Categories Of Benefits Research Articles

Value of Travel Time :Theoretical and Empirical Method

The value of travel time savings (VTTS) is the monetary value attached to save a determined amount of travel time. VTTS is also the most important benefit category aimed at justifying investments in transport infrastructures by public administrations. Hence VTTS played a significant role in various economic studies, both analytical and empirical (Zamparini & Reggiani, 2007). It is difficult to name a concept more widely used in transportation analysis than the value of travel time. Its theoretical meaning and its empirical measurement are fundamental to travel demand modeling, social cost analysis, pricing decisions, project evaluation, and the evaluation of many public policies.(small,2012) In developing countries the lack of data regarding the economic value of time savings cause that it often be omitted from appraisal or relied upon proportion of market wage rate (the wage rate method) or using values obtained from developed countries. of course the values obtained from developed countries have serious drawbacks because existing research suggest that value of time is highly affected by preference, physical characteristic of geographical area and habit of particular society ,thus different situation require different modeling and attempt to transfer result from one area to another are fraught of danger, on other hand empirical and theoretical research indicates that the value of time can be significantly higher or lower than the current wage rate, depending on many condition .This paper uses a revealed preference approach to estimate the VTTS for work and educational trips by collecting 480 questioners from individuals that trip in morning peak time in Isfahan city in 1392, and use of discrete choice model for modeling individuals' preferences. Estimated results show, the value of travel time in Isfahan city in morning peak time is 350.50 Rials for each minute and 21030 Rials for each hour in this year.

Servitization and remote monitoring technology

Purpose – Servitization centres on the transfer of risks from the customer to manufacturer. By providing real-time information about current and predicted health of a product in the field, remote monitoring technology can mitigate some of those risks. Although recognised as one of the key enablers of servitization, the mainstream servitization research community has shown very little interest in this topic. The aim is to identify and critically analyse relevant research addressing the topic of remote monitoring technology and servitization and, based on this analysis, propose an agenda to guide future research in this area. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology adopted is literature review consisting of three steps: define purpose and research questions, select keywords and databases, and identify and analyse relevant papers. Findings – Ten findings have been made, which characterise current state of research under categories of examples, benefits, and challenges of using remote monitoring technology to support servitized strategies. Several areas that call for further research are suggested, but general impression is that the understanding about the role and contribution of remote monitoring technology in service delivery and strategy is still in its infancy and much greater effort will have to be invested to change this. It is also suggested that this technology holds a great potential for service and business model innovation; hence, more research is needed to further the knowledge about these topics. Originality/value – This paper qualifies as the first attempt to consolidate and analyse relevant research at the intersection of servitization and remote monitoring technology.

Effect of Physician Perspective on Allocation of Medicare Resources for Patients with Advanced Cancer

To assess how physician perspective (perspective of patient vs perspective of physician) affects Medicare resource allocation for patients with advanced cancer and compare physician allocations with actual cancer patient and caregiver allocations. Cross-sectional assessment. National assessment. Otolaryngologists. Physicians used a validated tool to create a Medicare plan for patients with advanced cancer. Participants took the perspective of an advanced cancer patient and made resource allocations between 15 benefit categories (assessment 2, November/December 2012). Results were compared with data from a prior assessment made from a physician's perspective (assessment 1, February/March 2012) and with data from a separate study with patients with cancer and caregivers. In total, 767 physicians completed assessment 1 and 237 completed assessment 2. Results were compared with 146 cancer patient and 114 caregiver assessments. Assessment 1 physician responses differed significantly from patients/caregivers in 14 categories (P < .05), while assessment 2 differed in 11. When comparing physician data, assessment 2 allocations differed significantly from assessment 1 in 7 categories. When these 7 categories were compared with patient/caregiver data, assessment 2 allocations in emotional care, drug coverage, and nursing facility categories were not significantly different. Assessment 1 allocations in cosmetic care, dental, home care, and primary care categories were more similar to patient/caregiver preferences, although all but home care were still significantly different. Otolaryngology-head and neck surgery physician perspectives on end-of-life care differ significantly from cancer patient/caregiver perspectives, even when physicians take a patient's perspective when allocating resources. This demonstrates the challenges inherent in end-of-life discussions.

