Redesigning Children's Behavioral Health Services in New York's Medicaid Program This report gives an overview of the complex structure of New York Medicaid's current services for children needing behavioral health services, reviews the State's planned approach to reforming this system, …
A Blueprint for Universal Health Insurance Coverage in New York The first comprehensive analysis of the elements needed for universal health insurance in New York State, this major new Fund publication presents the costs and benefits of several model strategies …
2019 Shaping Up as a Watershed Year for New York’s Individual Market as Federal Challenges and Uncertainty Continue New York State’s individual health insurance market has been holding its ground in terms of enrollment, the cost of coverage, and the …
New York Medicare ACO Performance: Cost and Quality Results Raise Bigger Questions This HealthWatch focuses on the financial performance of accountable care organizations based in New York State in 2016, and compares their quality performance to that of similar programs …
The Growth of Medical Homes in New York State, 2014 to 2016 Third in a series of reports tracking medical home growth in New York State. New York State continues to lead the nation in adoption of the medical home …
Patient-Centered Medical Homes in New York, 2018 Update: Drivers of Growth and Challenges for the Future Our annual brief and chartbook outlining the adoption of the Patient-Centered Medical Home model across New York, by region and by type of practice. …
A Year of Progress and Partnerships: UHF’s 2018 Annual Report UHF’s annual report provides some concrete examples of what building a more effective health system for every New Yorker might look like. What does building a more effective health system …
National Landscape of Outpatient Antibiotic Stewardship and Strategies for Engaging Prescribers on Data Findings Webinar presentation on antibiotic stewardship. UHF hosted a webinar , National Landscape of Outpatient Antibiotic Stewardship and Strategies for Engaging Prescribers on Data Findings, on September …
It's About Trust: Parents' Perspectives on Pediatricians Screening for Social Needs A report from Public Agenda, based on interviews with low-income parents in New York City, explores how pediatricians can identify vulnerable children and families and connect them through community …
DSRIP Promising Practices: Strategies for Meaningful Change for New York Medicaid Identifying key lessons and promising practices from the first four years of New York State’s Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment program. Identifying key lessons and promising practices from the …
Antibiotic Prescribing for Acute Respiratory Infections in New York City: A Model for Collaboration Peer-reviewed article on a model for developing outpatient antibiotic stewardship programs in New York City, published in the journal Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology. A review …
Better Partnerships for Better Health For a forthright exchange and true partnership with their clients' health care providers, community-based organizations have to become targeted and systematic in how they serve their clients, and be able to demonstrate that. Common goals. …
Health Care 2021: A New Golden Age? The potential exists for a “golden age” of New York health care—if a number of essential elements are in place. What will New York's health care system look like in 2021? What should …
COVID-19 Ripple Effect: The Impact of COVID-19 on Children in New York State A new analysis estimates that COVID-19 has led to severe, long-lasting, and racially disparate repercussions on children under age 18 in New York State. The associated press …
Implementing the CARE Act: What's Working? What's Not? It's been a year since New York State's CARE Act went into effect, with the goal of ensuring that patients know they can name a family caregiver before they're discharged from the …
Trump Administration Health Reimbursement Arrangements Put ACA Subsidies at Risk for Low-Income Workers This brief explains the workings of individual coverage health reimbursement arrangements (ICHRAs) and examines their significant risks for New York consumers, particularly lower-income enrollees. The associated press …
Can You Get Paid to Take Care of Your Mom? Caregivers may be able to receive reimbursement for their time caring for family members. Here are a number of possibilities. Among the many words used to describe family caregivers—invisible, overwhelmed, …
The Statistics Don't Capture the Opioid Epidemic's Impact on Children When parents become addicted to opioids or die of an overdose, their children also bear the burden—yet children are rarely the focus of concerted planning and action to combat this …
2018 and Beyond The past year was a remarkable one for health policy, with uncertainty and flux on both federal and state levels—and several major trends posing new challenges and opportunities. For those of us working in health policy, 2017 …
Interesting Times Unprecedented uncertainty at the federal level about health policy hs clarified the continued relevance and importance of UHF, says Tony Shih in his annual report president's message. It's an interesting time to be working in health policy. Since …
Tony Shih: 2018 Annual Report Message "Ultimately, the goal of a health system should be to produce better health. And while health insurance coverage and access to care are vital to making this happen, they are not sufficient. So what …
What Does Price Transparency Have to Do with Patient Empowerment? There are numerous steps between greater price transparency and a more empowered patient, and it’s a more complex issue than it might look like at first glance. One of my …
Left Out of Value-Based Payment Payment reform alone can’t sustain everything we need to improve health. Exciting things are happening in health care. Beyond advances in technology and medical science—which are expected over time but still amazing to see—there are …
