One-third of U. S. adults do not have adequate health literacy to manage their health care needs; and low health literacy is a major concern due to its association with poor health outcomes, high health care costs, and health communication problems. Low health literacy is a potential driver of health disparities, and its alleviation is central to…

We examined the association between states' legislative mandates that private insurance cover autism services and the health care-related financial burden reported by families of children with autism. Child and family data were drawn from the National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs (N = 2,082 children with autism). State policy…

This paper is reformatted and reprinted as part of the 40th Anniversary of the "American Journal of Health Education" (originally School Health Review) Health Education--Our Heritage. The original article appeared in Volume 1, "School Health Review" (September 1969, pp. 9-14). At the time, Myer Herman was director of the Division of Adult Health…

Moving toward universal coverage has the potential to increase access to care and improve the health and well-being of uninsured children and adults. The effects of health care reform on the more than 25 million children who currently have coverage under Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) are less clear. Increased parental…

When Western Wisconsin Technical College created the Health Benefits Improvement Team, they had no experience with the complexity and ever-changing demands of health care and its associated costs. See how they've embraced their mission and are changing the way business is done in their community.

Context: Rural hospitals face multiple financial burdens. Due to federal law, emergency departments (ED) provide a gateway for uninsured and self-pay patients to gain access to treatment. It is unknown how much uncompensated care in rural hospitals is due to ED visits. Purpose: To develop a national estimate of uncompensated care from patients…

This article presents the authors' response to the invited commentaries on their paper (Wallace and Beange, 2008). On the point of "specialism", the authors emphasise a fundamental premise of their argument: the proposed "specialist" hospital-based service is inherently enmeshed within generic services at the hospital level,…

This commentary discusses whether a sufficient case has been made for specialism in hospital services as a viable alternative to existing generic services. The impact of developments in specialist care such as those outlined by Robyn A. Wallace and Helen Beange should be assessed as a means of reducing inequality. In particular, model services…

In this article, the author comments on the paper "On the need for a specialist service within the generic hospital setting" (Wallace & Beange, 2008), which raises critical issues regarding effective models of healthcare delivery for individuals with intellectual disability (ID), particularly within a hospital setting (but not…

Although the presence of intellectual disability (ID) per se is not usually regarded as a health problem, the biopsychosocial implications of cognitive impairment contribute to the vulnerability of adult patients with ID in any healthcare system. The adult patient with ID differs from a patient in the general population in terms of health…

In response to a request by Senator John Melcher of the United States Senate Special Committee on Aging, the General Accounting Office (GAO) reviewed legislative proposals designed to protect Medicare enrollees from the financial hardships that often accompany catastrophic illness. The GAO originally examined six legislative proposals introduced…

It is widely recognized throughout the health care industry that the United States leads the world in health care spending per capita. However, the chilling dose of reality for American health care consumers is that for all of their spending, the World Health Organization ranks the country's health care system 37th in overall performance--right…

This paper analyzes contemporary rights-based and economic approaches to health care and education in developing countries. The paper assesses the foundations and uses of social rights in development; outlines an economic approach to improving health and education service provision; and highlights differences, similarities, and the hard questions…

Examines what was learned from channeling demonstration about potential of case management agency systems for administering home care benefits. Considers both advantages (substitution of lower cost for higher cost services, negotiation of lower prices for services, quality assurance) and disadvantages (difficulty controlling participation rates,…

This document provides witnesses' testimonies and prepared statements from the Senate hearing called to examine the problems of catastrophic health care costs. Statements are included from Senators John Melcher, Quentin Burdick, Larry Pressler, John Heinz, and Pete Wilson. Prepared statements are included from Senators David Pryor and Charles…