New York State Health Foundation: integrating mental health and substance abuse care.

Roughly half of all people with severe mental disorders also have substance abuse problems. Yet their care is fragmented: They are treated by either the mental health system or the substance abuse system. In New York State only 10 percent of them receive evidence-based treatment for both conditions.

Are the uninsured responsible for the increase in emergency department visits in the United States?

Study Objective: The rise in emergency department (ED) use in the United States is frequently attributed to increased visits by the uninsured. We determine whether insurance status is associated with the increase in ED visits.

Methods: Using the national Community Tracking Study Household Surveys from 1996 to 1997, 1998 to 1999, 2000 to 2001, and 2003 to 2004, we determined for each period the proportion of reported adult ED visits according to insurance status, family income, usual source of care, health status, and outpatient (non-ED) visits.

Disparities in health: perspectives of a multi-ethnic, multi-racial America.

This 2006 survey of 4,157 randomly selected U.S. adults compared perceptions of health care disparities among fourteen racial and ethnic groups to those of whites.

Characteristics of frequent users of emergency departments.

Study Objective: We identify frequent users of the emergency department (ED) and determine the characteristics of these patients.

Methods: Using the 2000 to 2001 population-based, nationally representative Community Tracking Study Household Survey, we determined the number of adults (aged 18 and older) making 1 to 7 or more ED visits and the number of visits for which they accounted. Based on the distribution of visits, we established a definition for frequent user of 4 or more visits.

Racial and ethnic disparities and perceptions of health care: does health plan type matter?

Objective: To examine whether racial and ethnic differences in the distribution of individuals across types of health plans explain differences in satisfaction and trust with their physicians.

Data Sources: Data were derived from the 1998-1999 Community Tracking Household and Followback Studies and consisted of a nationwide sample of adults (18 years and older).

Data Collection: The data were collected by telephone survey.

Does lack of a usual source of care or health insurance increase the likelihood of an emergency department visit? Results of a national population-based study.

Study Objective: We determined whether having a usual source of care or health insurance is associated with the likelihood of an emergency department (ED) visit.

Methods: This was a multivariate analysis of the 2000 to 2001 nationally representative Community Tracking Study Household Survey to assess the independent association of usual source of care, health insurance, income, and health status with the likelihood of making 1 or more ED visits in the previous year.

Results: Based on a sample of 49,603 adults, an estimated 45.

Medical vulnerability in America: how does the health system respond?

This study explores the hypothesis that market change affects the medically vulnerable more than the non-medically vulnerable. Analysis of data measuring change between 1997 and 1999 indicates that access to care eroded for both groups, but no evidence emerges to suggest that the changes were systematically worse for the medically vulnerable. Paradoxically, some measures of satisfaction with actual care received improved between 1997 and 1999 for both groups of people.

Wealth patterns among elderly Americans: implications for health care affordability.

This paper estimates the ability of the elderly to pay for necessary health care services and emerging technologies. Projections from the Long Term Care Financing Model paint a promising picture of the income and assets that elders in the future will have available to support discretionary, uncovered health care and service costs. Nevertheless, policymakers should pay close attention to the finances of the "Tweeners"--people who are middle class with low levels of discretionary assets available for health and long-term care.