An assessment of two environmental and economic benefits of ‘Cash for Clunkers’

This research aims to provide a more comprehensive, life cycle accounting of two categories of environmental and economic benefits associated with the $3billion US “Cash for Clunkers” vehicle scrappage program. First, using a life cycle emissions methodology developed in Lenski et al. (2010), we find that about 29,000metric tons of criteria pollutant emissions were avoided, for a benefit of about $23million; avoided carbon dioxide emissions, by comparison, provided a benefit worth $90million. Second, we compare the market value of scrapped vehicles to the rebates provided, calculating the consumer surplus or “gift” to participants to be up to $2billion (about $2000 to $3000 per vehicle). This is significantly more than offered in previous vehicle scrappage programs, and suggests opportunities to get more environmental and economic “bang for the buck.” Finally, these two categories of benefits are found to be heavily concentrated geographically around urban centers. About 2% of US counties (50 counties) received 50% and 30% of the aggregate benefits from avoided criteria pollutant emissions and consumer surplus from the rebates, respectively.

An analysis of benefit flows in New Zealand using a social accounting framework

This paper presents a social accounting model to examine the entrants, exits and transitions of individuals among a wide range of benefit categories in New Zealand. Transition rates and flows are estimated separately for periods before the global financial crisis (GFC) and periods following the crisis. The data were obtained from the Benefit Dynamics Dataset maintained by the Ministry of Social Development. The model is used to examine, using simulations, the implications for the time profile of changes in the stock of benefit recipients under a range of counterfactual situations. It is suggested that the model can provide a useful tool for policy analysis.

Valuing Non-Wage Compensation of Private Sector Labor Union Workers in the Construction Trades

Abstract This article presents procedures for calculating the value of non-wage compensation for members of private sector labor unions in the construction industry and cites examples using various collective bargaining agreements. Four major fringe benefit categories are analyzed: welfare, annuity, vacation, and pension funds. When calculating the loss to a private sector union worker it is necessary to obtain not only the relevant collective bargaining agreements but also information regarding both actual earnings and the number of hours worked. If both cannot be obtained, problems in valuing retirement and other fringe benefit funds arise. In some cases, the union member may work for several different employers during any given year, thus receiving many W-2s, but all hours worked would be recorded through the union. To value employer contributions to annuity and vacation funds a determination needs to be made if the contributions take into account premium pay union workers may receive. To value lost medical insurance, the replacement cost of a comparable medical insurance policy should be used. For lost pension benefits, it is important to establish the typical number of hours per annum that would most likely have been worked but for the injury. In addition, if the history of that union's pension benefit reveals increases over time, then that pattern may need to be considered as a basis for determining the future value of the pension benefit. Valuation of each private sector union benefit, therefore, is not simply a matter of referring to the value of the hourly contribution by the employer but requires its own method appropriate to the nature of the benefit as specified in the union's collective bargaining agreement.

Effect of Physician Perspective on Allocation of Medicare Resources for Patients with Advanced Cancer

Objectives: 1) Assess how physician perspective affects Medicare resource allocation for advanced cancer patients. 2) Compare how physician allocations differ from advanced cancer patients and their caregivers. Methods: Otolaryngology–head and neck surgery (OHNS) physicians nationwide used a validated tool to create a Medicare plan for advanced cancer patients. Participants took the perspective of an advanced cancer patient and made resource allocations between 15 benefit categories (round 2, November/December 2012). Results were compared with data from a prior assessment made from a physician’s perspective (round 1, February/March 2012) and with data from an ongoing study with cancer patients and caregivers. Results: Seven hundred and sixty-seven physicians completed round 1, and 237 completed round 2. Results were compared with 146 cancer patients and 114 caregivers. Round 1 physician responses differed significantly from patients/caregivers in 13 categories ( P &lt; 0.05), while round 2 differed significantly in 11. When comparing physician data, round 2 allocations differed significantly from round 1 in 7 categories. When these 7 categories were compared with patient/caregiver data, round 2 allocations in the Emotional Care, Drug Coverage, and Nursing Facility categories were not significantly different from patient/caregiver allocations. In 4 categories, Cosmetic Care, Dental, Home Care, and Primary Care, round 1 allocations were more similar to patient/caregiver allocations, although all but Home Care were still significantly different. Conclusions: OHNS physician perspectives on end-of-life care differ significantly from cancer patient/caregiver perspectives even when physicians take a patient’s perspective when allocating resources. These findings demonstrate the challenges inherent in end-of-life discussions between physicians and patients.

