Reports

This project assessed changes in Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) treatment utilization and expenditures in the employer-sponsored private health insurance market at two timepoints, 2006-2007 and 2014-2015, that mark the periods before and after implementation of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA), the Affordable Care Act, the introduction and expanded use of new opioid treatme

The objectives of this research effort were to collect feedback through interviews with physicians in small rural practices on the initial implementation of Medicare’s Quality Payment Program in 2017, a new value-based purchasing program for Medicare physicians.

Individuals and families frequently qualify for multiple human services and employment programs that are funded, regulated, and administered by different federal agencies—each with their own eligibility criteria, program requirements, and performance indicators.

January 2017 Printer Friendly Version in PDF Format (90 PDF pages)

ABSTRACT

Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Inspector General Daniel Levinson have issued a proposed rule, “Fraud and Abuse; Removal of Safe Harbor Protection for Rebates Involving Prescription Pharmaceuticals and Creation of New Safe Harbor Protection for Certain Point-of-Sale Reductions in

Winnie Chi, PhD, Emily Graf, BA, Landon Hughes, BA, Jean Hastie, MPH, Galina Khatutsky, MS, Sari B. Shuman, MPH, MSW, E. Andrew Jessup, and Sarita Karon, PhD RTI International Helen Lamont, PhD

ABSTRACT ASPE has an interest in understanding the national profile of older adults with dementia and their caregivers.

September 2018 Printer Friendly Version in PDF Format (7 PDF pages)

This brief describes findings from the ASPE chartbook "Older Adults with Dementia and Their Caregivers: Key Indicators from the National Health and Aging Trends Study".

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration January 17, 2019 Printer Friendly Version in PDF Format (109 PDF pages)

The Protecting Our Infants Act of 2015 (POIA) became law on November 25, 2015.

This factsheet provides descriptive information on child care eligibility and receipt. Of the 13.6 million children eligible for child care subsidies under federal rules, 15 percent received subsidies. Of the 8.4 million children eligible for child care subsidies under state rules, 25 percent received subsidies. Poorer children were more likely to receive subsidies than less poor children.

Despite broad agreement that the child support program has performed well since the passage of the Child Support Performance and Incentive Act (CSPIA) in 1998, questions remain over whether the current measures will continue to drive better performance on outcomes that reflect the child support program’s core mission.

Antibacterial resistance is responsible for excess morbidity, mortality, and medical costs around the globe. Estimates vary widely, but the economic cost of antibacterial resistance in the United States could be as high as $20 billion and $35 billion a year in excess direct healthcare costs and lost productivity costs, respectively. CDC’s most recent report on U.S.

RTI International September 15, 2017 Printer Friendly Version in PDF Format (70 PDF pages)

Access to services, particularly behavioral health and substance use disorder (SUD) treatment services, is challenging in rural and other underserved areas.

January 19, 2017 Printer Friendly Version in PDF Format (39 PDF pages)

David Stevenson, Nicholas Sinclair, and Shiyuan Zhang Vanderbilt School of Medicine Laurie Meneades and Haiden Huskamp

Between 2005 and 2015, the number of hospice agencies with common ownership to nursing homes nearly quintupled in number and now represents almost 1-in-5 hospice agencies participating in the Medicare program.

This study examines hospice ownership in detail by going beyond the general distinction of for-profit or not-for-profit and considers the extent to which regional or national chains have entered the hospice provider market and how the populations they care for and the services they provide might be distinct from other types of hospice agencies.

This brief describes four key challenges related to the use of medication-assisted treatment (MAT) in child welfare contexts for parents with opioid use disorder. It draws upon results from a mixed methods study examining how substance use affects child welfare systems across the country. Key challenges discussed include:

Antibiotic Resistance continues to pose a significant threat to our Nation’s public health. To coordinate and enhance the public health response to this threat, the U.S. Government developed the National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria (CARB). The CARB Task Force is co-chaired by HHS, USDA, and DOD.

This research report details the impact findings from the evaluation of three replications of the Safer Sex Intervention (SSI), a clinic-based intervention intended to reduce the incidence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and increase condom use among high-risk sexually active female adolescents.

This research brief highlights the impact findings from the evaluation of three replications of the Safer Sex Intervention (SSI), a clinic-based intervention intended to reduce the incidence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and increase condom use among high-risk sexually active female adolescents.

This research report details findings from the evaluation of Reducing the Risk, a sexual health curriculum developed in the early 1990s to help prevent pregnancy and reduce sexually-transmitted infections (STIs) in adolescents. The study examined data from three different replications of Reducing the Risk, pooling the data to examine the overall program impact.

This research brief highlights findings from the evaluation of Reducing the Risk, a sexual health curriculum developed in the early 1990s to help prevent pregnancy and reduce sexually-transmitted infections (STIs) in adolescents. The study examined data from three different replications of Reducing the Risk, pooling the data to examine the overall program impact.

