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  • Revisiting ‘Skin in the Game’ Among Medicare Beneficiaries: An Updated Analysis of the Increasing Financial Burden of Health Care Spending From 1997 to 2005

    Issue Brief

    This issue brief presents an analysis of the financial burden of out-of-pocket health care spending for Medicare beneficiaries between 1997 and 2005. The analysis shows median out-of-pocket spending as a share of Medicare beneficiaries' income increased between 1997 and 2005, from 11.9 percent to 16.1 percent. For some beneficiaries, the spending burden was even greater, with 25 percent of people on Medicare spending nearly one-third or more of their income on health care.

  • Rising Unemployment, Medicaid and the Uninsured

    Issue Brief

    This policy brief and accompanying snapshot examines the relationship between increases in the unemployment rate and changes in the number of people covered by employer-sponsored health insurance, Medicaid, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program and non-group insurance policies, as well as the financial implications for government budgets. The report also estimates the potential state costs for Medicaid, SCHIP and the uninsured under such a scenario, and the potential impact of proportional statewide budget cuts on…

  • Addressing the HIV/AIDS Epidemic at Home and Abroad: Short-Term Policy Options Under Consideration by the New Administration and Congress

    Issue Brief

    This past summer, the United States government’s global HIV/AIDS program was reauthorized and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new data indicating that the epidemic at home was worse than previously thought. These events called significant attention to HIV/AIDS and together present the new Administration and Congress with an opportunity to address the epidemic at home and abroad. Several short-term HIV-specific policy options have already been proposed for consideration, or are…

  • Covering Uninsured Children: Reaching and Enrolling Citizen Children With Non-Citizen Parents

    Issue Brief

    This issue brief examines health insurance coverage for low-income citizen children whose parents are not citizens and some of the specific barriers to enrolling these children in Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program. It is based on findings from the Kaiser Survey of Children's Health Coverage, a telephone survey of parents conducted in 2007 to learn more about children’s access to coverage and care and the health care cost-related pressures facing their families.…

  • Next Steps in Covering Uninsured Children: Findings from the Kaiser Survey of Children’s Health Coverage

    Issue Brief

    This issue brief provides key findings from the Kaiser Survey of Children's Health Coverage, including that many low- and middle-income working families with an uninsured child do not have access to employer-sponsored health insurance. The telephone survey of parents that was conducted in 2007 to learn more about children’s access to coverage and care and the health care cost-related pressures facing their families. Issue Brief (.pdf)

  • Cost Sharing for Health Care: France, Germany, and Switzerland

    Issue Brief

    As policymakers in the United States weigh options for reform to the nation’s health care system, the level of cost sharing that consumers face when they receive services covered by their health plans is a major consideration, especially for those with serious health conditions. This background brief authored by Kaiser Family Foundation researchers examines how three European countries – France, Germany, and Switzerland – have dealt with cost sharing in their health systems. While cost…

  • The Role of Medicaid in State Economies: A Look at the Research

    Issue Brief

    This policy brief synthesizes the results of 29 studies in 23 states that examine the role Medicaid plays in state and local economies. These studies estimate the economic stimulus derived from Medicaid spending, and also analyze the adverse effects on the state economy from reducing Medicaid spending. This policy brief provides an overview of Medicaid financing, explains the methods used to assess economic impact and summarizes the main findings from the research. Executive Summary (.pdf)…

  • Turning to Medicaid and SCHIP in an Economic Recession: Conversations with Recent Applicants and Enrollees

    Issue Brief

    This issue brief illuminates the emotional and pocketbook struggles of families who have suffered financial reversals and lost health coverage in the economic recession forcing many to juggle bills, skip prescription medications and postpone visits to the doctor while they scramble to find a new job. Many who once had steady employment and incomes have had to turn to Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program for the first time, even as those programs…

  • Primers on Key Health Care Topics and Programs

    Issue Brief

    The Kaiser Family Foundation maintains a number of primers providing overviews of key health care programs and issues. Written by Foundation staff, each primer provides key data and information that helps illustrate the topic and its relevance for the nation's health care system. Medicaid: A Primer Medicare: A Primer The Uninsured: A Primer Health Care Costs: A Primer How Private Health Coverage Works: A Primer Mental Health Financing in the United States: A Primer The…

  • Short Term Options for Medicaid in a Recession

    Issue Brief

    This policy brief discusses several short-term options for strengthening Medicaid at time when the economic recession has increased demand for the program and constrained state budgets. It details potential steps such as increasing federal funding, easing enrollment barriers and temporarily expanding coverage. Policy Brief (.pdf)