BENEFITS IDENTIFICATION AND EVALUATION OF FLOODWATER UTILIZATION IN BAICHENG REGION, NORTH‐EASTERN CHINA

ABSTRACTThe utilization of small and medium magnitudes of floodwater has remarkable benefits when the supply of conventional water is scarce relative to demand. Conceptually correct and empirically accurate estimates of the benefits of floodwater utilization are essential for rational replenishment of scarce water in the fields of agriculture, industry, households, recreation and so on. This article raises several issues that should be considered in deriving sound evaluation of benefits of floodwater utilization. These include: (i) identifying and defining benefit categories according to flood loss analysis; (ii) establishing a universal benefits indices system and choosing the variable fuzzy pattern recognition model to evaluate the system; (iii) illustrating the benefits of floodwater utilization based on the floodwater utilization practices in the Baicheng Region of northeastern China. An integrated floodwater utilization benefits research framework suggests that a combination of direct economic benefit, eco‐environmental benefit and social benefit can provide complementary insights into sustainable water utilization. Evaluation of the comprehensive benefits of floodwater resources enables decision makers to make more informed choices on floodwater use safely and allocated soundly, in which the full extent of growing demands for these uses is seen in the face of increased scarcity. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Physician Allocation of Medicare Resources for Patients with Advanced Cancer

Little is known about what patients and physicians value in end-of-life care, or how these groups would craft a health plan for those with advanced cancer. The study objective was to assess how otolaryngology, head and neck surgery (OHNS) physicians would structure a Medicare benefit plan for patients with advanced cancer, and to compare this with cancer patient and cancer patient caregiver preferences. OHNS physicians used an online version of a validated tool for assessing preferences for health plans in the setting of limited resources. These data were compared to cancer patient and caregiver preferences. OHNS physicians nationwide were assessed with comparison to similar data obtained in a separate study of cancer patients and their caregivers treated at Duke University Medical Center. Otolaryngology physicians (n=767) completed the online assessment and this was compared with data from 146 patients and 114 caregivers. OHNS physician allocations differed significantly in 14 of the 15 benefit categories when compared with patients and caregivers. Physicians elected more coverage in the Advice, Emotional Care, Palliative Care, and Treatment for Cancer benefit categories. Patients and their caregivers elected more coverage in the Cash, Complementary Care, Cosmetic Care, Dental and Vision, Drug Coverage, Home Improvement, House Calls, Nursing Facility, Other Medical Care, and Primary Care benefit categories. Otolaryngology physicians have significantly different values in end-of-life care than cancer patients and their caregivers. This information is important for efficient allocation of scarce Medicare resources and for effective end-of-life discussions, both of which are key for developing appropriate health policy.

The Challenges of Incorporating Cultural Ecosystem Services into Environmental Assessment

The ecosystem services concept is used to make explicit the diverse benefits ecosystems provide to people, with the goal of improving assessment and, ultimately, decision-making. Alongside material benefits such as natural resources (e.g., clean water, timber), this concept includes-through the 'cultural' category of ecosystem services-diverse non-material benefits that people obtain through interactions with ecosystems (e.g., spiritual inspiration, cultural identity, recreation). Despite the longstanding focus of ecosystem services research on measurement, most cultural ecosystem services have defined measurement and inclusion alongside other more 'material' services. This gap in measurement of cultural ecosystem services is a product of several perceived problems, some of which are not real problems and some of which can be mitigated or even solved without undue difficulty. Because of the fractured nature of the literature, these problems continue to plague the discussion of cultural services. In this paper we discuss several such problems, which although they have been addressed singly, have not been brought together in a single discussion. There is a need for a single, accessible treatment of the importance and feasibility of integrating cultural ecosystem services alongside others.

Finding the God Particle of the Sustainability Business Case: Greener Pastures for Shareholder Value

The start of the 2000s saw a flurry of international publications on “the business case” for sustainability, seeking to map out the returns on investment and to differentiate recommended actions from cases of corporate philanthropy. Reports by business organisations and others identified different categories of justifications, incentives, benefits and levels of making the business case. 1) Research over the last decade has pointed to a complex relation between sustainability and financial performance. 2) Results have been influenced by different input and output variables applied, by what is defined as: “sustainability” or “socially responsible” actions, the scope of the agenda covered and the definition of what is the ultimate goal (e.g. increased profit, shareholder value or longer term success and value of the business).

