Search Frequenty Asked Questions

The Health Care Financing Review is published quarterly by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Office of Research, Development, and Information. The Review seeks to contribute to an improved understanding of the Medicare and Medicaid Programs and the U.S. health care system by presenting information and analyses on a broad range of health care financing and delivery issues. The Review highlights the results of policy-relevant research and provides a forum for a broad range of viewpoints to stimulate discussions among a diverse audience that includes policymakers, planners, administrators, insurers, researchers, and health care providers.

Manuscripts to be considered for publication in the Review should discuss: original health care research; major policy issues that present information and analyses concerning health services and health financing programs (with emphasis on the Medicare and Medicaid Programs); or, the development of a particular project or demonstration.

Manuscripts are considered with the understanding that they have not been published previously and are not under consideration by another publication. If more than one article is being prepared based on the same study, the author(s) must notify us of the substantive differences between the articles and the other publication(s). An article, following presentation of preliminary findings at a scientific meeting, may also be considered for publication; however, notification of the presentation must be included in the cover letter submitted with the manuscript.

Article Submission

All manuscripts should be submitted electronically to: lwolf@cms.hhs.gov.

Manuscript Preparation Text

Please submit your manuscript in Microsoft Word format, 12-point Times New Roman font, double-spaced, single-sided format with 1-inch margins and all pages numbered. Word count should be 5,000 or less. The cover page must include the title of the manuscript (10 words or less), names, formal titles, academic degrees, affiliations, complete addresses (including e-mail), telephone/FAX numbers of all authors, date of submission; and, word count including footnotes. Only those who; participated in writing the manuscript should be listed as authors. Other contributors should be mentioned in an acknowledgment. The author submitting the manuscript should state in the cover letter that the content and wording of the acknowledgments have been approved by those mentioned. We regard this precaution as essential because thanking colleagues for their help may be interpreted to mean that they approve of the article. If they do not, they may object to be mentioned. If the research has been supported by a grant or cooperative agreement or performed under a contract, this information must be provided on the title page. Please include a 100-word abstract acquainting the prospective reader with the essence of the text by presenting very briefly the essential points made in the article. It must be intelligible when divorced from the article and devoid of any undefined abbreviations. Please name all of your electronic files with the lead author’s name and title of submission.

Illustrative Materials

Place all tables and figures (10 maximum in combination) at the end of the article. Each table must be on a separate sheet and specifically cited within the text. They must be individually and succinctly titled; footnotes must be keyed with numbers rather than symbols; and tables must not have vertical lines or leaders. Spreadsheets (i.e. tables) and graphics (i.e., charts and figures) must be in Microsoft Excel format. (Numerical plotting points for graphic files should also be in Microsoft Excel format.)

References and Footnotes

References must be limited to 40 or fewer in number. All references listed must be cited in the text, and must appear in alphabetical order, at the end of the text. Citations in text must include author’s last name and date of publication. Anything attributed to another author is a reference, not a footnote; the two must be clearly delineated. Double-space each reference. Journal citations must include source, volume, issue number, pages, month or season, and year of publication. Do not abbreviate names of journals. (Improperly formatted references may be returned to the author for revision, possibly delaying publication.)

Sample Citation

Internet Citation

If you cite references that appear on the Internet, you must include the following: author’s name, document title, date of publication, complete and accurate URL, and date of access. Use the following format:

Smith, V., and Ellis, E.: Medicaid Budgets Under Stress: Survey Findings for State Fiscal Year 200, 2001, and 2002. The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. October 2001. Internet address: http://www.kff.org/content/2001/4020/4020.pdf. (Accessed 2003.)
Footnotes must be cited in the text with a superior number and must be numbered sequentially throughout the manuscript. A note serving as an additional explanatory statement outside the flow of the text is not a reference, but can refer to one. Notes must be listed at the bottom of the page (not separately at the end of the text) and not to exceed 30 words in length.

All manuscripts are acknowledged upon receipt and are submitted for discussion to the Editorial Board for policy relevance and implications to the health care financing field. Manuscripts of interest are referred to subject-matter experts for peer review. Manuscripts under consideration for publication are subject to the peer reviewer’s critiques and authors will be required to make revisions based on those comments or delineate in a cover letter why specific comments have not be addressed. Revised manuscripts should follow the same process as submitted manuscripts: two hard copies addressed to Linda F. Wolf and an electronic version sent to: lwolf@cms.hhs.gov. Notification of a rejected manuscript will be sent to the contact author, however, the manuscript will not be returned; the Review assumes no responsibility for lost manuscripts.

Accepted Manuscripts

Once a manuscript has been accepted for publication, an author’s release form will be sent along with the electronic galleys to the contact author. (The form must be signed and returned to the publication’s office before proceeding into the next phase of production.) Upon receipt, the author may red line the copy advising corrections, send an e-mail to the assigned editor delineating corrections, or request an author/editor conference within 2 business days of receipt. Once the manuscript has been published, the lead author will receive a printed copy and an electronic file for reprint requests.

Authors are requested not to share their research findings with anyone or provide copies of such findings when an article is being considered for publication and during the editorial/production phases until the manuscript is either published or rejected.

Copyright Information

All published material appearing in the Review is in the public domain and may be reproduced or copied without permission; citation to source, however, is appreciated.

Example:
Doe, J. and Smith, M.: Insurance Trends for the Medicare and Medicaid Populations, 1999-2003. Health Care Financing Review 23(1):23-38, Spring 2004.

Reprint Request Information

Please include a designated name and address at the end of your manuscript of the person who will be responsible for handling such requests.

Example:

Please include a designated name and address at the end of your manuscript of the person who will be responsible for handling such requests.

Example: Reprint Requests: Linda F. Wolf, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 7500 Security Boulevard, C3-24-07, Baltimore, MD 21244-1850. E-mail: lwolf@cms.hhs.gov