Susan H. Busch, Ph.D, associate professor at Yale University, and Colleen L. Barry, Ph.D., assistant professor at Yale University, published the article “New Evidence on the Effects of State Mental Health Mandates,” in the Fall 2008 issue of Inquiry. The article highlights findings from a HCFO-sponsored study that examined the financial impact of state mental health parity laws on children and families.

Ethan A. Halm, M.D., associate chief in the division of general internal medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and colleagues published the article, “Does Managed Care Affect Quality? Appropriateness, Referral Patterns, and Outcomes of Carotid Edarterectomy,” in the November 2008 issue of American Journal of Medical Quality. The article details findings from a HCFO study—led by Mark R. Chassin, M.D. formerly of Mount Sinai Medical School and currently president of the Joint Commission—that examined the effectiveness of specific managed care interventions to reduce overuse of carotid endarterectomy.

David Grembowski, Ph.D., professor at the University of Washington, and colleagues published the article, “Evaluation of the Group Health Cooperative Access Initiative: Study Design Challenges in Estimating the Impact of a Large-Scale Organizational Transformation,” in the October/December 2008 issue of Quality Management in Health Care. The article highlights findings from a HCFO-sponsored study that evaluated the impact of six patient-centered changes—designed to improve quality by increasing enrollee access to physicians and information—in Group Health Cooperative's (GHC's) delivery system.