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Curbing the HIV Epidemic by Supporting Effective Engagement in HIV Care: Recommendations for Health Plans and Health Care Purchasers

October 13, 2016

The United States is poised to dramatically reduce the scope of its HIV epidemic, but this demands increased leadership and attention from health plans and health care purchasers (including Medicaid, Medicare, marketplaces, and other private purchasers). This new amfAR report identifies changes in policy and practice in clinics, communities, and health care programs to reduce unnecessary health spending, increase the effectiveness of services, and increase the integration of services. Done right, the same steps that lead to appropriate management of care by health plans and purchasers also will help to achieve national public health goals.

Building on the Affordable Care Act to Make the Health System Work for Young Gay Men: An Action Plan

April 10, 2014

The Affordable Care Act (ACA), the health reform law that was enacted in 2010, is expected to greatly expand access to stable and affordable insurance coverage for millions of Americans. Extensive research has documented that insurance matters; people with insurance coverage are less likely to report going without necessary care due to inability to pay and are more likely to report positive health outcomes than people who are uninsured.1 Young gay men, however, are a population with distinct needs that has rarely been the focus of attention for the health system. They may be among the least likely to automatically translate having insurance coverage into receiving consistent, high quality medical care. Therefore, focused efforts are needed to explain the importance of health coverage, facilitate enrollment in coverage, address structural barriers to care, and support their engagement with the health system once they obtain coverage. With the ACA developing new systems of care and new ways of paying for services, there is a fresh opportunity to examine key aspects of the healthcare delivery system to ensure that it is designed to facilitate good care and improved health outcomes for program beneficiaries and health plan enrollees. Indeed, the ACA includes several key provisions that create new protections and new opportunities to more proactively meet the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals, including important protections against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Vermont's Choices for Care Medicaid Long-Term Services Waiver: Progress and Challenges as the Program Concluded Its Third Year

November 17, 2008

Based on case study interviews and state data, evaluates the impact of a waiver introduced in 2005 to improve Medicaid beneficiaries' access to home and community-based services while reducing the use of nursing home care and controlling costs.