J. William Thomas, Ph.D., and colleagues published “Low Costs of Defensive Medicine, Small Savings from Tort Reform,” September 2010, in Health Affairs. 

 

Ashish K. Jha, M.D., M.P.H., and colleagues published “The Effect of Financial Incentives on Hospitals that Serve Poor Patients,” September 7, 2010, in the Annals of Internal Medicine. 

 

Anthony M. Tucker, Ph.D., M.P.A., and Tricia Roddy, M.H.S.A., recently completed a HCFO grant that examined rate setting and cross-payer effects in Medicaid long-term care programs, and resulted in four Hilltop Institute reports. This series of reports explores the cross-payer effects of providing Medicaid long-term supports and services (LTSS) on Medicare acute care resource use.

• A Framework for State-Level Analysis of Duals: Interleaving Medicare and Medicaid Data

• Examining Rate Setting for Medicaid Managed Long-Term Care 

• Examining the Medicare Resource Use of Dually Eligible Medicaid Recipients 

• Cross-Payer Effects on Medicare Resource Use: Lessons for Medicaid Administrators

HCFO grantee Stephen Zuckerman, Ph.D., senior fellow in the Health Policy Center of the Urban Institute, has been named to an IOM committee that will examine the accuracy and effects of geographic adjustment factors. 

Findings from a study led by J. William Thomas, Ph.D., visiting professor, Cutler Institute for Health Policy and Social Policy, University of Southern Maine, were highlighted in the September 7, 2010 MedPage Today article “Malpractice Adds Less Than 3% to Healthcare Tab.” 

Findings from a study led by J. William Thomas, Ph.D., visiting professor, Cutler Institute for Health Policy and Social Policy, University of Southern Maine, were highlighted in the September 7, 2010 NPR Health Blog “Costs of Defensive Medicine May Be Overstated.” 

Presentations and Testimony

On August 5, HCFO grantee Ann S. O’Malley, M.D., M.P.H., testified before the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Technology. Her testimony was part of a panel titled “Current HIT Support of Care Coordination.”  

On September 7, HCFO grantee J. William Thomas, Ph.D., visiting professor, Cutler Institute for Health Policy and Social Policy, University of Southern Maine, presented at the Health Affairs briefing: Medical Liability/Patient Safety and Emergency Department Use. 

Awards and Appointments

HCFO grantee Helen Levy, Ph.D., recently received an appointment to serve as a Senior Economist for the Council of Economic Advisors. The council advises the President on economic policy and is located within the Executive Office of the President. 

Deborah Peikes, Ph.D., received the Article-of-the-Year Award from AcademyHealth and the National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation's Health Care Research Award for a publication incorporating her HCFO-funded work on disease management programs. 

RWJF Releases

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation released the content alert, “Pay-for-Performance: Closing the Performance Gap in Hospitals?” on September 14. It highlights findings from a HCFO-sponsored study led by Ashish K. Jha, M.D., M.P.H.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation released the content alert, “In Defense of Defensive Medicine” on September 10. It highlights findings from a HCFO-sponsored study led by J. William Thomas, Ph.D.

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