News & Publications

Current Publications

• Katharine London and Robert Seifert authored "Evaluating the State Basic Health Program in Connecticut,"     on behalf of the Legal Assistance Resource Center of Connecticut which was presented to the Connecticut State Legislature on January 31.  Read more on CT News Junkie and The CT Mirror.
• The Massachusetts Medicaid Policy Institute (MMPI) released MassHealth:  The Basics, written by Robert Seifert and Andrew Cohen, includes MassHealth facts, trends and national context.  Also re-released by MMPI is CHLE's February 2011 report, The Basics of MassHealth, written by Robert Seifert and Stephanie Anthony.
• Robert Seifert comments on safety-net hospital use study in WBUR's CommonHealth Blog (August 2011)  An Archives of Internal Medicine study found that Massachusetts patients still choose to get care at safety-net hospitals and community health centers, even after health care reform implementation. Seifert comments on the findings.
• A Boston Globe article published on June 14, 2011, Red tape cited in health gap for young, reports on the many children in Massachusetts who are still uninsured, despite the state's universal insurance law. The findings are supported by the Center's April 2010 report, Enrollment and Disenrollment in MassHealth and Commonwealth Care.
• The Massachusetts Long-Term Care Financing Advisory Committee has released its report, Securing the Future, recommending reforms to the ways individuals, families and the Commonweatlh pay for long-term care services and supports. (April 2011)
• Update March 2011 - Pilots, Demos, Grants PPACA by Andrew Cohen 
• Jean C. Sullivan, CHLE Director, addressed the National Association of Reimbursement Officers (NARO) in a nationally broadcast webinar for Medicaid Directors and reimbursement officers called, Federal Health Care Reform, So Far: Overview and Reflections.  (February 2011)
• Principal Associates, Robert Seifert and Stephanie Anthony provided MMPI with an updated fact sheet, The Basics of MassHealth  (February 2011) 
• Robert Seifert spoke on The PPACA Overview of Implementation 2010-2011 to the HFMA Revenue Cycle Conference.  (January 2011)
• Katharine London provided significant program management to Connecticut's SustiNet Health Partnership Board of Directors which issued its Final Report to the Connecticut General Assembly.  (January 2011)
• CHLE's Robert Seifert and Andrew Cohen were part of the Bailit Health Purchasing team that assisted Maine's Advisory Council for Health System Design write the report, Options and Opportunities for Implementing the Affordable Care Act in Maine posted on Maine's website.  (December 2010)
•  A report for Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of Massachusetts, Re-Forming Reform:  What the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Mean for Massachusetts    examines how national health care reform impacts Massachusetts, by Robert Seifert and Andrew Cohen (June 2010).
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• Katharine London, Principal Associate, presented at the UMMS Graduate School of Nursing Alumni Association Graduation Breakfast National Health Reform:  Implications for Massachusetts    (June 2010).
• A report for MMPI, Enrollment and Disenrollment in MassHealth and Commonwealth Care, examines the phenomenon of enrollees cycling on and off state health insurance programs, specifically MassHealth and Commonwealth Care, by Robert W. Seifert  (April 2010).

Commonwealth Medicine's Perspective in Health Care Speaker Series 2010 - 2011

• Steve Larsen, J.D., M.A. (November 2011)
  
• Howard Gleckman, B.A. (May 2011)
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• Mark McClellan, MD, Ph.D. (April 2011)
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• Peter Harbage, MPP (March 2011)
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• Jon M. Kingsdale, Ph.D. (February 2011)
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• Elizabeth A. McGlynn, Ph.D. (January 2011)
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• Frances Miller, J.D. (November 2010)
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• Cathy Schoen, M.S. (October 2010)
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• Stuart Altman, Ph.D. (September 2010)
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Appointments

• Stephanie Anthony and Robert Seifert were appointed to be members of the Federal Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight's Objective Review Committee for Cooperative Agreements to support Establishment of State-Operated Health Insurance Exchanges.  (July 2011)
• Julia Feldman, J.D. and Principal Associate, was asked to chair the Organization and Governance Committee of the American Health Lawyers Association's Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Task Force.  (December, 2010)

