This document contains the toplines from the August Health Tracking Poll. The survey was designed and analyzed by public opinion researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation and was conducted August 4 through August 11, 2009, among a nationally representative random sample of 1,203 adults ages 18 and older. Telephone interviews conducted by landline (801) and cell phone (402, including 123 who had no landline telephone) were carried out in English and Spanish. The margin of sampling error for the total sample is plus or minus 3 percentage points. For results based on subgroups, the margin of sampling error is higher.

Toplines (.pdf)

This brief examines uninsured parents and how they could be affected by health reform, including estimates of how many might qualify for coverage under a Medicaid expansion, how many would be eligible for subsidies and how many would not be eligible for such help.

Issue Brief (.pdf)

This document contains the key findings from the August Health Tracking Poll. The survey was designed and analyzed by public opinion researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation and was conducted August 4 through August 11, 2009, among a nationally representative random sample of 1,203 adults ages 18 and older. Telephone interviews conducted by landline (801) and cell phone (402, including 123 who had no landline telephone) were carried out in English and Spanish. The margin of sampling error for the total sample is plus or minus 3 percentage points. For results based on subgroups, the margin of sampling error is higher.

Key Findings (.pdf)

This brief examines who the uninsured are and explores how they could be affected by health reform, including estimates of how many might qualify for coverage under a Medicaid expansion, how many would be eligible for subsidies and how many would not be eligible for such help.

Issue Brief (.pdf)

This brief examines uninsured childless adults and how they could be affected by health reform, including estimates of how many might qualify for coverage under a Medicaid expansion, how many would be eligible for subsidies and how many would not be eligible for such help.

Issue Brief (.pdf)

The August Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds a slim majority of Americans continues to favor moving forward on health care reform now despite an intensifying ad war and a political climate of contentious town hall meetings that coincide with rising concerns about the reform effort.

Fifty-three percent of the public believes that tackling health reform is more important than ever, compared to 42 percent who say we cannot afford to take on health care reform right now. The gap between those points of view has narrowed in recent months as criticisms and doubts about reform plans seem to be registering. Sixty-three percent of the public say they are “hopeful” about reform, 41 percent are “afraid” and 46 percent are simply “confused.”

The August poll was conducted during a period in which politically active members of the public vented their fears and hopes about reform plans in fiery and widely-publicized town hall meetings with elected officials, and at a time when an increasing number of Americans (45%, compared to 31% in July) reported seeing advertisements having to do with proposed changes in the health care system.

The August poll, the fifth in a series designed and analyzed by the Foundation’s public opinion survey research team, examines voters’ specific health care issue interests and experiences and perceptions about health care reform.

Key Findings

Chartpack

Toplines

The Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA) provides states new options to reach and enroll eligible but uninsured low-income children into Medicaid and CHIP. The law’s Express Lane Eligibility (ELE) provisions enable state Medicaid and CHIP agencies to identify, enroll and recertify children by relying on eligibility findings from other programs, such as Head Start or Food Stamps, rather than having to re-analyze eligibility under their own rules. Further, CHIPRA authorizes greater use of electronic means to demonstrate eligibility.

This brief is the first in a new series called Putting Children on the Express Lane to Health Insurance that will provide information on key issues related to implementing Express Lane Eligibility. It discusses lessons states can draw on from the experience of earlier cross-program enrollment efforts as they consider the ELE option and design ELE programs. Those efforts demonstrate the importance of creating a one-step process for families, utilizing state-initiated and ex parte methods that place minimal burdens on families to collect information, utilizing and expanding the role of technology to share information across programs and establishing cross-agency support.

Issue Brief (.pdf)

This survey of enrollees in Healthy San Francisco (HSF), the city’s health care access program for the uninsured, reports high rates of satisfaction and signs that the program has improved access to care for those uninsured residents who have enrolled.

In 2006, San Francisco created a unique health access program to provide access to affordable basic and ongoing health care services for its uninsured residents at participating clinics and hospitals. All uninsured city residents not eligible for other public coverage programs are eligible to enroll. As of August 2009, more than 45,000 people had enrolled in the program.

The report is based on a March 2009 independent survey conducted by Kaiser Family Foundation researchers to gauge the opinions and experiences of HSF’s first wave of participants, the vast majority of whom have incomes below the federal poverty line. Participants report high levels of satisfaction (94% are at least somewhat satisfied with the program) and endorsement of HSF (92% would recommend to a friend and the same share think other cities should create similar programs).

New Release

Survey (.pdf)

This brief examines uninsured children and how they could be affected by health reform, including estimates of how many might qualify for coverage under a Medicaid expansion, how many would be eligible for subsidies and how many would not be eligible for such help.

Issue Brief (.pdf)

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) includes an unprecedented nearly $47 billion federal investment in health information technology initiatives. This e-health snapshot provides an overview of the health information technology provisions in the law that have direct implications for Medicaid. Health Information Technology (HIT) offers the promise of potential improvements in quality of care as well as increased efficiencies in care and cost savings. Medicaid, which covers nearly 60 million people, can serve as a key leader in HIT developments and expansions. ARRA provides new opportunities to support HIT efforts in Medicaid, notably through its Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) incentive program and the loan and grant programs for states. States can utilize these resources to move forward with new HIT efforts as well as to build on existing innovations. When moving forward, it will be important for states to also consider how to coordinate the HIT opportunities available under the new law with other HIT initiatives and resources.

Issue Brief (.pdf)