Health Insurance Costs, Health Care & Health Care Services - Research, Public Opinion, Facts & Analysis

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2008 Kaiser/HRET Employer Health Benefits Survey
This annual survey of employers provides a detailed look at trends in employer-sponsored health coverage, including changes in premiums, employee contributions, cost-sharing policies and other relevant information.

Private Long-Term Care Insurance and the Challenge of Closing the Long-Term Care Funding Gap
This policy brief and related congressional testimony examine the fundamentals of private long-term care insurance, including how consumers buy policies, how much policies cost and how they work, and what regulations exist to protect consumers. They also discuss the challenges of possibly enlarging the role of private long-term care insurance in financing long-term care.

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Pulling it Together: Last Week's Health Reform "Shocker" -- June 2009
In the latest column from "Pulling It Together, From Drew Altman," the Kaiser Family Foundation’s President and CEO

Kaiser Health Tracking Poll - June 2009 -- June 2009
The June health tracking poll finds remarkable stability in public opinion on health reform as Congressional committees begin to hone in on the details of their health reform bills and debate intensifies. A solid majority of the American people continue to believe that health reform is more important than ever given the country's economic problems.

Examing the Role of Private Long-Term Care Insurance in the Financing of Long-Term Care -- June 2009
This policy brief and related congressional testimony examine the fundamentals of private long-term care insurance, including how consumers buy policies, how much policies cost and how they work, and what regulations exist to protect consumers. They also discuss the challenges of possibly enlarging the role of private long-term care insurance in financing long-term care.

Closing the Long-Term Care Funding Gap: The Challenge of Private Long-Term Care Insurance -- June 2009

This policy brief examines the fundamentals of private long-term care insurance, including how consumers buy policies, how much policies cost and how they work, and what regulations exist to protect consumers. It also discuss the challenges of possibly enlarging the role of private long-term care insurance in financing long-term care

Filling In The Long-Term Care Gaps -- June 2009

At a June 3 hearing of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, Diane Rowland, Executive Vice President of the Kaiser Family Foundation and Executive Director on the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, testified on the key challenges to providing a larger role for private long-term care insurance in financing long-term care for the elderly and people with disabilities.

Alliance for Health Reform Webcasts 2 -- May 2009

This page features Alliance for Health Reform webcasts from 2009.

Explaining Health Care Reform: What is Health Insurance? -- May 2009
This brief explains the ways in which coverage might be defined under a health reform plan, and some of the policy issues raised by those determinations.

Explaining Health Care Reform: What Is An Employer “Pay-or-Play” Requirement? -- May 2009
The brief examines the concept of employer pay-or-play provisions in health reform proposals and some of the policy implications surrounding the level of coverage required, the penalty to employers who do not offer coverage, and whether small firms are exempt from the requirements.

Explaining Health Care Reform: What Are Health Insurance Exchanges? -- May 2009
This brief explains the purpose and function of health insurance exchanges, which are a key element on many recent health care reform plans.

Pulling it Together" The Experts vs. The Public on Health Reform -- May 2009
In his latest essay for "Pulling It Together, From Drew Altman," the Foundation's President and CEO examines the gulf between experts and the public on basic beliefs about what is behind the problems in the health care system and key elements of reform.

In the latest column from "Pulling It Together, From Drew Altman," the Kaiser Family Foundation’s President and CEO

The June health tracking poll finds remarkable stability in public opinion on health reform as Congressional committees begin to hone in on the details of their health reform bills and debate intensifies. A solid majority of the American people continue to believe that health reform is more important than ever given the country's economic problems.

This policy brief and related congressional testimony examine the fundamentals of private long-term care insurance, including how consumers buy policies, how much policies cost and how they work, and what regulations exist to protect consumers. They also discuss the challenges of possibly enlarging the role of private long-term care insurance in financing long-term care.

This page features Alliance for Health Reform webcasts from 2009.

This brief explains the ways in which coverage might be defined under a health reform plan, and some of the policy issues raised by those determinations.

The brief examines the concept of employer pay-or-play provisions in health reform proposals and some of the policy implications surrounding the level of coverage required, the penalty to employers who do not offer coverage, and whether small firms are exempt from the requirements.

This brief explains the purpose and function of health insurance exchanges, which are a key element on many recent health care reform plans.

In his latest essay for "Pulling It Together, From Drew Altman," the Foundation's President and CEO examines the gulf between experts and the public on basic beliefs about what is behind the problems in the health care system and key elements of reform.

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Health Insurance/Costs

Americans receive their health care coverage from a variety of sources including private insurance provided through their employment or purchased on their own, and public insurance programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. About 160 million nonelderly Americans have employer-sponsored health insurance, and another 13 million purchase insurance directly from an insurer or HMO. Spending for health care services continues to rise, in total ($1.4 trillion in 2001; $3.1 trillion projected for 2012) and as a share of the country’s gross national product (14.1% in 2001; 17.7% projected for 2012).

Premium costs for people with private insurance have risen dramatically in recent years, with double-digit rate increases each of the first three years of the new millennium. At the same time, consumers have seen their out-of-pocket costs for deductibles, copayments, and other cost sharing rise significantly over the same period. While coverage availability has declined only modestly for those with job-based coverage, a slack economy and high unemployment have focused attention on access and cost issues faced by consumers seeking individual coverage. Coverage and cost issues have led to debate about how to control increases in health care costs and how to provide coverage for the uninsured.

Through its Health Care Marketplace Project, the Foundation provides information and analysis about issues and trends in health insurance, health care costs, and health care services. Descriptions of how the private health insurance market operates and how it is regulated are provided in a series of fact sheets, chart packs, and reports. Data from the annual KFF/HRET employer health benefit survey documents annual changes in the costs, availability, and benefits of job-based coverage. Information on insurance issues of importance to consumers, such as appeal rights and other consumer protections, is provided through reports and surveys. The Foundation also provides information on trends in health care costs and how these costs affect individuals and employers.