New Issue Brief -- Ensuring Access to Care If tens of millions of Americans gain health coverage, will the current health system be able to meet the new demand? This four-page issue brief looks at why the nation has a physician shortage, and what can be done to help ensure access to care after health reform. Written by Deanna Okrent of the Alliance and supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. To download, click here. Read More

	Children's Health Coverage: Medicaid, CHIP, and Next Steps Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) play a crucial role in the U.S. health insurance system by providing coverage for more than one in four children. And yet, more than 8 million children remain uninsured today, 70 percent of whom are eligible for Medicaid or CHIP. What factors influence children’s coverage? How could the reform bills in Congress change children's coverage? To discuss these questions and others, the Alliance for Health Reform and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation sponsored a November 13 briefing. Read More

	New Toolkit: Health Insurance Cooperatives Health insurance cooperatives, or co-ops, have drawn attention as an alternative way for Americans to buy health insurance. This new toolkit describes how co-ops work and why they succeed or fail, with links to dozens of resources and contact information for experts. Compiled and written by Alliance interns Atul Nakhasi and Allison Thigpen. Supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Click here to download this 20-page PDF. Read More

	Issue Brief -- The Case for Prevention This four-page issue brief offers an overview of disease prevention strategies, including examples of federal, state and private sector efforts. Includes a box on why the Congressional Budget Office declines to attribute savings to prevention programs. Written by Lisa Swirsky of the Alliance and sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.  Click here to download. Read More

	2009 Edition of Covering Health Issues Available The latest edition of "Covering Health Issues" is now complete online, made possible by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. For the online version with interactive features, click here. To download a PDF duplicate of the print version , click here. You will find a dozen chapters on some of the hottest health policy topics -- health reform, health care costs, health care quality, employer-sponsored coverage, individual coverage, children's coverage, Medicare, Medicaid, long-term care, disparities, public health and mental health. Each chapter offers fast facts on the topic, background information, likely policy debates, tips for reporters covering this topic, story ideas for reporters, experts with contact information and helpful websites.   Read More