ACA Outreach & Enrollment: Charging the First Hurdles
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) reached a key milestone in October 2013 with the launch of new health insurance marketplaces, also known as exchanges. The recently birthed marketplaces rely on coordination across a range of actors to implement a complex and interrelated set of functions, helping people assess their coverage options, determine their eligibility for public programs and subsidies, and enroll in plans.
Positive School Discipline: Opportunities to Promote Behavioral Health
Concerns about school violence have heightened awareness of how schools maintain a safe and productive learning environment. Public discourse surrounding school safety has largely focused on security; yet school discipline policies have short- and long-term consequences for students and the school community.
Innovative Crossroads: The Intersection of Creativity, Health, and Aging
By 2030, national health care spending is expected to increase by about 25 percent, largely because of the increased number of older Americans. In order to cope with this enormous influx of older people, new adaptations and innovations will be required to meet their health and wellness needs. A field that is gaining increasing attention for its promise to improve the health and well-being of older adult populations is the arts.
Teen Pregnancy: A Winnable Battle within Reach
Through both government and philanthropic funding, notable strides have been made in tackling teen pregnancy and birth rates across communities in the United States.
The Residual Uninsured: Taking Stock, Taking Care
By the time the Affordable Care Act is fully implemented in 2019, government analysts estimate that about 89 percent of the nonelderly U.S. population will be covered by health insurance. An estimated 11 percent of the nonelderly population, more than 30 million people nationwide, will remain uninsured.
Living Sicker and Dying Younger: United States Lags in Global Health Gains
Shorter lives and poorer health: this was the striking conclusion of leading public health experts convened by the National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine when examining the research evidence on how health and life expectancy in the United States compares to that of other high-income democracies around the world.
Health Care for the Neediest: The Critical Transformation
The United States now stands on the cusp of important expansion in access to affordable health insurance coverage that was promised in the enactment of federal health reform legislation in 2010. As actors and stakeholders throughout the health system prepare for a surge in the insured population, leaders are looking ahead to the looming challenges that will move to center stage as the crisis of the uninsured recedes: How can we reduce the heavy burden of health care cost growth on our nation’s families, employers, state budgets, and federal health care programs?