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Biomedical subjects

D C Colby

Publications and source records attributed to D C Colby.

18 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

Monitoring the impact of the Medicare Fee Schedule on access to care for vulnerable populations.

Implementation of the Medicare Fee Schedule (MFS) introduced concerns about the potential for reduced access to care, especially for vulnerable populations. These analyses show differences in access before and after the MFS that cannot be explained by health status. In particular, those without private or public supplementary insurance, those with low incomes, African Americans, and the oldest old had lower utilization before the MFS. The impact after implementation of the MFS on vulnerable populations was similar, for the most part, to that for other beneficiaries: reduced utilization in areas with fee increases and increased utilization in areas with fee decreases. An exception was that African Americans, those without supplemental insurance, and those with low incomes in areas of fee decrease saw reductions in the use of surgical services relative to their counterparts in areas with no fee change.

Ethnicity↗
PubMed1996

Shifting the paradigm: monitoring access in Medicare managed care.

Medicare managed care enrollment growth points to the need to develop an approach for monitoring access to care for the increasing number of beneficiaries who use these arrangements. This article describes the issues to be addressed in designing a system for monitoring managed care plan enrollees' ability to obtain needed medical care on a timely basis. We review components of the monitoring approach used for traditional fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare, including the conceptual framework, data, measures, and subgroups targeted in monitoring efforts, and discuss the adaptation of that approach for monitoring access in Medicare managed care.

Fee-for-Service Plans↗
PubMed1995

Balance billing under Medicare: protecting beneficiaries and preserving physician participation.

Medicare's experience with balance billing provides valuable lessons for policy making for national or state health care reform. Medicare developed several policies to encourage physicians to become participating providers who accept Medicare-allowed charges as payment in full. Only nonparticipating physicians are permitted to bill for additional amounts beyond that paid by Medicare, and there are limits on the amount of balance billing per claim. As shown by the analysis of claims presented in this article, Medicare has successfully provided financial protection to beneficiaries. In 1986, more than 60 percent of expenditures for physician services were on assigned claims for which there could be no balance billing; by 1990, 80 percent of expenditures were on assigned claims. Balance billing decreased by about 30 percent during the same period. Although these policies have been successful in reducing total expenditures for balance billing, they may not provide financial protection to the most economically vulnerable beneficiaries. Using survey and claims data, we found that the poor have lower balance billing expenditures for services provided by primary care physicians, but that there is no relationship between poverty status and balance billing expenditures for services of nonprimary care physicians. In addition, most low-income beneficiaries are liable for balance bills. Under health care reform, adoption of Medicare's incentive-based approach with mandatory assignment for the poor would allow for some choice based on price and would provide financial protection for all consumers.

Aged↗
PubMed1994

Medicaid physician payment reform: using the Medicare Fee Schedule for Medicaid payments.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this article is to provide estimates of the costs of basing Medicaid physician payment levels on the new resource-based Medicare Fee Schedule. Two possible policy options are considered: setting all Medicaid physician fees at the Medicare Fee Schedule level and setting only office visit fees at the new Medicare levels. METHODS: Data on Medicaid physician fees, use patterns, and the Medicare Fee Schedule are used to develop state-level estimates of expenditure changes under each option. RESULTS: Setting Medicaid rates at the Medicare Fee Schedule level could increase expenditures by $3.2 to $4.1 billion nationally; the other option would result in substantially lower increases in expenditures. Because of the current variations in Medicaid physician fees and in the breadth of eligibility across states, the cost of adopting the Medicare Fee Schedule varies considerably among states. CONCLUSIONS: Adopting the new Medicare Fee Schedule for Medicaid payments, proposed by policy-makers as a way to increase access to appropriate medical care, could double physician expenditures in some states. Adoption of more limited versions of the fee schedule might achieve some access gains at lower costs.

Fee Schedules↗
PubMed1993

Racial differences in the elderly's use of medical procedures and diagnostic tests.

OBJECTIVES: This study sought to examine racial differences in the use of medical procedures and diagnostic tests by elderly Americans. METHODS: We used 1986 physician claims data for a 5% national sample of Medicare enrollees aged 65 years and older to study 32 procedures and tests. For each service, we calculated the age- and sex-adjusted rate of use by race and the corresponding White-Black relative risk. RESULTS: Whites were more likely than Blacks to receive 23 services, and for many of these services, the differences in use were substantial. In contrast, Blacks were more likely than Whites to receive seven services. Whites had a particular advantage in access to higher-technology or newer services. Racial differences in use persisted among elders who had Medicaid in addition to Medicare coverage and increased among rural elders. CONCLUSIONS: There are pervasive racial differences in the use of medical services by elderly Americans that cannot be explained by differences in the prevalence of specific clinical conditions. Financial barriers to care do not fully account for these findings. Race may exacerbate the impact of other barriers to access.

Black or African American↗
PubMed1992

Will Medicare beneficiaries switch physicians? A test of economic competition.

We assess the potential of increased economic competition by examining whether Medicare beneficiaries are willing to switch to physicians who agree to accept all services on assignment. Data come from a survey of Medicare beneficiaries conducted in November 1988. Our principal finding is that beneficiaries are not sensitive to price when making decisions about whether or not to switch physicians. Less than one-half of 1 percent of the sample had switched physicians for economic reasons in the year prior to the survey. Furthermore, willingness to switch was not correlated with ability to pay. We conclude that policies aimed at altering consumer demand may not be the most effective way to control Medicare costs.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

Epidemics and agendas: the politics of nightly news coverage of AIDS.

