Biomedical subjects

Lynn Etheredge

Publications and source records attributed to Lynn Etheredge.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2002

Strategies to improve consumer health information services.

Consumer health information is important in two respects. It helps individuals improve their own health and creates pressure on the healthcare system to produce higher quality care. Initiatives to strengthen consumer health information services are underway in many public and private-sector organizations nationwide. This paper describes some trends in the field and opportunities to spur further progress nationally and at the community level over the next few years.

Consumer Advocacy↗

PubMed2002

Quality incentives for Medicare+Choice plans.

The Medicare program should be a leader in national efforts to improve quality of care. This paper proposes a new system of quality bonuses for Medicare+Choice plans and lays out a framework of key issues and options to promote discussion about such an initiative.

Humans↗

PubMed2001

A flexible benefits tax credit for health insurance and more.

This essay outlines a concept for a "flexible benefits" tax credit for expanding health insurance coverage and other purposes such as retirement savings plans (with potential withdrawals for higher education, first-home ownership, and catastrophic medical expenses). Two examples are presented. The advantages of a flexible benefits tax credit are considered in terms of efficient use of the budget surplus to help meet the varied (and changing) needs of American families, to eliminate major national gaps in health insurance and pension coverage, and to advance other objectives. If the budget surplus is used wisely, political decisionmakers could achieve health insurance coverage for most uninsured workers and children and assure a future with real economic security for American families.

Budgets↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The need for evidence-based health policy to address health care variations.

Medicare policy making now deals mostly with price-setting issues. However, as Warren Buffet has noted: "Price is what you pay. Value is what you get." Victor Fuchs's studies raise fundamental issues for a value-oriented Medicare program. Florida offers one of many regional patterns of Medicare mortality that are not yet adequately explained. Valued-oriented, evidence-based Medicare policies would target opportunities to improve population health and would foster greater use of evidence-based medicine.

Delivery of Health Care↗

PubMedDate not supplied

A new Medicaid program.

This paper suggests a new federal-state partnership--a new Medicaid program--for coverage of the uninsured and long-term care. It discusses national eligibility standards, based on financial need (rather than categorical eligibility); buy-ins and reinsurance for high-risk populations; a national strategy of "Medicaid plus tax credits" to cover the uninsured; Medicaid long-term care with expanded eligibility, better financial protection, and home and community-based care benefits; quality initiatives; administration; and possible financing sources (such as estate taxes and an increased Social Security Disability Insurance wage base). Without a new mission and national standards, Medicaid will continue to grow in a patchwork fashion with huge gaps and inequities.

Cooperative Behavior↗