A Socio-technical Approach for Group Decision Support in Public Strategic Planning: The Pernambuco PPA Case

This article describes a socio-technical approach to public strategic planning. A multi-methodological framework with decision support systems (DSS) of problem structuring, multi-criteria decision analysis and strategic thinking was used in a decision conferencing process to support the key-players of the Pernambuco State Department of Social Development and Human Rights, in Brazil, to elaborate its 2008–2011 Multi-Annual Plan (PPA). This interactive process took place in June 2007, with thirty technical and political actors meeting in 5 consecutive days to discuss what should be the fundamental objectives/development axes of the PPA and to generate, assess and classify intervention programmes to achieve the objectives. Structuring objectives and programmes started by a group causal mapping session supported by the Decision Explorer DSS. Then, a multi-criteria group value model, created on-the-spot by means of the M-MACBETH DSS, helped the politicians in evaluating the overall benefit of each programme. The doability of the programmes was also appraised with MACBETH and, finally, the programmes were classified into four benefit versus doability categories defined in a \(2\times 2\) strategic graph: “pearls” (programmes with high benefit value and easy to implement), “oysters” (high benefit but difficult to implement), “bread and butter” (easy to implement but of low added value) and “white elephants” (low benefit and difficult to implement). The group agreed that at least all pearls and oysters should be selected. The programmes were prioritised based on their value-for-effort and the robustness of the selection was analysed with the PROBE DSS a posteriori.

Application of AHP and Taguchi loss functions in evaluation of advanced manufacturing technologies

The purpose of this study is to develop the decision model to help decision makers with their technology selection. Evaluation and selection of a new technology is a multi-criteria decision-making process encompassing various tangible and intangible factors. Thus, these factors should be identified for inclusion in the evaluation process. A thorough analysis of the impact, both positive and negative, of such factors on the organization is also required in the evaluation technique. Therefore, the first step in the development of a decision model for evaluation of technology alternatives is the identification of the pertinent factors. To accomplish this, both risks and benefits of implementing a new technology are identified for inclusion in the evaluation process. Once pertinent risks and benefits are identified, a mechanism for analysis of these factors is developed. Since these factors can be objective and subjective, a hybrid approach that applies to both quantitative and qualitative factors is used in the development of the model. Taguchi loss function is used to measure performance of each technology candidate with respect to the risk and benefit categories. Appropriate Taguchi loss functions are formulated based on the target value and the specification limits set by the decision maker. These loss functions are then used to calculate Taguchi loss scores for each technology alternative. Analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is used to determine the relative importance of the risks and benefits to the decision maker. The weighted loss scores are calculated for each technology alternative by using the relative importance as the weights. The composite weighted loss scores are then calculated and used for ranking of the technology alternatives. The technology with the smallest composite loss score is recommended for adoption. The proposed model provides guidelines for managers to make an informed decision regarding technology selection. In addition, combining Taguchi loss function and AHP provides a novel approach for ranking of the potential technology alternatives for implementation purposes.

Finding benefits in the aftermath of Australia's Black Saturday bushfires: Can distant witnesses find benefits and do benefits found relate to better adjustment?

This study aimed to extend the meaning literature beyond finding meaning in personal trauma by examining the benefits found by persons who were distant witnesses to Australia's Black Saturday bushfires. One hundred and twenty-five university students who witnessed the bushfires through the media completed measures of meaning making coping, benefits found, and adjustment. The most strongly endorsed categories of benefits found by distant witnesses were increased faith in people and increased compassion. After controlling for demographics, the duration of media exposure to the bushfires and meaning making coping, hierarchical multiple regression analyses demonstrated that the perceived benefit of enhanced self-efficacy predicted poorer adjustment, whereas the perceived benefits of increased spirituality and enhanced family closeness predicted better adjustment. Future longitudinal research is necessary to examine the direction of the relationships between categories of benefits found and adjustment. Clinical implications of the research are discussed. Language: en