Past Publications

• Stephanie Anthony contributed to Community Health Workers in Massachusetts:  Improving Health Care and Public Health, which was released at a State House event.  Both she and Jean Sullivan were part of the advisory council that produced the report.    (December 2009).
• An analysis for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation called National Health Care Reform and Its Impact on Massachusetts, written by Senior Staff   (October 2009)
• A presentation to the New England Minority Health Conference called Raising Awareness and Making Change through Public-Private Partnerships:  Lessons Learned from a Statewide Community Health Worker Advisory Council in Massachusetts, co-authored and presented by Stephanie Anthony, JD, MPH and Gail Hirsch, M.Ed., Massachusetts DPH.    (October 2009)
• Community Catalyst issue brief called Paying for Better Care: A Consumer Advocate’s Reference Guide to Payment Reform, co-authored by Robert W. Seifert (August 2009).
• A report for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation called Shared Responsibility:  Government, Business, and Individuals:  Who Pays What for Health Care Reform? was presented at a Foundation event at the State House.  Written by Robert W. Seifert and Paul Swoboda    (March 2009)
• Issue Brief presentation at a Massachusetts Health Policy Forum called The MassHealth Waiver: 2009-2011 .... and Beyond, written and presented by Stephanie Anthony  (February 2009).
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• Issue brief for MMPI called The Basics of MassHealth, written by Robert W. Seifert   (September 2008).
• A report for Community Catalyst called Special Delivery: How Coordinated Care Programs Can Improve Quality and Save Costs, co-authored by Robert W. Seifert   (May 2009).
• A report for Community Catalyst called Saving Money by Improving Medicaid, co-authored by Robert W. Seifert   (January 2009).
• A report for Community Catalyst called Getting What We Pay For: Reducing Wasteful Medical Spending, co-authored by Robert W. Seifert   (December 2008)
• EOHHS Division of Health Care Finance and Policy's Massachusetts Employer Health Insurance Survey 2007 Report, with contributions from Robert W. Seifert    (June 2008).
• A report for MMPI called The Outlook for Medicaid in Massachusetts, co-authored by Jean C. Sullivan    (March 2007).
  

Teachings/Tutorials

• Stephanie Anthony facilitated groups of third year medical students about key health policy issues in Health Policy and the Practice of Medicine Inter-clerkship at the Medical School, January 2012.
• Jean Sullivan presented as a Guest Lecturer to PhD students "Massachusetts Health Care Reform" in Professor Kane's Ph.D. Seminar in Health Policy, at the Graduate School of Nursing, March 2010.
• NESCSO Tutorial, titled Introduction to Medicaid by Stephanie Anthony    (April 2009).
• NESCSO Tutorial, titled Legal Framework for the Medicaid Program by Jean C. Sullivan   (August 2008).

Quotes

• A Boston Globe article published on June 14, 2011, Red tape cited in health gap for young, reports on the many children in Massachusetts who are still uninsured, despite the state's universal insurance law.  The findings are supported by the Center's April 2010 report, Enrollment and Disenrollment in MassHealth and Commonwealth Care.
• The CT Mirror quotes Katharine London in the Public Weighs in on SustiNet Plan.  Members of the public got their chance to weigh in on the SustiNet plan this week, and their questions and comments offered a hint at what could lie ahead as policymakers attempt to create a public health insurance plan for the state.  Katharine London described SustiNet as a publicly run health insurance plan intended to rein in costs, promote wellness and make better use of the $7 billion the state spends on health care. (December 2010).
• The Boston Globe West, Health tax may wallop towns quotes Robert Seifert on the tax of high cost health care plans.  (April 2010).
• The article in the Boston Business Journal, Lawmakers may stall on health-cost relief quotes Robert Seifert on the impact of raising insurance premiums on small businesses.  (February 2010).
• Hospital Execs React to AG's Report on Health Care quotes Katharine London, who discusses the need to develop an evaluation system to measure care.  (February 2010)
• Health Campaign Aims to Enroll Uninsured Youth in Massachusetts presented by Robert Seifert in regards to the communites where the uninsured children are currently living according to the Census.  (February 2010).
• The Boston Sunday Globe article, US health overhaul could penalize Mass. quotes Robert Seifert and the CHLE staffs' analysis on Health Care Reform and Its Impact on Massachusetts.  (November 2009).
• Mass. Docs Fret Over Health Care Reform, Robert Seifert discusses the potential impact that national health care reform might have on health care providers in Massachusetts.   (December 2009).
• An article in State Health Watch: The Newsletter on State Health Care Reform quotes Robert W. Seifert, explaining the effects of budget cuts on Medicaid recipients   (March 2009).
• Commonwealth Medicine's VISION Newsletter highlights The BCBS of Massachusetts Foundation's Report written by Robert Seifert and Paul Swoboda   (May/June 2009).