We examine why the exponential growth of AIDS cases or the wide-spread professional perception of a health crisis did not move the epidemic more quickly onto the agenda of public problems. One possible explanation focuses on how the national news media's construction of AIDS shaped the meaning of the epidemic for mass and elite audiences. An examination of nightly news coverage by the three major networks from 1982 to 1989 reveals considerable variability and volatility in their coverage. Topic-driven saturation coverage occurred only during three short periods in 1983, 1985, and 1987, when the epidemic seemed likely to affect the "general population". Only at such moments did public opinion shift and discussion and debate in government begin. Otherwise, the typical AIDS story tended less to sensationalize than to reassure, largely because journalists depended upon government officials and high-ranking doctors to present them with evidence of news. Such sources had interests either in avoiding coverage or in pointing toward breakthroughs; more critical sources, especially within the gay movement, had far less access to the news. In concluding, we considered the prospects and pitfalls of the news media's power to shape the public agenda.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1990

Medicare surgical global fees: the relationship between included services and payment.

This paper documents how extensively the component services Medicare carriers include in their global fees vary for four common operations. Although payment for each of the operations also varies substantially among Medicare carrier areas, differences in the extent of services included in the surgical global fee do not contribute to explaining the variations in payment. The recently enacted Medicare fee schedule based on resources can rationalize the current pattern of payments, but only if a uniform global service policy is implemented.

Fee Schedules↗
PubMed1983

The effects of implementation problems on certificate of need decisions in Illinois.

There has been a lack of appreciation of the complexities of implementing certificate of need (CON) programs and, further, the effects of those implementation problems on the program's effectiveness. This study describes implementation problems and presents some evidence of their impact on approval rates in one state. Start-up phase problems included non-reviewable projects, exempted projects and pre-emptive actions by the hospitals to avoid the regulations. It is estimated that these problems raised the program's approval rate by 12 percent and resulted in approximately +310 million of capital costs and an unknown increase in operating costs. Two problems of continuing implementation are identified. The first concerns the availability and specification of the standards and criteria for project review. The second problem is the lack of significant compliance mechanisms. The Reagan administration has made massive cuts in support for health planning and CON programs. The rationale for these cuts is based on the belief that CON has not been effective in reducing the escalation of hospital costs. This article indicates some of the reasons for its impotence.

Certificate of Need↗
PubMed1981

Functional fiefdom, poverty model or individualism? Development of intergovernmental relations in health planning.

The United States national government has the power under the National Health Planning and Development Act of 1974 to establish and exercise legal control over a system of Health System Agencies, State Health Planning and Development Agencies, and State Health Coordinating Councils. Although the national government appears to have the legal powers necessary to direct and control the health planning process, a federal system has difficulties in the implementation of planning which has centralized goals or direction. The states and regions have the potential power to weaken the strength of the national government. Three trends in the developing relationship between the national, state, and regional units in health planning are discussed. The first, the functional fiefdom, consists of self-perpetuating, narrow purpose agencies which are not responsible to local or state-wide elected officials. These are professional bureaucracies which create and reinforce cozy relationships with supportive interest groups. The second trend, the poverty model, includes the lack of control by local elected officials, a large role to nongovernmental actors, and a direct relationship between Washington and the regional planning agencies. The last trend appears to be an individualistic one with every unit fending for itself. A case study of Massachusetts along with supplemental materials from other states is presented to illustrate the trends.

Government↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Medicaid physician fees, 1993.

In 1993 Medicaid physician fees were about 73 percent of Medicare payment levels and about 47 percent of private physician fees. Overall Medicaid fees grew by 15 percent from 1990 to 1993, slightly faster than Medicare or private-sector fees. However, there were considerable differences in fees across the states (from fourfold to thirty-ninefold between the lowest and highest states). Fees for maternity services varied the least. Medicaid fees generally were highest in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Nevada, and Wyoming; they were lowest in New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island.

Data Collection↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Medicare beneficiaries covered by Medicaid buy-in agreements.

About 13 percent of Medicare beneficiaries receive some assistance from Medicaid. States "buy in" Medicare coverage for these low-income beneficiaries. For those eligible, states also provide benefits beyond those covered by Medicare. Buy-in beneficiaries are different from other Medicare beneficiaries in many ways. They have lower incomes, which is consistent with the policy intent. They use more health services in general but do not appear to receive timely, appropriate care relative to several disease-specific standards. As policymakers consider restructuring Medicare and Medicaid, careful attention needs to be paid to the effects of changes on these beneficiaries.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Expanding coverage: reflections on recent efforts.

This paper focuses on the major health care initiatives and proposals that policymakers have enacted or considered since 1980 and describes what we can learn from these efforts to expand coverage. Most proposals have focused on incremental strategies, through expansion of public programs or tax incentives for the purchase of private coverage, although universal proposals have also emerged. Incremental approaches, which seem more politically feasible, still involve complex policy trade-offs. Efforts to improve take-up rates of public and private insurance could greatly expand coverage as well.

Child↗