Patients with low socioeconomic status use emergency and hospital care more often than primary care because they believe hospital care is more affordable and convenient, and of better quality than care provided by primary care physicians, according to the results of a new study published in Health Affairs. “This study debunks the perception that low-SES individuals abuse the emergency room and need to be educated on its proper use,” said David Grande, MD, MPA, assistant professor of Medicine at Penn Medicine and senior author on… Continue Reading

The White House on Tuesday abruptly announced a one-year delay, until 2015, in his health care law’s mandate that larger employers provide coverage for their workers or pay penalties. The decision postpones the effective date beyond next year’s midterm elections. The 2010 Affordable Care Act required employers with more than 50 full-time workers to offer them affordable health insurance starting next year or face fines. Some companies with payrolls just above that threshold said they would cut jobs or switch some full-time workers to part-time employment… Continue Reading

As we ramp up to implementing major parts of the Affordable Care Act, it is important to educate the public about how the law benefits them. A story by the AP narrows down this list to 5 key points to understand how the health reform law could help insurance coverage to be more affordable for individuals and families. View the full article here

A study by a UNMC researchers has revealed that unauthorized immigrants have lower health care expenditures compared to legal residents, naturalized citizens and U.S. natives. This study should contribute to the discussions on implementing health reform and also on immigration reform. View article here

Oral health contributes to overall health; therefore, it is important to understand the level of access to oral health care in Nebraska. Our analysis of the most recently available data in Nebraska on access to oral health care and on the oral health workforce indicates that in 2010, 68.4% of Nebraskans aged 18 years and older visited a dentist within the past year. The number of dentists per 100,000 population decreased by 2.85% between 2008 and 2012, and the number of dentists older than 60… Continue Reading

The UNMC Center for Health Policy, released an inaugural report of activities over the March 2012 to March 2013 time period. The Center and its partners have made many contributions to health policy in Nebraska during the first year of operation. View full report here

The University of Nebraska at Omaha’s (UNO) Office of Latino and Latin American Studies (OLLAS) has released a report and policy brief, in conjunction with the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), describing the serious health problems facing the growing Latino and immigrant populations in Nebraska and Iowa, particularly the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area. View Article