Uncertain Benefits Estimates for Reductions in Fine Particle Concentrations

The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) estimates of the benefits of improved air quality, especially from reduced mortality associated with reductions in fine particle concentrations, constitute the largest category of benefits from all federal regulation over the last decade. EPA develops such estimates, however, using an approach little changed since a 2002 report by the National Research Council (NRC), which was critical of EPA's methods and recommended a more comprehensive uncertainty analysis incorporating probability distributions for major sources of uncertainty. Consistent with the NRC's 2002 recommendations, we explore alternative assumptions and probability distributions for the major variables used to calculate the value of mortality benefits. For metropolitan Philadelphia, we show that uncertainty in air quality improvements and in baseline mortality have only modest effects on the distribution of estimated benefits. We analyze the effects of alternative assumptions regarding the value of reducing mortality risk, whether the toxicity is above or below the average for fine particles, and whether there is a threshold in the concentration-response relationship, and show these assumptions all have large effects on the distribution of benefits.

Navigating coastal values: Participatory mapping of ecosystem services for spatial planning

Monetary values and biophysical features tend to dominate spatial planning data, yet intangible cultural values have a large role to play in decision-making. If left implicit, such considerations may be represented poorly in planning. To foster explicit inclusion of intangible values alongside material values connected to ecosystems, we elicited verbal articulation, spatial identification and quantified marine-related values and threats across the seascape of northern Vancouver Island, Canada. We address: (1) how do our spatial interviews—involving maps and semi-structured interviews—enable and/or impede the elicitation of intangible values? (2) What categories of ecosystem benefits do participants identify as most important? (3) Are spatial distributions of monetary values correlated with non-monetary values and threats? Our findings indicate that (1) while maps were provocative, sizable minorities of interviewees refused to assign different numerical non-monetary values to specific locations (30%), or refused to identify locations of non-monetary importance (16%); (2) people allocated the highest non-monetary values to places notable for wildlife, outdoor recreation, then cultural heritage; and (3) significant pair-wise overlap occurred, but also sizable deviations, among monetary, non-monetary and threat distributions. Despite limitations to representing non-monetary values spatially and quantitatively, these methods offer a straightforward approach to catalog and map ecosystem services to inform spatial planning.

Improving Low-Wage, Midsized Employers' Health Promotion Practices: A Randomized Controlled Trial

The Guide to Community Preventive Services (Community Guide) offers evidence-based intervention strategies to prevent chronic disease. The American Cancer Society (ACS) and the University of Washington Health Promotion Research Center co-developed ACS Workplace Solutions (WPS) to improve workplaces' implementation of Community Guide strategies. To test the effectiveness of WPS for midsized employers in low-wage industries. Two-arm RCT; workplaces were randomized to receive WPS during the study (intervention group) or at the end of the study (delayed control group). Forty-eight midsized employers (100-999 workers) in King County WA. WPS provides employers one-on-one consulting with an ACS interventionist via three meetings at the workplace. The interventionist recommends best practices to adopt based on the workplace's current practices, provides implementation toolkits for the best practices the employer chooses to adopt, conducts a follow-up visit at 6 months, and provides technical assistance. Employers' implementation of 16 best practices (in the categories of insurance benefits, health-related policies, programs, tracking, and health communications) at baseline (June 2007-June 2008) and 15-month follow-up (October 2008-December 2009). Data were analyzed in 2010-2011. Intervention employers demonstrated greater improvement from baseline than control employers in two of the five best-practice categories; implementing policies (baseline scores: 39% program, 43% control; follow-up scores: 49% program, 45% control; p=0.013) and communications (baseline scores: 42% program, 44% control; follow-up scores: 76% program, 55% control; p=0.007). Total best-practice implementation improvement did not differ between study groups (baseline scores: 32% intervention, 37% control; follow-up scores: 39% intervention, 42% control; p=0.328). WPS improved employers' health-related policies and communications but did not improve insurance benefits design, programs, or tracking. Many employers were unable to modify insurance benefits and reported that the time and costs of implementing best practices were major barriers. This study is registered at clinicaltrials.gov NCT00452816.

