Reducing Enrollee Churning in Medicaid, Child Health Plus, and Family Health Plus

Examines the reasons a high percentage of beneficiaries of the state's public health insurance programs do not complete the annual recertification process and the consequences of their loss of coverage. Suggests improvements for simplifying the process

Drugs and oil flow through the Eagle Ford Shale

textThis report is a work of original reporting which investigates the proliferation of drug use and drug trafficking in the Eagle Ford Shale, a region of heavy oil and gas development in South Texas. Since 2008, the Eagle Ford Shale has seen an influx of people, money, and new infrastructure. This has created a "perfect storm" for drug traffickers. The region is historically poor and sparsely populated, and local law enforcement agencies find themselves unprepared to handle the growing drug problem in their communities.Journalis

The browsing impact and abundance of European brown hares (Lepus europaeus) in the central North Island, New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MAsters of Science in Ecology at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

The browsing impact and abundance of hares were investigated at several sites in the Central North Island, New Zealand. The traditional view has been that hares have a relatively minor effect on the vegetation when compared to larger ungulates due to their low, stable densities. However in some areas large grazing mammals have been controlled yet the vegetation continues to degrade, consequently attention is now being shifted towards the problems created by ongoing herbivory by smaller mammals. While the impact of hares on high altitude vegetation has generally been considered to be an issue of low conservation priority, they are now considered to be the main grazers in many alpine systems and there is a large shortfall in knowledge. The suitability of the cleared plot pellet count method for assessing hare abundance, habitat use. and biomass consumption was investigated and was found to produce precise, easily obtainable results. It was found that hare numbers fluctuated over the course of a year, with a decrease in winter, followed by an increase in spring. Hare abundance was thought to primarily relate to habitat quality, with competition and anthropogenic influences also playing a role. Hare impact was assessed using a variety of techniques including the utilization of existing exclosures, the construction of new exclosures, and selected monitoring of preferred browse species. The long-term exclosure plots indicated that hares were having no effect on any aspect of vegetation condition, either native or exotic in the Moawhango region. Conversely hares were having a significant effect upon the vegetation in the Manson region of the Kavveka ranges. Where hare browsing appeared to be benefiting native species through the suppression of exotics grass species. However, targeted monitoring of preferred browse species showed that hares browse heavily upon a range of native plant species. While these results appear contradictory, when the results are considered collectively, and with knowledge of hare density a proposed feeding strategy was formulated. I suggest that the degree to which hares impact native vegetation is dependent upon the level of exotic species present. Where exotic species are present (particularly grasses), they are the preferred browse species. Where exotic species are not readily available, or competition is high, hares then subsist at lower densities by browsing native vegetation. However if a native species occurs that fulfils hare nutritional requirements, then it will be preferentially targeted by hares resulting in significant detrimental effects

On the Covariance Structure of Changes in Consumption in the Health and Retirement Study

Using generalized method of moments on the covariance matrix, I test three models of consumption change on constructed consumption data from the Health and Retirement Study. Meant as a first step towards estimating life-cycle effects of subjective survival probabilities on consumption profiles, this study finds that the model that best describes the consumption data is a pure measurement error model. This is likely due to the large amount of error introduced in the process of inferring consumption from other financial data. This result casts significant doubt on the use of this data in estimating a life-cycle model.

Report From Focus Groups With Mainers About the Dirigo Health Plan

Measures the public's views and understanding of the Dirigo Health Reform Act, which was established to provide affordable health care for every Maine citizen and a new process for containing costs and improving healthcare quality

In Pursuit of Affordable Health Care: On the Ground Lessons From Families in Massachusetts

Based on focus group discussions, compares the coverage and healthcare costs of families with employer-sponsored insurance and those without after the state's 2006 healthcare reform. Draws lessons on eligibility rules, enrollment procedures, and outreach

Probabilistic Thinking and Early Social Security Claiming

This study analyzes the extent to which an individual’s survival expectations influence his or her decision to claim social security benefits at an early age. We find that subjective survival probabilities capture meaningful behavioral responses to incentives for early Social Security claiming when they are purged of measurement error using risk factors as instruments. Among people who are still working at age 62, those who expect to live longer are likely to delay claiming of Social Security benefits to a degree that is both statistically and economically significant. For example, an increase of 5 percentage points in the subjective probability of survival to age 75 of each person leads to a 1.9 percentage point decline in the proportion who claim before age 64, from 29.6 percent to 27.7 percent.