Highlights
Trends and Patterns in the Use of Prescription Drugs Among Medicaid Beneficiaries: 1999 to 2009
A recent issue brief highlights trends in the use and costs of prescription drugs for Medicaid beneficiaries between 1999 and 2009. Findings are drawn from a series of annual tables and chartbooks that Mathematica prepared for CMS. Highlighted trends include per person changes in drug costs and the volume of drugs used as well as changes in the use of generic drugs. Among drug types, antipsychotics accounted for 15 percent of expenditures in 2009, and for 25 percent of the total growth in expenditures between 1999 and 2009. Other costly drugs were antiasthmatics and antivirals, which each accounted for about 8 percent of Medicaid’s total drug expenditures in 2009.
June Forum: Reducing Hospitalization and Nursing Home Care Among High-Risk Medicaid Beneficiaries
New Data on Efforts to Reduce Hospitalization and Nursing Home Care
Among High-Risk Medicaid Beneficiaries
June 6, 2013
States across the country are seeking opportunities to reduce costs and improve outcomes for Medicaid beneficiaries. This forum and webcast highlighted new findings on the value of timely access to home- and community-based services (HCBS) for Medicaid beneficiaries at high risk of nursing home admission. Participants also discussed new efforts to integrate care for beneficiaries who have chronic health conditions and serious mental illnesses.
Webinar recording | PowerPoint presentation (PDF)
Medicaid Buy-In Program: Latest Reports
In an effort to improve employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities, Congress authorized the establishment of the Medicaid Buy-In (MBI) program, allowing states to expand Medicaid coverage to include working individuals with disabilities whose income and assets would otherwise make them ineligible. Mathematica prepared two recent reports on the MBI program for CMS. The first is the final annual evaluation report and presents both national and state-level trends in enrollment, employment, and earnings among MBI participants from 2001-2011. The second is the last in a series of annual reports on participation and provides updates on both national and state-level trends in enrollment, employment, and earnings among the 35 reporting Medicaid Infrastructure Grant (MIG) states with an MBI program in 2011. Additionally, it addresses recent changes to state program rules and policies, and identifies factors that have affected recent MBI program enrollment, as reported by the states in an annual questionnaire.
Social Security Disability Insurance: Challenges and Opportunities
Mathematica’s Gina Livermore will participate in an Urban Institute forum on “Social Security Disability Insurance: Challenges and Opportunities” on June 21. Livermore and her fellow panelists will discuss the economic circumstances of SSDI beneficiaries, policies that might improve them, and how SSDI fits into broader Social Security reform discussions.
16th Annual ACF/OPRE Welfare Research & Evaluation Conference
The Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) will sponsor the 16th Annual ACF/OPRE Evaluation Conference in Washington, DC, from May 29 to 31. Self-sufficiency for at-risk youth and other populations will be the focus of several sessions, and Mathematica presentations will include first findings from the Social Security Administration’s Youth Transition Demonstration.
AcademyHealth Disability Research Interest Group and Annual Research Meeting
AcademyHealth will hold its Disability Research Interest Group meeting on June 22 and its Annual Research Meeting (ARM) from June 23 to June 25, 2013, in Baltimore, MD. Yonatan Ben-Shalom will present at the Disability Research Interest Group Meeting on "Return-To-Work Outcomes Among New Social Security Disability Beneficiaries." The ARM is a forum for health services research where more than 2,000 attendees from around the world gather to discuss health policy implications and research methods. The program is designed for researchers, providers, policymakers, and clinicians.
Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management 2013 Fall Research Conference
The Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management (APPAM) will hold its 2013 Fall Research Conference from November 7 to 9 in Washington, DC. The conference theme is “Power of the Past –Force for the Future.” APPAM is dedicated to improving public policy and management by fostering excellence in research, analysis, and education.
American Public Health Association Annual Meeting & Exposition
The 141st American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting & Exposition will be held from November 2 to 6, 2013, in Boston, MA. With more than 13,000 attendees, this is the oldest and largest gathering of public health professionals in the world. APHA’s program addresses current and emerging health science, policy, and practice issues in an effort to prevent disease and promote health.