Urban Institute

About: Urban Institute is a nonprofit organization based out in Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Medicaid & Population. The organization has 927 authors who have published 2330 publications receiving 86426 citations.

Effect of Race on Access to Recombinant Human Erythropoietin in Long-term Hemodialysis Patients

Abstract: Objective. —To quantify access to recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO) among patients with dialysis-dependent end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Design. —National random sample of hemodialysis patients from a random sample of dialysis units, using data abstracted from patients' medical records. Setting. —All US hemodialysis units. Participants. —A total of 4024 Medicare-entitled in-center hemodialysis patients. Main Outcome Measures. —The relative odds that black patients received EPO (compared with white patients). Results. —There was no evidence in this national study that black hemodialysis patients were more or less likely to receive EPO than white patients (P=.74) Conclusions. —Three years after Food and Drug Administration approval and Medicare coverage of EPO, there was no evidence of racial disparity in access to EPO among Medicare patients with ESRD who were receiving long-term hemodialysis. However, there was evidence of greater need for EPO among black patients. (JAMA. 1994;271:1760-1763)

Childhood Sexual Abuse and Antisocial Traits and Behaviors: A Gendered Examination of the Factors Associated With Perpetration of Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract: The current study addressed the relationship between child sexual abuse (CSA) and perpetration of physical intimate partner violence, examining the possible mediating effect of antisocial traits and behaviors, as well as the differences in these relationships between men and women. Data came from the International Dating Violence Study. Hypotheses were tested on a sample of 13,659 university students from 68 sites and 32 countries using hierarchical linear modeling. Results indicated that CSA was significantly associated with perpetration of physical intimate partner violence for both men and women. The slope of the relationships, however, varied across sites for women. Antisocial traits and behaviors fully mediated the relationship between CSA and perpetration of physical intimate partner violence for women but only partially mediated this relationship for men. Increased focus needs to be paid to gender differences on the effect of CSA on the development of antisocial traits and behaviors, the relationship between these factors and perpetration of intimate partner violence, and the variation of these relationships across nations.

Insurance Premiums and Insurance Coverage of Near-Poor Children

Abstract: States increasingly are using premiums for near-poor children in their public insurance programs (Medicaid/SCHIP) to limit private insurance crowd-out and constrain program costs. Using national data from four rounds of the Community Tracking Study Household Surveys spanning the seven years from 1996 to 2003, this study estimates a multinomial logistic regression model examining how public and private insurance premiums affect insurance coverage outcomes (Medicaid/SCHIP coverage, private coverage, and no coverage). Higher public premiums are significantly associated with a lower probability of public coverage and higher probabilities of private coverage and uninsurance; higher private premiums are significantly related to a lower probability of private coverage and higher probabilities of public coverage and uninsurance. The results imply that uninsurance rates will rise if both public and private premiums increase, and suggest that states that impose or increase public insurance premiums for near-poor ch...

Employment Opportunities at Older Ages: Introduction to the Special Issue

Abstract: Impending retirement decisions by the baby boomers—those born between 1946 and 1964 who now range from ages 44 to 63—have important ramifications for individuals, employers, and the government. The mass retirement of the nation’s 77 million boomers could deplete the labor force, slow economic growth, and lead to critical labor shortages in certain industries. It could undermine federal and state government budgets as retirements reduce earnings, and thus income tax revenue, and raise public spending on retirement benefits. The age at which people choose to stop working will also affect their earnings, Social Security benefits, 401(k) account balances, and other savings and will help determine how long those savings need to last. In addition, retirement decisions may affect people’s emotional well-being and perhaps even their physical health. There are several indications that boomers will want to work longer than those who retired in the 1980s and 1990s. Health improvements and the declining prevalence of physically demanding jobs have made work at older ages more feasible for many people. Cutbacks in Social Security benefits and the trend away from traditional pensions and employer-provided retiree health insurance have made early retirement less affordable and increased the returns from additional years of work. Surveys suggest that boomers are increasingly concerned about their ability to afford retirement and that most intend to work in retirement (AARP 2003; MetLife Mature Market Institute 2005). Increased labor supply at older ages could mitigate the fiscal pressures created by an aging population and improve families’ financial security in later life. Even if boomers are willing to work longer, however, their opportunities will be limited if employers are unwilling to hire or retain them. Employers often say they value older workers’ experience, maturity, and strong work ethic, but some express concern about their higher salaries and benefit costs, combined in the view of some with declining abilities or out-of-date Research on Aging Volume 31 Number 1 January 2009 3-16 © 2009 Sage Publications 10.1177/0164027508325001 http://roa.sagepub.com hosted at http://online.sagepub.com

Are Single Mothers Finding Jobs Without Displacing Other Workers

Abstract: Despite the significant flow of single mothers into the job market as a result of welfare reform between 1996 and 1998, this analysis of 20 metropolitan areas indicates that labor markets were able to absorb these new workers without a negative impact on competing workers. Double-digit rates of job growth for single mothers took place in most of the 20 metropolitan areas. Wages increased and overall employment rates improved for single mothers and other less-educated adults. Even in metropolitan areas with high unemployment and high welfare caseloads, such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Philadelphia, enough jobs materialized to expand employment and reduce unemployment for single mothers with little or no harm imposed on the job opportunities of competing workers.