Using Television to Teach

"Using Television as a Teaching Tool: The Impacts of Ready To Learn Workshops on Parents, Educators, and the Children in Their Care." Kimberly Boller, Cheri Vogel, Amy Johnson, Tim Novak, Susanne James-Burdumy, Lindsay Crozier, and Stacey Uhl, June 2004. The PBS Ready To Learn Television Service supports the development of children’s educational television programs and online resources, and annually provides more than 9,000 workshops for 160,000 parents and early childhood educators. This impact report from our five-year evaluation reviews the content and quality of 85 observed workshops and the characteristics of parents and educators in the study. It also examines the impacts of attending a workshop on parents, educators, and children in their care. Researchers found that a few outcomes were affected by workshop participation—PBS co-viewing during the follow-up periods, Learning Triangle behaviors (for example, viewing a television program, reading a related book, and doing a related activity with children), and visiting PBS websites. Overall, reported impacts were modest, and impacts on adult behaviors did not translate into impacts on children of parents in the study.

Addressing the Dropout Dilemma

"Interpreting the Evidence from Recent Federal Evaluations of Dropout-Prevention Programs: The State of Scientific Research." Mark Dynarski, 2004. In Dropouts in America: Confronting the Graduation Rate Crisis. Argues that we do not yet have a menu of program options for helping students at risk of dropping out and suggests a way to identify approaches that program developers can use while efforts to develop a stronger scientific basis for new programs continue.

New Developments in Medicare

“The Use of ‘Exclusive’ Discount Drug Cards in Medicare Advantage Plans.” Lindsay Harris, Lori Achman, and Marsha Gold, November 2004. The Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act (MMA) of 2003 created a temporary prescription drug discount card for most Medicare beneficiaries and a transitional assistance subsidy program to aid low-income beneficiaries in paying for pharmaceuticals until the voluntary Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit goes into effect in 2006. One part of the program authorizes exclusive cards that are offered by Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. Enrollment in these exclusive cards accounts for over half of those participating in the discount card program. This profile examines the arrangements under which these exclusive cards are offered, the firms that offer them, areas in which they are available, the way they often integrate with existing drug benefits offered by many of the MA plans, and potential lessons for the Part D benefit.

"Are the 2004 Payment Increases Helping to Stem Medicare Advantage's Benefit Erosion?" Lori Achman and Marsha Gold, December 2004. To expand the role of private managed care plans in Medicare, the MMA provided Medicare Advantage plans with significant increases in monthly payment rates, beginning in March 2004. About half the payment increases were used by plans to reduce enrollee premiums and cost sharing and enhance benefits; providers received most of the rest. Although premiums had already begun to decrease in early 2004 for the first time in several years, the payment increases led to further declines. The increases also slowed the trend toward generic-only drug coverage. Overall, average out-of-pocket costs declined to 2003 levels.

Health Insurance Markets

"Opportunities and Capacity for Community Benefit: GHMSI's Potential Role in the National Capital Area." Deborah Chollet, Su Liu, and Laurie Felland, December 2004. This report focuses on a CareFirst nonprofit affiliate, General Health and Medical Services, Inc., (GHMSI) and its potential role in providing community benefits in the national capital area. The study features three perspectives: community health leaders' viewpoints about community needs, selected other nonprofit health plans' community benefit activities and views about their own obligations and roles in providing community benefits, and an economic and financial analysis of GHMSI’s capacity to provide community benefits beyond its current efforts. The authors conclude that GHMSI is capable of significantly greater community benefits than it now provides, and that two to three percent of direct premiums appears to be a feasible goal. This would provide an estimated $41 to $61 million in 2004 toward community benefits, in addition to GHMSI's current activities, and potentially $67 to $100 million by 2008.

Understanding Childhood Obesity

“Summary of the Presentations at the Conference on Preventing Childhood Obesity, December 8, 2003.” Sally Ann Lederman, Sharon R. Akabas, Barbara J. Moore, with Barbara Devaney and others. Pediatrics, October 2004. Childhood obesity will continue to be a growing problem unless we improve our understanding of key factors that influence it early in life. This conference of experts reviewed research on the prevention of obesity development during intrauterine life, infancy, and very early childhood, including Mathematica's Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study. The study showed that U.S. infants and toddlers are consuming too many calories and eating inappropriate foods as young as four to six months. To read about the Feeding Infants and Toddlers study, click here.