend health insurance coverage to millions of uninsured Americans. Other candidates have indicated that they are working on plans and will soon release details. The proposals range from plans that would increase coverage incrementally to those that would expand coverage to all uninsured.... This report summarizes contents of existing proposals as of September 8, 2003."]

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Employer Health Care Strategy Survey 2003. By Barbara Gniewek and others. (Deloitte Consulting, San Francisco, California) 2003. 36 p.

Full Text at: www.deloitte.com/dtt/cda/doc/content/Employer%20Health%20Care%20Strategy%20Survey%202003.pdf

["The rising cost of health care benefits remains, by far, the primary factor driving employers' health care strategy.... The cost of employer-sponsored health plans rose 14.9 percent in 2003... They predicted that their 2004 plan costs would rise ... an average of 14.3 percent."]

[Request #S9256]

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The Role of Health Coverage For People With Disabilities: Findings From 12 Focus Groups With People With Disabilities. By Michael Perry and others, The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation (The Foundation, Menlo Park, California) August 2003. 16 p.

Full Text at: www.kff.org/content/2003/6102/6102.pdf

[" The perspectives of individuals with Medicaid, Medicare, dual coverage, private insurance, and no insurance coverage at all were represented. In addition, people with varying degrees of physical, developmental, and mental impairment participated in the study... The insights from these focus groups offer the unique perspectives of relatively frequent users of healthcare services with multiple and complex needs."]

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California Report on Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery. By Pacific Business Group on Health. Prepared for the Office of Statewide Planning. (The Office, Sacramento, California) September 2003. Various pagings.

Full Text at: www.pbgh.org/programs/cabg/documents/CCMPRSummary.pdf

["The more bypass operations any one hospital did, the better the patients' outcome. Low-volume hospitals that do fewer than 200 cases had higher mortality rates.... Joseph Parker, a deputy director of the state office, believes that publishing such statistics prompted changes that resulted in a decline in bypass mortality statewide, from an average of 3.09 percent in 1997 to 2.71 percent in 2002.... 41 percent of the 119 California hospitals that perform bypass procedures declined to participate." San Diego Union Tribune (September 9, 2003. )

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Rethinking Recertification: Keeping Eligible Individuals Enrolled in New York's Public Health Insurace Programs. By Karen Lipson and others. Prepared for the Commonwealth Fund. (The Fund, Washington, DC) 2003. 54 p.

Full Text at: www.cmwf.org/programs/insurance/lipson_recertification_656.pdf

["The recertification requirement triggers the disenrollment of many eligible individuals who simply fail to complete the process.... Annual disenrollment rates in New York’s health programs range from approximately 50 percent for CHP B and Medicaid-only beneficiaries to 85 percent for cash assistance recipients."]

[Request #S9260]

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"Vectors Without Borders: The Spread of Global Pathogens Can Imperil Us All. By Jennifer Brower and Peter Chalk. IN: Rand Review, vol. 27, no. 2 (Summer 2003) pp. 6-10.

Full Text at: www.rand.org/publications/randreview/issues/summer2003/vectors.html

["The South African example serves as a pertinent lesson to other nations: If unaddressed, infectious disease can overwhelm the capabilities of a country to respond.... The U.S. federal government should consider playing a more concerted role in providing resources and instituting uniform standards for the national defense against infectious diseases."]

[Request #S9261]

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Is Lack of Coverage A Short-or-Long-Term Condition? By Jennifer Haley and others. Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured. (The Commission, Washington, DC) June 2003. 26 p.

Full Text at: www.kff.org/content/2003/4122/4122.pdf

[This paper produces alternative estimates of the numbers of uninsured within the context of a single survey and explores the distribution of the duration of uninsured spells for people who lack coverage at some time during a 12 month period.... We also examined the relationship between length of time without coverage and health care access and utilization.]

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Building Quality Into Rite Care: How Rhode Island is Improving Health Care For Its Low-Income Populations. By Sharon Silow-Carroll, Economic and Social Research Institute. Prepared for The Commonwealth Fund (The Fund, New York, New York) January 2003. 40 p.

Full Text at: www.cmwf.org/programs/quality/silow-carroll_ritecare_598.pdf

["This report examines initiatives implemented by Rhode Island’s Department of Human Services to achieve ... long-term goals and address other aspects of access and quality. Most of these initiatives take place within the Rite Care managed care program."]

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Medical Malpractice Crisis. Trends Alert. By the Council of State Governments. (The Council, Lexington, Kentucky) May 2003. 27 p.

Full Text at: www.csg.org/CSG/Products/trends+alerts/default.htm

["This Trends Alert puts the current situation into perspective by reviewing past problems with medical malpractice insurance and past policy responses. It also examines the ... health care system, the legal system and the insurance industry and outlines a host of policy options."]

