"Bill of Rights" (May 2005) Health Rights Background Information (May 2005) Girl Talk Statistics (May 2005)

"Long-Term Care in Illinois:  The Next Generation" Proceedings of the September 2004 Conference (December 2004) $15 

 In September 2004, the Health and Medicine Policy Research Group Center for Long-Term Care Reform and the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois convened a conference focusing on long-term care (LTC) policy for Illinois . The conference provided a forum for participants and attendees from diverse backgrounds to engage in a dialogue about ways to build upon SB 2880, HB 5057 and other LTC initiatives.  In an effort to move LTC reform in Illinois forward, consumers, providers, planners, and policymakers considered alternative approaches to the design and delivery of LTC services and their associated costs and benefits. 

Illinois Residents Speak Out on Long-Term Care (May 2004) $2

We conducted community forums at  many locations in the state that elicited the values and concerns of older people and those who care for the with an eye toward developing legislative proposals that responded to these values and concerns.

Healing Girls in the Juvenile Justice System:  The Challenge to our Community (Proceedings of the July 2003 Conference ) $15
An examination of the health challenges and implications for the fastest growing incarcerated population: girls.

Legislative Study Group on Long-Term Care in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin (December 2001) $2

An examination of long-term care in its present state as well as recommendations for future policy in long-term care for Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

The Olmstead Decision (December 2001) $2

The origin of the Olmstead Decision.

Reducing Administrative Complexity in Long-Term Care through Single Entry Point Programs (December 2001) $2

In response to fragmented services to individuals with long-term care needs,  state policy-makers and others are working to identify strategies to increase access to long-term care services, improve cost effectiveness, and enhance accountability and quality oversight.  One strategy adopted by numerous states is the creation of a single point of entry system ("SEP").  This briefing paper describes the elements of such a system, and provides information on some existing state SEP systems.

Community Health Center Morale Report (October 2001) $10
Community Health Center Morale Report Executive Summary (October 2001) $2
An exploration of dimensions of job satisfaction among staff working in Chicago area community health centers. The strain on community health center workers to provide high quality and cost-effective services to the communities they serve without the financial resources and staff support to meet these demands has negatively affected satisfaction of all staff. The report makes an analysis of interviews conducted with community health center staff and concludes with recommendations.

Trying to Survive: Welfare Reform and Health (July 2001) $15

This report presents the unheard voices of clients and caseworkers who serve in the Illinois welfare system, identifying the impact welfare reform has had on health and access to health care. During 2000, HMPRG held a series of focus groups with single mothers in Chicago who are clients of the welfare system and caseworkers from the Illinois Department of Human Services. Rarely heard from, these groups are on the front lines of the “reformed” welfare system, and provide insightful analyses of the problems that plague the system and how they translate into real health care barriers for the clients supposedly served by the welfare-to-work movement.

Business Perspectives on the Uninsured (June 2001) $10

This paper summarizes the proceedings of a conference, the first of its kind, Business Perspectives on the Uninsured, held June 13, 2001 to provide the Illinois Assembly with input from the state's business community. The conference was designed to serve as a form for dialogue on the role of employers' in addressing the problem of the nation's uninsured and particularly the 1.8 million uninsured in Illinois.

Women's Access to Health Insurance (June 2001) $10 This paper reports on the importance of women's access to health insurance by addressing: the importance of health insurance for women, the main sources of health insurance for women in the U.S., trends in uninsurance among women and groups of women at greatest risk of being uninsured, trends in employer-based health insurance, welfare reform and recommendations for improving the health insurance situation for women.

Emerging Issues in Correctional Health: Proceedings of the March 2000 Conference on Health Issues Among Incarcerated Populations (March 2001) $15
This conference addressed the issues of health status and disease trends among the people in our prisons and jails, and the special health needs of rising numbers of incarcerated women, youth and elderly. See how experts feel about us the effect of public policy on minority youth and women in prison.

Major Findings on Welfare Reform and Health: A Review of Recent Publications from the Nation's Research Centers (August 2000) $15
As the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) changed the welfare system from a federal entitlement to a state block grant program, there is great need for more local research and evaluation of the program. This paper reviews the work of ten national research, legal, and policy centers that have led the field in welfare research and whose findings are helpful in designing more local health-related research and advocacy efforts.

Welfare Reform: Promising Practices for Health, Best Practices in State Welfare Policies; Recommendations for Illinois (August 2000) $15
Nearly four years into welfare reform, it has become clear that the 1996 legislation has had large and somewhat unanticipated effects on health and access to health care. Because welfare reform changed the welfare system to a state-operated program, it is essential that states take a lead in ensuring health in the move from welfare to work. This report from Health and Medicine Policy Research Group identifies several state policies that would help improve and maintain health for low-income populations. The paper also includes current analysis of Illinois policies and recommendations for change.

Catholic-Secular Hospital Consolidations and the Erosion of Reproductive Health Services: An Illinois Perspective (April 2000) $15
Market forces are driving the consolidation of Catholic and Secular hospitals throughout the country. This Illinois Women's Health Coalition paper examines the ensuing erosion of reproductive health services and offers recommendations for preserving access to reproductive health services for women.

Implications for Health Policy on Workforce Development (September 1999) $15
The health sector is one of the most powerful engines of the American economy, and has great impact on our economic well-being. Policies that affect it rebound throughout the economy. This briefing paper explores some of the many issues relating health policy and workforce development, with a view toward identifying areas for future research.

The Water We Drink: The Truth about us Tap and Bottled Water (September 1999) $10
While many embrace the vast choice in seemingly better tasting bottled water, the rise of bottled water has revealed fears and misconceptions about us tap water. This report attempts to clear up misconceptions regarding the safety of different drinking waters.