COVID-19 Pandemic: Questions for the Future Big-picture questions raised by the pandemic response. We are in the midst of one of the greatest public health crises of our lifetimes. Years from now, students from numerous disciplines will study the COVID-19 …
During the Pandemic, Home Health Aides Deserve Respect, Protection, and Fair Pay Home health aides are the essential workforce who make it possible for thousands of New Yorkers to have good days at home and to stay out of institutions. …
Examining the State of Telehealth During the COVID-19 Pandemic Telehealth has played a critical role during the COVID-19 pandemic and may have a long-lasting impact on the U.S. health care system. This commentary presents recent data from FAIR Health to …
To Prepare for the Next Pandemic, Health Care Needs to Tackle Racism In the wake of accumulated racial injustices and entrenched inequities highlighted by COVID-19, there is a need and an opportunity for health care leaders to confront racism; Ram …
Antibiotic Resistance in the Era of COVID-19 Clinical uncertainty around COVID-19’s management and treatment has contributed to inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics; UHF recommends stepping up antibiotic stewardship programs. There is no question that antibiotic resistance to deadly bacteria poses a …
For Health Care, a New Day and a Long Road Ahead Post-election commentary: Achieving progress will be immensely challenging, given the likelihood of a divided Congress and the competing priority of addressing the ongoing pandemic. The most difficult challenge will …
To Advance Health Equity, We Must Bridge Gaps in Health Data and Measurement UHF's senior medical officer, Anne-Marie J. Audet, MD, MSc, looks at how the pandemic has underscored long-standing data issues that pose significant barriers to both measuring and …
As Vaccines Roll Out, It Is Essential to Accommodate Those With Disabilities Disclaimer: The views presented here are of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of United Hospital Fund, its staff, or its board of directors. New …
New York State Department of Health Price Methodology Workgroup: Final Recommendations Recommendations on the most effective ways to develop and present meaningful and user-friendly pricing information and resources that could support common health care decisions. New York's consumers are feeling …
Finding Silver Linings in the Pandemic Heeding the important lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic, and using them to drive long-term change. Two of the most critical lessons are the need to address historical underinvestment in public health and the need …
A Shot in the Arm: American Rescue Plan Act Boosts Health Coverage Affordability This HealthWatch looks at the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which deepens affordability subsidies, provides premium tax credits to higher-income individuals and families, and creates new options …
When Improving Patient-Provider Communication, Don’t Forget the Family Caregiver In this new commentary, Carol Levine discusses how a tool such as How’s My Health Dashboard can support conversations between patients and their caregivers and, in turn, enhance their interactions with …
Improving Nutrition and Infant Health Through WIC: Opportunities During and Beyond a Public Health Crisis The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the historical barriers preventing many eligible families from receiving help from nutrition assistance programs. This issue brief explores why Medicaid …
The Pandemic’s Lessons for the Health Care Ecosystem More than 20 months have passed since our first COVID-19 case here in New York. During this time, almost all of us have had to take stock of our operations, apply lessons …
A Vital Opportunity: How Health Care Can Improve Food Security Hospitals and other health care systems are uniquely situated to improve food security in their communities; but food insecurity will not be solved by the health care system alone, and …
A Year of Resolve: UHF's 2021 Annual Report The 2021 annual report highlights UHF’s activities during another year of challenge and uncertainty and offers a preview of our goals in the year ahead. The 2021 annual report highlights UHF's activities …
Responding to Fundamental Challenges Exposed and Exacerbated by COVID-19 Tony Shih's message from UHF's 2021 Annual Report. I write this message as we enter the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, we were battered by the devastation wrought …
Federal Legislation Extends Important Benefit for New Yorkers in the Nick of Time After months of negotiations with recalcitrant U.S. Senator Joe Manchin on the Biden Administration's sweeping Build Back Better Plan, the enactment of the slimmed-down Inflation Reduction Act …
Educate, Influence, Transform: UHF's 2022 Annual Report The 2022 annual report highlights UHF's activities during a year of transition and new opportunities and offers a preview of our goals in the year ahead. This year's report presents examples of our …
Leveling Up: A Role for Health Plans in Improving Health Equity in New York The accompanying press release can be found here. Health plans are uniquely positioned to address health inequities as they are major employers, touch all aspects of …
We Need to Talk About Guns UHF President and CEO Oxiris Barbot, MD, on basic things we can all do to help stem the tragic toll of gun violence. Our recent report, produced in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group, draws …
Help Wanted: Employers to Help “Unwound” Workers Who Lost Public Health Coverage UHF’s Peter Newell examines how employers can help workers who lost public health coverage during the unwinding from the COVID-19 health emergency. In a national process known as …