Survey reflects overwhelming support for health coverage for children.

While nearly half of U.S. physicians identify language or cultural communication barriers as obstacles to providing high-quality care, physician adoption of practices to overcome such barriers is modest and uneven, according to a new national study by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC).

Despite the constraints of the recession and uncertainty about the impact of potential federal reforms, many states made great strides in implementing local reforms in 2009, as documented in the new State of the States report from State Coverage Initiatives (SCI).

The recession has significantly increased demands on the health care safety net as millions of people have lost jobs and health insurance, but in some cases the impact on safety net providers has been less severe than expected. That’s according to a new Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC) study of five communities—Cleveland; Greenville, S.C.; northern New Jersey; Phoenix; and Seattle.

The impact on spending by government and employers has been a major issue in the current health reform debate. Supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and prepared by researchers at the Urban Institute, this brief estimates the cost and coverage implications of the key provisions of the bill passed by the House of Representatives in November 2009.