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KFF designs, conducts and analyzes original public opinion and survey research on Americans’ attitudes, knowledge, and experiences with the health care system to help amplify the public’s voice in major national debates.
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A new policy brief discusses issues involving over $11 billion of S-CHIP funds that states have not spent. It has been proposed that states could apply to use the funds for unemployed workers in these tough economic times. What are the implications? ISSUE BRIEF Download
A new policy brief examines the role of Medicaid in state budgets, the reasons behind rising growth in the program, and explores strategies for states to cope with higher spending in tough economic times. Policy Brief Also see recent publications on maintaining health coverage and securing Medicaid in today's economy
Assessing the Status of California's Physician Workforce: Shortage or Surplus? -- Issue Brief A 4-page issue brief that looks at recent estimates of California's present and future physician supply, various issues that affect the state s physician workforce, and approaches for ensuring an adequate number and mix of primary care and specialty physicians, as well as a balanced geographic and demographic distribution. The brief lists the panel for a California Health Policy Roundtable held in…
This article, by Ruth Almeida and Lisa Dubay of the Urban Institute and Grace Ko of Brown University, examines the effect of insurance on low-income women's access to care and use of health services. Using the 1997 National Survey of America's Families, it examines access to health care for three groups of low-income women: those with Medicaid, those with private coverage, and those with no insurance. Uninsured low-income women were found to have experienced greater…
A new brief reviews the latest data available on states' use of CHIP funds and explores the effect of a pending dip in CHIP funding on states' ability to provide health care coverage to uninsured, low-income children. ISSUE BRIEF Download
A new policy brief provides a description of the Section 1115 law, its history, and an overview of how it plays a role in the restructuring of Medicaid and SCHIP. ISSUE BRIEF Download
This brief describes the current structure of the Medicaid program and provides information on coverage and spending by mandatory and optional groups.
This issue brief, prepared by Linda Blumberg and Len Nichols of the Urban Institute, examines the factors contributing to the disproportionately high rates of uninsurance among California's workers compared to the U.S. The report looks at differences in coverage by race and ethnicity, and by citizenship status, and also examines offer and take-up rates for employer health insurance among California's workers. Issue Brief
A 4-page issue brief that looks at trends in employer-sponsored health insurance coverage in California. The brief also includes public and private sector strategies for expanding employment-based coverage, and discusses how other states have implemented incremental coverage expansions using public programs and financial incentives, with emphasis on New York State. The brief lists the panel for a California Health Policy Roundtable held in Sacramento, California on May 4, 2001. Issue Brief
An article in the January/February 2001 issue of Health Affairs by Judith Feder, Larry Levitt, Ellen O’Brien, and Diane Rowland assesses how best to expand health insurance coverage for the low-income uninsured. The article concludes that despite flaws in existing public programs, which can and should be remedied, strengthening programs like Medicaid and CHIP establishes a foundation for truly effective coverage for all low-income Americans. Available at www.healthaffairs.org.
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