Center on Budget and Policy Priorities "Introduction to the Federal Budget" - explains the basics of the annual federal budget process and how that process affects the development of tax and spending legislation. It covers the President's budget request; the congressional budget resolution; how the terms of the budget resolution--and the limits it sets on spending and tax cuts--are enforced on the House and Senate floor; and budget reconciliation, a special procedure used in some years to facilitate the passage of spending and tax legislation. (March 2003)
Consumers Union and the Kaiser Family Foundation "A Consumer Guide to Handling Disputes with Your Employer of Private Health Plan, 2003 Update" - was created to help consumers who are seeking ways to resolve disputes with their health plans or better understand their coverage. The guide will help consumers navigate their plan's internal claims review process, as well as their state's external review process. It also provides consumers with state-specific guidelines and other practical information. (January 2003)
Institute of Medicine "A Shared Destiny: Community Effects of Uninsurance,"- the fourth in a series of reports on the consequences of uninsurance, explores the ways in which those who do have health coverage are affected by those who don't. The authors document a series of spillover effects of uninsurance on communit y health care institutions, providers, and others and assess the limited empirical evidence that exists about community effects. Among the authors' findings is that, in communities with higher uninsured rates, access to health care services and consequent benefits are compromised even for people with health coverage, (2003)
Public Citizen "Medicare Privatization: Bad for Seniors and People with Disabilities" - includes new information on the Bush Administaration's PPO demonstration program (an attempt to introduce a new type of managed care plan into Medicare) and on HMO premiums and drug benefits for 2003. The report concludes that relying more heavily on private plans is not the approach to Medicare reform that is in the best interests of beneficiaries, nor is it what beneficiaries desire. Instead, the report recommends that the existing Medicare program be expanded to include prescription drug coverage. (February 2003)