[Request #S9264]

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Medical Malpractice: Implications Of Rising Premiums On Access To Health Care. By the U.S. General Accounting Office. GAO-03-836. (The Office, Washington, DC) August 2003. 63 p.

Full Text at: www.gao.gov/new.items/d03836.pdf

["The General Accounting Office, in a review of five states with high malpractice premiums vs. four states with lower rates, found no evidence that the potential suits limited access to health care 'on a widespread basis.' The GAO report did find local problems in select specialties but said there is no national crisis." Washington Post (August 30, 2003) A07.]

[Request #S9265]

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Medicaid Spending: What Factors Contributed to the Growth Between 2000 and 2002? By John Holahan and Brian Bruen, Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured. (The Commission, Washington, DC) September 2003. 18 p.

Full Text at: www.kff.org/content/2003/4139/4139.pdf

["This brief explores the factors underlying Medicaid spending growth. Despite slower enrollment growth for the aged and disabled than for children and nondisabled adults, the aged and disabled accounted for almost 60% of the spending growth. Although current growth rates may be high relative to state fiscal capacity, per enrollee spending growth is below levels seen in the private health care market."]

[Request #S9266]

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Medi-Cal for Seniors. By the Medi-Cal Policy Institute. Fact Sheet. No. 14. (The Institute, Oakland, California) September 2003. 2 p.

Full Text at: www.chcf.org/documents/mcpi/medical101/MediCalSeniors.pdf

["Medi-Cal faces considerable short-term and long-term challenges in serving its elderly beneficiaries. As part of the 2003-04 budget, the state cut reimbursements to most providers by five percent and imposed restrictions on adult dental care, hearing aids, and durable medical equipment, such as wheelchairs.... Continuing fiscal shortfalls will force hard choices for the program in future years."]

[Request #S9267]

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How Do Patterns of Prescription Drug Coverage and Use Differ for White, African American and Latino Medicare Beneficiaries Under 65 and 65+? By Henry Kaiser Family Foundation. (The Foundation, Washington, DC) July 2003. 23 p.

Full Text at: www.kff.org/content/2003/6098/6098v1.pdf

["As policy makers continue to work to enact a Medicare drug benefit, it is helpful to understand how beneficiaries vary in their needs and patterns of prescription drug coverage and use. This chartpack provides a snapshot of racial/ethnic differences in Medicare beneficiaries prescription drug coverage, use, and spending."]

[Request #S9268]

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Adults with Disabilities in Medi-Cal Managed Care: Health Plan Practices and Perspectives. By Jackie Rudich Nolen. Prepared for the Medi-Cal Policy Institute. (The Institute, Oakland, California) September 2003. 34 p.

Full Text at: www.chcf.org/documents/mcpi/access/MediCalDisabilitiesHealthPlans.pdf

["The institute funded this research to provide policymakers and other stakeholders with insights and information relevant to the expansion of managed care to non-elderly Medi-Cal beneficiaries with disabilities. This report describes the findings from a survey of health plans that currently provide care to members with disabilities in Medi-Cal managed care."]

[Request #S9269]

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Average Out-of-Pocket Health Care Costs for Medicare+Choice Enrollees Increase 10 Percent in 2003: Issue Brief. Marsha Gold and Lori Achman, Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. Prepared for the Commonwealth Fund (The Fund, New York, New York) August 2003. 8 p.

Full Text at: www.cmwf.org/programs/medfutur/gold_averageoopcosts_ib_667.pdf

["This issue brief provides data for 2003 on out-of-pocket spending by Medicare beneficiaries in M+C and other private plans, including the PPO demonstrations. It is part of an ongoing analysis of the experience of private plans in the M+C program."

[Request #S9270]

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California Medicare HMO's: Declining Benefits and Rising Costs. By California Health Care Foundation. (The Foundation, Oakland, CA) July 2003. 8 p.

Full Text at: www.chcf.org/documents/insurance/HIMUCalMedicareHMOTrends.pdf

["Recognizing the importance of Medicare HMOs to consumers and statewide insurance market, the California HealthCare Foundation commissioned the actuarial firm Milliman USA to study how Medicare HMOs have changed during the past three years, with an emphasis on trends in benefits and costs to consumers. This report summarizes results from that study."]

[Request #S9271]

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Achieving the Promise: Transforming Mental Health Care in America. By The President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. (The Commission, Washington, DC) July 2003. 113 p.

