A new report from the Commonwealth Fund finds that performance indicators for child health care systems vary widely across states, with Iowa and Vermont emerging at the top. The report, U.S. Variations in Child Health System Performance: A State Scorecard, is available for download from the Commonwealth Fund’s Web site, along with an interactive map.

Cancer patients without health insurance are more likely to die, according to a new study forthcoming in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians (AP).

A new report from the Commonwealth Fund makes policy recommendations for reducing health care costs (Bending the Curve: Options for Achieving Savings and Improving Value in U.S. Health Spending).

42.5 million adults lacked health insurance during the first half of 2007, according to estimates from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) released by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).

The PRI Library has received an announcement from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for the National Congress on the Un and Under Insured.

John Nyman questions the conclusions of the RAND Health Insurance Experiment, conducted in the 1970’s, in an article appearing in the October issue of the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law.

Citations:

David Glenn (2007, Nov. 9). The case of the health-insurance dropouts. Chronicle of Higher Education. (The Chronicle article is available online to subscribers. PRI affiliates can read the Chronicle in the PRI Library or request online access from library@pop.psu.edu.)

John A. Nyman (2007). American health policy: Cracks in the foundation. Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law 32(5): 759-783. (Available online to the Penn State community)

Some primary care physicians are offering patients prepaid plans, according to the Wall Street Journal (kaisernetwork.org). Supporters say such plans tackle two crises: a shortage of primary care physicians and an increasing number of Americans who are uninsured or underinsured. Critics say patients may opt to purchase such plans instead of broader coverage and that the plans will compete with insurers.

“[T]the most pragmatic approach to coverage for all is mixed private–public group insurance that builds on the best features of our current system with shared responsibility for financing from individuals, employers, and government that minimizes dislocation for the millions of Americans who currently have good coverage,” according to a new report from the Commonwealth Fund.

Citation: S. R. Collins, C. Schoen, K. Davis, A. K. Gauthier, and S. C. Schoenbaum (2007, October). A Roadmap to Health Insurance for All: Principles for Reform. The Commonwealth Fund. (Available online)

According to a state-by-state analysis conducted by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) covered 6.6 million children last year, and nearly 9 million children remained uninsured.

Citation: State Health Access Data Assistance Center (2007). Protecting America’s Future: A State-by-State Look at SCHIP & Uninsured Kids. Princeton, NJ: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. (Available online)

US Children get worse care than adults, and even white, middle-class children with health insurance often fail to get the recommended care, according to a new study by researchers at RAND, the University of Washington, and Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute (BusinessWeek).

Citation: Rita Mangione-Smith, Alison H. DeCristofaro, Claude M. Setodji, et al. (2007). The quality of ambulatory care delivered to children in the United States. New England Journal of Medicine 357:1515-1523. (Available free online)