Health Coverage & the Uninsured - Research, Public Opinion, Facts & Analysis

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Changes in Health Insurance Coverage in the Great Recession, 2007-2010
This issue brief examines changes in health insurance coverage over the last decade, with a focus on how changes in the economy, particularly during the "Great Recession" of 2007 to 2009, have affected coverage and the number of uninsured. The number of uninsured in the United States increased by nearly 13 million between 2000 and 2010.

Resources on Health Coverage and the Uninsured
The Foundation has several resources to help explain the size and characteristics of the uninsured population in the U.S., including The Uninsured: A Primer, the fact sheet The Uninsured and the Difference Health Insurance Makes, the issue brief Five Facts on the Uninsured, and the State Health Facts web page on health coverage and the uninsured.

Summary of Coverage Provisions in the Health Reform Law
This summary describes the health coverage provisions contained in the final version of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act signed into law in March 2010, including the individual mandate requirements, expansion of public programs, health insurance exchanges, changes to private insurance, employer requirements and cost and coverage estimates.

Expanding Medicaid under Health Reform: A Look at Adults at or below 133% of Poverty
This brief provides data on the key characteristics of the 17.1 million low-income uninsured adults who currently have incomes that would qualify them for Medicaid under the expansion of the program in health reform. These adults comprise 37 percent of all the uninsured in the United States.

Connecting Eligible Immigrant Families to Health Coverage and Care: Key Lessons from Outreach and Enrollment Workers
This report examines the role of Medicaid and CHIP for immigrant families; key barriers eligible, lawfully residing immigrant families face to enrolling in coverage and accessing care; successful strategies to overcome these barriers; and considerations for implementing the coverage expansions under health reform.

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A Guide to the Supreme Court's Review of the 2010 Health Care Reform Law -- February 2012

Kaiser Health Tracking Poll -- January 2012 -- January 2012

Performing Under Pressure: Annual Findings of a 50-State Survey of Eligibility, Enrollment, Renewal, and Cost-Sharing Policies in Medicaid and CHIP, 2011-2012 -- January 2012

Briefing, Survey Examine 2012 Data From 50-State Survey of Medicaid and CHIP Eligibility and Enrollment Policies -- January 2012

Secrets to Success: An Analysis of Four States at the Forefront of the Nation’s Gains in Children’s Health Coverage -- January 2012

Establishing Health Insurance Exchanges: An Update on State Efforts -- January 2012

Pulling it Together: 2012: The ACA, and More -- January 2012

Health Affairs Article: Medicaid Expansion Under Health Reform May Increase Service Use & Improve Access For Low-Income Adults With Diabetes -- January 2012

Performance Measurement Under Health Reform: Proposed Measures For Eligibility and Enrollment Systems and Key Issues and Trade-offs to Consider -- December 2011

The Texas Health Care Landscape -- December 2011

This brief examines the pending Supreme Court case challenging the 2010 Affordable Care Act, including the key constitutional questions issues and the parties' legal arguments.

The January Health Tracking Poll probes the public's views and expectations about the Supreme Court case on the health reform law and the public's knowledge and opinions of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's health care positions.

The annual 50-state survey of Medicaid and CHIP eligibility rules, enrollment and renewal procedures and cost sharing practices, found that, despite continued fiscal pressures on states, eligibility policies remained stable in nearly all state Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Programs during 2011.

Report and other materials from the Jan. 18, 2012 public briefing on KCMU's annual 50-state survey of Medicaid and CHIP Eligibility and Enrollment Policies.

This paper analyzes the experience of four states -- Alabama, Iowa, Massachusetts, and Oregon -- that have significantly improved health coverage of children in recent years.

This issue brief examines states' progress in setting up the state-based health insurance exchanges through which millions of Americans are expected to purchase coverage under The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) beginning in 2014.

In his latest column, Kaiser Family Foundation President Drew Altman looks ahead at the wide range of health policy issues and marketplace changes that will be in play inside and outside the Beltway in 2012.

This analysis finds that Medicaid’s role in financing diabetes care will grow when many low-income uninsured people with diabetes become eligible for Medicaid as the program expansions under the Affordable Care Act in 2014.

This brief seeks to inform the development of performance measures for states' eligibility and enrollment systems under health reform by presenting a list of potential performance measures and identifying key issues and tradeoffs to consider in selecting and developing measures.

This fact sheet summarizes the Texas health care landscape, including data on demographics, population health, the uninsured and the state Medicaid program.

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Health Coverage & The Uninsured

Lack of health insurance coverage for 46 million Americans is one of the nation's most pressing problems. While most elderly Americans have coverage through Medicare and over 60% of non-elderly Americans receive health coverage through employer-sponsored plans, many workers and their families remain uninsured because their employer does not offer coverage or they cannot afford the cost of coverage. Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) help fill in the gaps for low-income children and some of their parents, but the reach of these programs is limited. As a result, millions of Americans without health insurance face adverse health consequences because of delayed or foregone health care and extending coverage to the uninsured has become a national priority.

This section provides data and information on the uninsured population, profiling the uninsured and describing the consequences to individuals and society from lack of health insurance. Data from surveys, studies of the impact of lack of insurance, and analysis of proposals for reform are provided. These materials can help to inform the debate on how to achieve coverage for the nation's 46 million uninsured.

The Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured is the main source for the Foundation's work related to the uninsured population. The Commission provides analysis of the uninsured population, and the impact of lack of insurance on access to care and health status with a particular focus on the low-income population. Through its reports and briefings, the Commission provides up-to-date information on the number and characteristics of the uninsured and assesses options for reform. In addition, the Foundation continues to assess both incremental and comprehensive proposals to address the uninsured, including modeling reform proposals ranging from tax credits to expansions of public programs.