Full Text at: www.mentalhealthcommission.gov/reports/FinalReport/downloads/FinalReport.pdf

["In February 2010, President George W. Bush announced his New Freedom Initiative to promote increased access to education and employment opportunities for people with disabilities.... The Commission's findings confirm that there are unmet needs and that many barriers impede care for people with mental illness."]

[Request #S9274]

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Teaming Up: Using the IDEA and Medicaid to Secure Comprehensive Mental Health Services for Children and Youth. By Tammy Seltzer. (Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, Washington, DC) August 2003. 29 p.

Full Text at: www.bazelon.org/issues/children/publications/teamingup/report.pdf

["This report explains which children can obtain what services through the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the federal-state Medicaid program, and offers suggestions for advocates' strategic use of the two statutes to obtain services needed by children with emotional or behavioral disorders." Moving Ideas News (September 3, 2003).]

[Request #S9275]

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Health Care: Approaches to Address Racial and Ethnic Disparities. By U.S. General Accounting Office. (The Office, Washington, DC) July 2003. 24 p.

Full Text at: www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-03-862R

["Disparities in health care are among this nation's most serious health care problems. Research has extensively documented the pervasiveness of racial and ethnic disparities.... Health and Human Services had focused on six areas where serious racial and ethnic disparities exist in health care access and outcomes: Cancer screening and management; Cardiovascular disease; Diabetes; HIV infection/ADS;Immunizations; Infant mortality."]

[Request #S9276]

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Nursing Home Quality: Prevalence of Serious Problems, While Declining, Reinforces Importance of Enhanced Oversight. By the General Accounting Office. (The Office, Washington, DC) July 2003. 104 p.

Full Text at: www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-03-561

["Since July 1998, GAO has reported numerous times on nursing home quality of care issues and identified significant weaknesses in federal and state oversight.... The proportion of nursing homes with services quality problems remains unacceptably high, despite a decline in the incidence of such reported problems. Actual harm or more serious deficiencies were cited for 20 percent or about 35,000 nursing homes during an 18 month period ending January 2002, compared to 29 percent for an earlier period."]

[Request #S9277]

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The MetLife Market Survey of Nursing Home and Home Care Costs. By MetLife. (MetLife, Westport, Connecticut) August 2003. 16 p.

Full Text at: tinyurl.com/qc3j

["The average daily rate for a private room in a nursing home is $181.24. The average daily rate for a semiprivate room in a nursing home is $158.26. The average hourly rate for Home Health Aid provided by a home care agency is $18.12 per hour."]

[Request #S9278]

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Tissue Donations: Issues and Options in Oversight, Regulation and Consent. By The California Senate Office of Research. Prepared for Senator Jackie Speier (The Office, Sacramento, California) April 2003. 30 p.

Full Text at: www.sen.ca.gov/sor/reports/REPORTS_BY_SUBJ/HEALTH/TISSUEDONATIONSREPORT.PDF

["Human tissues are used in a variety of medical procedures that significantly enhance the quality of life for thousands of individuals throughout the United States each year.... The rate of tissue transplantation has grown enormously in recent years. The American Association of Tissue Banks estimates that 21,600 donors provided tissue in 2001, up from perhaps 6,000 donors in 1994.... In 2000, several newspaper articles alleged some questionable practices in the tissue bank industry that warranted investigation."]

[Request #S9280]

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Enrolling Eligible Persons In Pharmacy Assistance Programs: How States Do It. By Stephen Crystal and others, Rutgers Center for State Health Policy. Prepared for the Commonwealth Fund (The Fund, New York, New York) September 2003. 44 p.

Full Text at: www.cmwf.org/programs/medfutur/crystal_pharmassistprogs_590.pdf

["Data reported are from: 1) a survey of all direct-benefit programs in place throughout the year 2000; 2) information collected through qualitative case studies of programs; and 3) reviews of the literature and program documents. This report focuses on enrollment."]

[Request #S9282]

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Steps to a Healthier U.S.: A Program and Policy Perspective: The Power of Prevention. By the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (The Department, Washington, DC) 2003. 14 p.

Full Text at: www.HealthierUS.gov/steps/summit/prevportfolio/Power_Of_Prevention.pdf

["With a community-based public health infrastructure that embraces prevention as a priority, we can become a healthier nation. Many Americans could enjoy 5-7 additional years of healthy life and avoid the costs associated with chronic disease if we improve access to quality health care services, emphasize healthy behavior, and focus on broad policies and strategies that offer the greatest good for the greatest number."]

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Review of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Smallpox Vaccination Program Implementation. By the Committee on Smallpox Vaccination Program Implementation, Institute of Medicine. (National Academy Press, Washington, DC) August 2003. 45 p.