The benefits of introducing electronic health records in residential aged care facilities: A multiple case study

PurposeInformation and communications technology solutions have been introduced into the residential aged care system in order to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of aged care, however to date, the actual benefits have not been systematically analysed. The aim of this study was to identify the benefits of electronic health records (EHR) in residential aged care services and to examine how the benefits have been achieved. MethodA qualitative interview study was conducted in nine residential aged care facilities (RACFs) belonging to three organisations in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland, Australia. A longitudinal investigation after the implementation of the aged care EHR systems was conducted at two data points: January 2009 to December 2009 and December 2010 to February 2011. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 110 care staff members selected through theoretical sampling, representing all levels of care staff who worked in those facilities. ResultsThree categories of benefits were perceived by the care staff members according to who gain the benefits: the benefits to individual care staff members, to residents and to the RACFs. The benefits to individual care staff members include an improvement of documentation efficiency, information and knowledge growth as well as empowering the staff; the benefits to residents are an improvement in the quality of individual residents’ health records, the higher quality of care and smoother communication between the residents and aged care staff; the RACFs gain an increased ability to manage information and acquire funding, an increase in their ability to control the care quality and improvements in the working environment and educational benefits. Three factors leading to these benefits were examined: the nature of the aged care EHR systems in comparison with paper-based records; the way the systems were used by the staff and one benefit that could lead to another. ConclusionsIn this study, EHR systems were perceived to have substantial benefits for care staff, residents and the aged care organisations introducing the systems. The benefits were derived from the nature of the aged care EHR systems, staff members’ continuous use of the systems, and one benefit led to the other.

Benefits Proposal Puts Parity at Risk, Says APA

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article Professional NewsFull AccessBenefits Proposal Puts Parity at Risk, Says APAJonathan WolfeJonathan WolfeSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:2 Mar 2012https://doi.org/10.1176/pn.47.5.psychnews_47_5_11-aAbstractGiving states flexibility in determining what health care coverage will look like under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has the potential to hamper the future delivery of mental health and substance use disorder services.So contends APA in regulatory comments submitted January 31 in response to a mid-December Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) bulletin outlining proposed policies on state implementation of federal health care reform.Issued through the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO) of HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the bulletin describes the agency’s approach to defining the “essential health benefits” (EHB) that must be offered in individual and small-group health insurance plans beginning in 2014 under the ACA.HHS proposes that states would use existing health plans to set benchmarks for the items and services included in EHB packages. Specifically, the agency would have states choose one of the following plans as a benchmark:One of the three largest small-group plans in the state.One of the three largest state employee health plans.One of the three largest federal employee health plan options.The largest HMO plan offered in the state’s commercial market.The benefits and services included in the health insurance plan selected by the state would comprise the EHB package, HHS said, adding that plans could modify coverage within a benefit category as long as they do not reduce the value of the coverage.Under the health reform law, states must ensure that EHB packages cover items and services in at least 10 categories; mental health, including substance abuse, is among them. But APA expressed concern that the regulatory approach outlined by HHS will fail to meet the needs of individuals with mental illness, including substance use disorders, without significant clarifications and modifications.“Having individual states design an essential health benefits package, coupled with a lack of clear definitions and guidelines from the federal government, risks undermining the mental health parity extended to qualified health plans under the Affordable Care Act… as well as the entire Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA),” wrote APA Medical Director James H. Scully Jr., M.D., in a 10-page letter to CCIIO Deputy Administrator and Director Steve Larsen.To ensure equitable coverage for those with mental disorders, APA urges HHS to do the following:Provide regulations and guidance to the states that clearly delineate the EHB requirements.Clearly define critical concepts and terms.Provide specific protections against discrimination, especially those afforded under the MHPAEA.Ensure that variations in state selection of benchmark plans do not undermine current state mental health and substance use disorder requirements.Explicitly require strong state and federal oversight of qualified health plans.Ensure that program implementation is fully transparent.“While benefit flexibility may be the general approach adopted, there are a number of policy and definitional matters that we think need to be uniform if the overall program is to be equitable and there is to be meaningful oversight,” said Scully.Among APA’s specific recommendations are that HHS limit states’ options to benchmark their EHB packages to large group plans; monitor the effect that benchmark selection has on state insurance mandates and the populations they were intended to serve; prohibit substitution of benefits across categories and only allow flexibility within categories to improve and expand benefits; issue a final rule on mental health parity prior to January 1, 2013; and devise a federal floor for the essential health benefits that could serve as a national model for states designing EHB packages.“APA’s response to HHS’s EHB bulletin is posted at www.psych.org/MainMenu/AdvocacyGovernmentRelations/GovernmentRelations/RegulatoryComments/Essential-Health-Benefits-APA-Comments-01-31-12.aspx?FT=.pdf. ISSUES NewArchived

Like Raising a Child

Like Raising a Child