June 2006
The Hawai'i Uninsured Project
Lewin contact: John Sheils
The Lewin Group was hired by the Hawai’i Institute for Public Affairs (HIPA), an independent non-partisan organization, to perform a comprehensive evaluation of the costs and benefits of a single-payer system as outlined in HB 1617. The evaluation is intended to assist the Hawai’i Health Care Task Force in developing a comprehensive health care coverage plan for the citizens of Hawai’i.
Expertise Area: Health Reform
May 2006
Coalition to Protect Access to Affordable Health Insurance
Lewin contact: John Sheils
In this study, The Lewin Group estimated the cost and coverage impacts of the Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act (S. 1955) sponsored by Senator Enzi of Wyoming and adopted by the Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee of the U.S. Senate. The bill would establish a new optional regulatory standard that insurers in the small group market could choose to follow instead of state regulations. This standard would permit carriers to set rates according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioner’s (NAIC) 1993 Small Group Rating Model legislation, which permits premiums to vary with health status and other factors. Carriers electing this option also would be exempt from state mandated benefits requirements.
Client Area: Associations
Expertise Area: Health Reform
April 2006
The California Endowment
Lewin contact: John Sheils
The California Endowment engaged The Lewin Group to provide cost estimates and coverage impacts of four proposals to expand health insurance coverage in California, focusing in particular on the effect that the approaches would have on children. This report provides detailed estimates of the program costs and number of children who would become covered under these proposals, including changes in both public and private coverage.
Client Area: Foundations
Expertise Area: Health Reform
January 2006
Louisiana Hospital Association
In an effort to develop a unified policy framework for redesigning Louisiana’s healthcare services in the wake of Hurricane’s Katrina and Rita, the Louisiana Hospital Association engaged The Lewin Group to conduct a series of interviews with healthcare, education, business and government leaders across the state to gather information regarding both short-term and long-term needs of the industry. The resulting report describes a series of proposed federal and state policy initiatives that would facilitate cost-effective redesign of Louisiana's healthcare delivery system.
Client Area: Associations
Expertise Area: Health Reform
February 2005
Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA)
The Lewin Group helped the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) Patient Friendly Billing Project develop the report, Hospitals Share Insights to Improve Financial Policies for Uninsured and Underinsured Patients. The report explores key questions that hospital leaders may find useful to keep in mind when reviewing their financial assistance policies. It also provides tools and practical ideas to help hospitals and health systems revise their policies and procedures and implement those revisions quickly and effectively. Effective financial policies for uninsured and underinsured patients are an essential component of the community benefits hospitals provide.
Client Area: Associations
Expertise Area: Health Reform
January 2005
Health Care for All Education Fund
Lewin contact: John Sheils
In this study The Lewin Group estimated the impact of covering all California residents under a single health plan. The proposal analyzed is the "Health Care for All Californians Act: SB 921", introduced in February of 2003, with clarifications provided by the authors' staff through April 30, 2004. The program would cover a broad range of health services for all California residents, including an estimated 4.7 million Californians who are currently uninsured. Premium payments to insurers would be eliminated for employers and individuals, except for coverage of services not covered by the program. Instead, the system would be funded with current spending for government health programs and new taxes to replace the premiums eliminated under the program. Lewin estimated the amount of health spending in California under current law in 2006 for the various payers in California including employers, households, the federal government and state and local governments. Lewin then estimated health expenditures for each of these payer groups assuming the Act is implemented in 2006. The difference between estimated spending in 2006 under the Act and the estimated amounts spent in 2006 under current law, provide estimates of the impact of the program on spending for each payer group. Estimates of the cost impacts of the Act are provided for employers by firm size, industry, households, by age, income level and other demographic characteristics.
Client Area: Associations
Expertise Area: Health Reform
September 2004
Lewin contact: John Sheils
This report presents an independent comparative analysis of the proposed health plans of President George W. Bush and Senator John F. Kerry. It was released on September 21, 2004, at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. The Lewin analysis centered on two key questions: How many people who currently lack health insurance would become covered under each candidate's program? How much money would each program cost the federal and state governments, consumers and other financial contributors over the 10-year span following implementation in 2006?
To view documents summarizing how Lewin's estimates differ from prior estimates click on comparison of estimates or presentation of comparison.
Expertise Area: Health Reform
June 2004
Families USA
Lewin contact: Lisa Alecxih
On June 16th, 2004, Families USA released a report entitled "One in Three: Non-Elderly Americans without Health Insurance, 2002-2003." The report was based on an analysis of Census Bureau data conducted by The Lewin Group, and provides estimates of the number of people under age 65 who lacked insurance for at least one month over the two-year period of 2002-2003. The report provides national and state-level estimates, as well as a breakdown by selected population characteristics. Some of the highlights from the report include:
Approximately 81.8 million Americans -- one out of three people under 65 years of age -- were uninsured at some point of time during 2002-2003.
Almost two-thirds (65.3 percent) of this 81.8 million were uninsured for six months or more, and about half (50.6 percent) were uninsured for at least nine months.
States with the highest proportion of non-elderly individuals with insurance gaps during the 2002-2003 period include Texas (43.4%), New Mexico (42.4%), and California (37.1%). States with the lowest proportion of individuals with insurance gaps include Minnesota (22.4%), New Hampshire (23.0%), and Vermont (24.9%).
A significant proportion of the middle class experienced insurance gaps. For example, among people with incomes between 300 and 400 percent of the federal poverty level (between $55,980 and $74,640 in annual income for a family of four in 2003), more than one out of four were uninsured for all or part of the two year period.
Researchers Note: In March 2003, The Lewin Group completed a similar analysis for Families USA that provided estimates of lack of insurance over the period 2001-2002. That analysis relied on Census Bureau data from 1998-1999, the most recent data available at the time, projected forward based on known population and economic trends. More recently available Census Bureau data for 2001-2002 indicate that these earlier 2001-2002 uninsured estimates were conservative. Therefore, the new 2002-2003 estimates should not be directly compared to the previous estimates for 2001-2002.
Client Area: Associations
Expertise Area: Health Reform
June 2004
Georgians for a Common Sense Health Plan
Lewin contact: John Sheils
In this analysis, submitted to Georgians for a Common Sense Health Plan (GCSHP) in October 2003 and publicly released on June 21, 2004, The Lewin Group estimated the cost and coverage impacts of Georgia SecureCare, a proposed single payer health insurance program developed by GCSHP. The program would cover a broad range of services for all Georgia residents, including an estimated 1.1 million Georgians who are currently uninsured. SecureCare would replace public and private health insurance plans in the state, and would be financed by a consolidation of funding for current health care programs, a payroll tax to replace employer benefit plans and other dedicated revenues. The Lewin Group's analysis indicates that SecureCare would achieve universal coverage while reducing total health spending for Georgia by about $716 million annually.
Client Area: Associations
Expertise Area: Health Reform
June 2004
Save Our ERs Coalition
Lewin contact: Terry West
In recent years, Harris County's emergency care system has become increasingly overburdened by growing emergancy department volume. The Lewin Group was commissioned by the Save Our ERs coalition to assist them in creating a framework for revisioning the organization and delivery of health care services in Harris County be developing and examining three conceptually distinct and credible options for reconfiguring care to safety net populations in Harris County, arrayed by degree of system reorganization and resources required.
Client Area: State and Local Governments
Expertise Area: Health Reform
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