Full Text at: books.nap.edu/html/smallpox_vac/letter_report4.pdf

["The Bush administration's smallpox vaccination plan is too narrowly focused to adequately protect Americans from bioterrorism, and the vaccine itself is too risky to be made widely available to the public, a scientific advisory panel reported.... The program has strained the resources of underfunded state and local health departments, leaving them unable to provide some basic public health services and unprepared to respond to other bioterror agents, the committee concluded.... The government should make its smallpox vaccination plan part of a broader public health program to protect Americans against a variety of threats, the committee said." Los Angeles Times (August 13, 2003) A19.]

[Request #S9284]

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Cigarette Smoking-Attributable Morbidity --- United States, 2000. By A. Hyland and others, Center for Disease Control. IN: MMWR, vol 52, no. 35 (September 5, 2003) pp. 842-844.

Full Text at: www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5235a4.htm

["8.6 million U.S. residents have chronic smoking-related illnesses, according to the CDC's first national estimate. The estimate found that 49% of current smokers said they had chronic bronchitis and 24% said they had emphysema. For former smokers, 26% said they had chronic bronchitis, 24% said they had emphysema and 24% said they had a previous heart attack. Lung cancer accounted for 1% of all smoking-related illnesses.... The CDC estimates that there are 440,000 smoking-related deaths per year in the United States. Contra Costa Times (September, 5, 2003) A1.]

[Request #S9285]

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Hardship Among the Uninsured: Choosing Among Food, Housing, and Health Insurance. By Sharon K. Long, Urban Institute. (The Institute, Washington, DC) May 2003. 8 p.

Full Text at: www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/310775_B-54.pdf

["Much of the recent health policy debate has focused on the best way to reduce uninsurance, with a number of proposals aimed at increasing the ability of low-income individuals and families to purchase insurance by providing subsidies or tax credits. This brief explores the extent to which uninsured low-income families face other hardships in their daily lives that affect their ability to afford health insurance. It finds that the decision to purchase health insurance is made by many in the face of competing demands for basic food and housing needs, and often with high insurance costs."]

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Women's Health USA: 2003. By the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Maternal and Child Health Bureau. (The Bureau, Rockville, Maryland) 2003. 80 p.

["This report includes women's health data from a variety of sources. Numerous charts and graphs are presented within sections on population characteristics, health status, and health services utilization." National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health, MCH Alert (September 5, 2003).]
ftp.hrsa.gov/mchb/WHUSA03-color.pdf

[Request #S9288]

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[This section links to items in Studies in the News since the last Environmental Supplement.]

HEALTH CARE

"Health." IN: Studies in the News, 03-51 (August 13, 2003).

[Includes: "Health savings accounts could reduce state revenues;" "State budgets affecting health care policy;" "Transformation of mental health services;" "Fast food litigation;" "Hunger and poverty in America;" "Rising prescription drug prices and the elderly;" "Employer-sponsored prescription drug coverage;" "Court rules for anti-smoking ads;" and others.

[Request #S9286]

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"Health." IN: Studies in the News, 03-54 (August 24, 2003).

Full Text at: www.library.ca.gov/SITN/2003/0354.htm

[Includes: "States experience decline in funding formulas;" "Health insurance and families;" "Hospital profitability and emergency rooms;" "Proposals to cover the uninsured;" "California workers' compensation expenses;" "Medicaid formula for states;" "Medicaid drug entitlements and working Americans;" "Medicare beneficiaries near poverty;" and others.]

[Request #S9289]

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"Health." IN: Studies in the News, 03-56 (September 5, 2003).

Full Text at: www.library.ca.gov/SITN/2003/0356.htm

[Includes: "Health care costs in U.S. and Canada;" "Rising outpatient drug costs;" "Animal-borne epidemics;" "Medicare+Choice patient costs;" "Responses to health insurance scams;" "Cigarette smuggling in California;" and others.]

[Request #S9290]

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"Health." IN: Studies in the News, 03-59 (September 22, 2003).

Full Text at: www.library.ca.gov/SITN/2003/0359.htm

[Includes: "Language barriers to health care access;" "Consumer-directed health plans;" "Health insurance for children;" "Slight increase in adult diabetics;" "Employer support for health insurance;" "Fiscal crisis impact on Medi-Cal;" "Federal funds for public health; and others.]

[Request #S9291]

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Health." IN: Studies in the News, 03-63 (October 1, 2003).

Full Text at: www.library.ca.gov/SITN/2003/0363.htm

[Includes: "Needle exchange and AIDs risk;" "Cancer statistics for Hispanics;" "Problems at LA County health services;" "Inpatient charity care;" "Rationing health care;" "Case on medical marijuana raids dismissed;" "Medical marijuana laws;" and others.]

[Request #S9292]

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