Health Reform and People with Disabilities: Lessons to Date from the CHRIL

Please join us on Thursday, January 31, 2019 for a presentation from the Collaborative on Health Reform and Independent Living (CHRIL), highlighting key findings on how implementation of the Affordable Care Act and related health policies have affected the community living and participation of working age adults (18-64) with disabilities. 

Dr. Jae Kennedy will provide an overview of CHRIL research and knowledge translation projects, and describe how the ACA has changed insurance coverage, health care access, and associated out-of-pocket and total costs for disabled workers. Dr. Jean Hall will discuss the relationship between Medicaid policy and workforce participation and describe key findings from health insurance consumer interviews and a recent national survey of working age adults (18-64) with disabilities. Dr. Lex Frieden will explore the information and technical assistance needs of Centers for Independent Living (CILs) and highlight the training and technical assistance work of the CHRIL. Dr. Kennedy will then lead a semi-structured discussion of emerging health policy issues, and strategies for studying these issues throughout the remaining two years of the CHRIL grant and beyond. Participant feedback and suggestions are welcomed.  

Presenter(s): Lex Frieden, Jae Kennedy, and Jean Hall

Click HERE to view the training video

Centers for Independent Living (CILs) Survey and Executive Director Follow-up Interview Findings

The webinar presenters discuss the information, training, and technical assistance needs of Centers for Independent Living (CILs) as they help consumers access healthcare and obtain or maintain health insurance coverage. The first part of the presentation looks at the results from a 2017 Needs Assessment survey of CILs, highlighting specific concerns of consumers and training and assistance needs of CILs. The second part of the presentation will look at how researchers have expanded on themes identified from the survey in their interviews with CIL executive directors.

Presenter(s): Lex Frieden and Alexander Zarutskie

Click HERE to view the training video

Early Findings from the CHRIL

The Collaborative on Health Reform and Independent Living (CHRIL) presented this webinar on early findings from the first year of their research on the Affordable Care Act and people with disabilities on September 27, 2016.

The three components of the webinar are:

First, Gil Gimm answers key research questions about Access to Preventive Services for Working-Age Adults with Mobility Limitations. Dr. Gimm is an associate professor at George Mason University and a co-investigator of the CHRIL. He worked for 5-years at Mathematica Policy Research, the top-funded research group in federal disability policy, including as the project director for the evaluations of the Medicaid Buy-In Program and the Demonstration to Maintain Independence and Employment.

Next, Elizabeth Wood shares what the CHRIL has discovered about Acute, Chronic, and Current Uninsurance Among Adults with Disabilities Before and After the ACA. Ms. Wood is a research scientist at Washington State University and a research associate with the CHRIL.

Finally, Jean Hall presents important national findings about Medicaid Expansion, Access to Care, and Employment for People with Disabilities. Dr. Hall is a research professor and director of the Institute for Health and Disability Policy at the University of Kansas, as well as a co-investigator of the CHRIL. The moderator for the webinar is Richard Petty, Director of the National Center for Aging and Disability.

Presenter(s): Jean P. Hall, Elizabeth Geneva Wood, and Gilbert Gimm