Does Managed Care Serve Women? Insurance Coverage of Reproductive Health Services in Illinois (September 1999) $10
With reproductive health legislation pending at the federal level and recent failed legislation in Illinois, the Illinois Women's Health Coalition set out to learn what Illinois insurers are doing to guarantee that women have safe reproductive health care. We surveyed insurance companies to find out the extent to which they cover comprehensive reproductive health services for women.

"Women's Health and Managed Care," Tennessee Law Review (Winter 1998) $10
This article undertakes the task of updating and revising the contemporary women' s health agenda by considering the impact on women's health of the change to a health care system in which managed care represents the dominant mode of health insurance.

Welfare Reform and Health of Women and Children (June 1998) $10
Since the majority of welfare recipients are women and children, the changes brought by the "Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act" are particularly relevant to the health of these populations. Although most would agree that moving people out of welfare and dependency and into jobs and self-sufficiency is a laudable goal, this report examines why it is important to be aware that the new legislation's strict work requirements, time limits and other provisions may adversely affect the health of women and children.

Conference Highlights: Urban Women's Health: Models for the Future Executive Summary (1998) $15
An outline of the December 1996 Conference this document summarizes the conferences' themes, strategies and recommendations for actions. In December 1996, Health and Medicine Policy Research Group convened an invitational conference, Urban Women's Health: Models for the Future, to carry forward the work of the women's health task forces in New York City, Chicago, and San Francisco and to generate models, strategies and recommendations for improving the health of urban women.

Conference Proceedings: Federal Child Health Legislation: Opportunities for Illinois (October 1997) $15
The Health and Medicine Policy Research Group, along with 14 other professional, civic, and community groups in the metropolitan Chicago area, sponsored a September 1997 conference, which brought together over 200 professionals to participate in an informative, educational, and action-oriented program. The conference featured experts in the different sectors concerned with this initiative. At the end of the conference, the audience had the opportunity to provide feedback to the panel on various option presented. These comments were synthesized for use in follow-up meetings with state officials as they make their decisions regarding the use of these funds.

Improving the Health of Urban Women: Public & Private Funding for Women's Health (June 1997) $20
This paper summarizes current federal, state, and local government funding and private funding available for women's health activities. It traces the location and levels of funding for women's health services, research and policy.

Improving the Health of Urban Women: Findings from Interviews with National Women's Health & Community Leaders (May 1997) $25
This paper is intended to provide a framework for women's health planners and policy makers to prioritize women's health initiatives in urban areas. To develop this framework, staff from Health and Medicine Policy Research Group reviewed the current literature on women's health policy and interviewed advocates, scholars, providers, researchers and policy analysts to learn from their wisdom and diverse experience I the field of women's health. We asked the respondents to provide their perspectives on barriers as well as successful approaches to improving the health of urban women.

Ingredients for Healthy Communities: Findings from Interviews with Chicago Community Leaders (January 1997) $10
This paper provides a set of indicators by which communities can define and track the health of their residents.

Improving the Health of Urban Women: Findings from Chicago, New York, and San Francisco
(August 1996) $10
In 1994, task forces/advisory committees on urban women's health in three large American cities, Chicago, New York, and San Francisco, published their recommendations regarding improving the health of urban women. This paper identifies similar themes in problem analysis, program/service evaluation and recommended action which evolved from the three efforts.

Conference Highlights: The Medicaid HMO Game: How Reporters Covered Medicaid Abuse and Exploitation in the Florida Market (April 1996) $5
The Health and Medicine Policy Research Group, along with 41 other professional, civic and community groups in the metropolitan Chicago area, sponsored an April 1996 conference to explore how investigative journalists have tracked the effects of Medicaid program changes on the lives of recipients. This conference featured two journalists who are extraordinary exemplars of what can be done. Their report of the situation they studied, exposed, and moved toward remedy is in itself exhilarating. Their investigative accomplishment is a model of instruction for the people of Illinois, showing how we must exert extreme vigilance as major changes in health services are underway.

Conference Highlights: Health Care for Chicagoans: How will Health System Integration Affect the Health of the Public? (March 1996) $15
The Health and Medicine Policy Research Group, along with twelve other professional, civic and community groups in the metropolitan Chicago area, sponsored a February 1995 conference to explore the anticipated overall impact of integrated health systems development in community health.

Medicaid Managed Care And Women: Implications of the Illinois MediPlan Plus Proposal (May 1995) $10
This despite the terms and conditions placed on an Illinois' waiver request to implement the MediPlan Plus program by the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) and a detailed operational protocol for implementation and administration of the program drafted by the Illinois Department of Public Aid, there remain a number of fundamental problems with the MediPlan Plus program. This analysis addresses the way in which the Illinois MediPlan Plus Waiver Application will affect enrolled women.

Conference Proceedings: Free-Standing Birth Centers in Illinois: Dialogue and Debate (March 1995) $10
Freestanding birth centers have been proposed as an important model for health reform in Illinois. Various associations in Illinois have been involved in a longstanding debate on the establishment and operation of birth centers. Health and Medicine Policy Research Group assembled this conference to bring together organizations and legislators to share information and perspectives surrounding birth centers in Illinois.

Free-Standing Birth Centers in Illinois: A Handbook for Health Policy Makers (1995) $15
**free to Birth Center Task Force members
The Health and Medicine Policy Research Group along with the University of Illinois at Chicago, Center for Research on Women and Gender review the scientific evidence on the efficacy, safety, costs and benefits of free-standing birth centers and the need for such services in the state. In addition, we analyze policy options for improved maternity and reproductive health services.