This research report highlights findings from the evaluation of ¡Cuídate!, an HIV/AIDS prevention program that uses an approach culturally tailored to Latino youth. The study examined data from three different replications of ¡Cuídate!, pooling the data to examine the overall program impact.

This research brief highlights findings from the evaluation of ¡Cuídate!, an HIV/AIDS prevention program that uses an approach culturally tailored to Latino youth. The study examined data from three different replications of ¡Cuídate!, pooling the data to examine the overall program impact.

Laura Dunlap, Saira Haque, and Erin Mallonee RTI International Joel Dubenitz, Laurel Fuller, and Daniel Schwartz U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Printer Friendly Version in PDF Format (5 PDF pages)

This Issue Brief was informed by an ASPE-funded study conducted by RTI International that assessed the use of telehealth to identify and manage SUDs in rural areas. The final research brief included an environmental scan and site visits with participants that represented a wide range of telehealth experiences throughout the country.

States have the option to require recipients of child care subsidies and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to cooperate with child support agencies seeking to establish paternity and support orders; and to enforce child support obligations as a condition of eligibility.

This brief presents information on qualified health plans (QHPs) available in the Exchange for states that use the HealthCare.gov platform, including estimates for issuer participation, health plan options, premiums, and subsidies in the upcoming open enrollment period (OEP), and trends since the first OEP. National estimates and summary tables are presented in each section of the text.

The prices charged by drug manufacturers to wholesalers and distributors (commonly referred to as exmanufacturers prices) in the United States are 1.8 times higher than in other countries for the top drugs by total expenditures separately paid under Medicare Part B. U.S. prices were higher for most of the drugs included in the analysis, and U.S.

Despite the increasing investment and interest in drug development, the amount of time and resources needed to develop a new drug continues to rise. Biomarkers are an important tool with the potential to decrease the time, cost, and failure rate of drug development.

The Indian Health Service (IHS) serves approximately 2.2 million American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) people in the U.S. According to surveillance data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, AI/AN populations have the highest incidence of acute hepatitis C virus (HCV) and the highest rate of HCV-related mortality relative to other racial and ethnic groups.

This is the PDF version of the 2018 Update of the National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease. More information about the National Alzheimer's Project Act is available at https://aspe.hhs.gov/national-alzheimers-project-act.

Background: Social determinants of health (SDH) are increasingly seen as important to understanding patient health and identifying appropriate interventions to improve health outcomes, in what is a complex interplay between health system, community, and individual level factors.

Medicare Advantage (MA) plans that serve relatively higher proportions of dually enrolled beneficiaries have lower ratings in the MA Star Rating program than plans that serve fewer dually enrolled beneficiaries. However, some MA plans that serve a high proportion of dually enrolled beneficiaries are high performers.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) uses the Star Rating program to measure the quality of Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, publicly report plan performance, and determine quality bonus payments and rebates for MA plans.

This project explores how the need for workers in healthcare professions can be partially met by hiring individuals with criminal records who do not pose a risk to public safety. The report is organized around the following five things to consider for employing certain individuals with criminal records in the healthcare sector:

This analysis builds on the ASPE publication on child support cooperation requirements to determine the overlap in the populations of custodial and noncustodial parents with and without formal child support orders, that are eligible for both Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and subsidized child care (CCDF).  The data used in the infographic are based on TRIM3 analysis of th

This project brought together policymakers, practitioners and evaluators in October 2017 to identify key policy research questions in the child support program.  The discussions, coupled with a series of informant interviews from 2016, led to the development of the research agenda.  It is a framework for the broader child support community to collectively answer pressing policy questi

This report highlights key research questions and identifies opportunities to use existing data sources and implement data-linking strategies that can support the HHS five point strategy to combat the opioid crisis.

Using manufacturer-reported prescription pharmaceutical prices, we observe that the number of price increases has been reduced considerably since the release of the President’s Drug Pricing Blueprint, compared to the same time period in the year prior.

Nga T. Thach, BS, and Joshua M. Wiener, PhD RTI International May 2018 Printer Friendly Version in PDF Format (34 PDF pages)

This report examines the role of long-term services and supports (LTSS) in Medicaid. It also examines how sociodemographic changes are likely to affect the demand for LTSS in the future, and as a result, Medicaid use and expenditures.

Jesse Hinde, PhD, Jennifer Hayes, BA, Tami Mark, PhD, Shampa Bernstein, JD, BA, and Sarita L.

This report summarizes financing and workforce policies that can be used by states to expand treatment access and capacity for opioid use disorder (OUD), focusing especially on medication-assisted treatment (MAT).

Ellen Bouchery Mathematica Policy Research December 5, 2017 Printer Friendly Version in PDF Format (101 PDF pages)