This brief, the third in a series, examines changes to citizenship documentation requirements under the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009. The law extends the requirement to document citizenship that applied in Medicaid to CHIP as well. At the same time, it modifies current requirements to reduce the paperwork burden on families and states and helps ensure that eligible children and others are enrolled and receive needed health care without delay.

Brief (.pdf)

This report contains the toplines from the 2009 Survey of Americans on HIV/AIDS.  The survey was designed and analyzed by public opinion researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation and was conducted January 26 through March 8, 2009, among a nationally representative random sample of 2,554 adults ages 18 and older.  Telephone interviews conducted by landline (N=1,951) and cell phone (N=603, including 214 who had no landline telephone) were carried out in English and Spanish.  The survey includes oversamples of African American and Latino respondents as well as respondents ages 18– 29.  Results for all groups have been weighted to reflect their actual distribution in the nation.  The margin of sampling error for the overall survey is plus or minus 3 percentage points, for whites it is plus or minus 4 percentage points, for African Americans it is plus or minus 5 percentage points, and for Latinos it is plus or minus 6 percentage points.

 Toplines (.pdf)

Several years ago Joanne Silberner from NPR offered some advice I liked. Joanne said that the secret to effective communication was to “have a killer anecdote and a killer number.”

Here is a killer number: 19.7. That’s the average number of years between major attempts at health reform since Harry Truman made health reform a top priority and his plan was branded a socialist plot and soundly defeated in 1950. The chart below chronicles the four major moments of opportunity for health reform from Truman to the present day, as well as some other major legislative successes (Medicare and Medicaid) and failures (Jimmy Carter’s attempt at cost containment) since World War Two.

There are those who believe that the current moment of opportunity for health reform legislation will fade as others have before it. They believe that reaching consensus on how to reform health care and on how to pay for expanding and subsidizing coverage will prove too high a hill to climb.  Others believe that the planets are aligned for health reform now as never before; that public concern about paying health care bills in a deep recession and presidential and congressional leadership on health reform have created a truly unique opportunity if Congress and the President are able to move quickly to take advantage of it. There is no way to say for sure who has the better crystal ball here, but history does suggest one thing: with an average elapsed time of 19.7 years between major windows of opportunity for health reform it could be awhile if the current effort fizzles before the planets align again as they have today. Whatever the outcome this time, and whatever approach to health reform you favor, the problems health reform aims to address are real and worsening, and the prospect of another long wait certainly suggests that there is wisdom in making a maximum effort now.

About Soy…

Soy… (I am…) is a ground breaking campaign to address the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS in the Latino community. A diverse group of Latinos, ranging in age from two teenage sisters living in Los Angeles to a grandmother in Puerto Rico and her daughter who has been living with HIV for more than 10 years, share their personal stories about how HIV has affected their lives. They talk candidly about subjects not commonly discussed in many households in hopes of inspiring more conversations about HIV/AIDS.

Produced by Univision and the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Soy… campaign is part of !Enterate…del VIH y SIDA! (Get the Facts…about HIV and AIDS!), an ongoing public information partnership.

Campaign Components

The multi-faceted partnership includes television and radio public service ads, news and public affairs programming, a dedicated website, and other free resources, including a toll-free Spanish-language hotline that provides local referrals. The campaign also offers an informational guide in Spanish or in English that is available for download.

2009 Highlights Reel – Watch

• Public Service Ads – Watch
• Programming
• Web site –www.univision.com uniclave: SIDA
  • Toll-Free Hotline – 1-866-TU-SALUD
  • Banner Ads – Download
  • YouTube Channel

  The Message

  Soy… aims to create a more personal connection to HIV/AIDS in the Latino community and to inspire action — be that getting tested, talking to your partner or child, or getting involved in the community.

  The Need

  One in six people living with HIV in the U.S. today is Latino, yet AIDS is still not commonly discussed in many households. This silence allows stigma, misperceptions and fear to fuel an epidemic that is claiming the lives of Latinos at four times the rate of the general population.

  • Fact Sheet: Latinos and HIV/AIDS

This survey by NPR and researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health highlights the public’s attitudes and experiences with the American health care delivery system. The new survey sheds light on Americans’ experiences with issues more typically discussed by health policy experts – including electronic medical records, coordination of care and comparative effectiveness – all of which have become serious components of reform plans and some of which have been signed into law this year. It also covers public opinion on possible policy changes.

The telephone survey of a nationally representative sample of 1,238 adults was conducted between March 12 and March 22.

The survey is the latest in a series of projects about health-related issues by NPR, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Harvard School of Public Health. Representatives of the three organizations worked together to develop the survey questionnaire and to analyze the results, with NPR maintaining editorial control over its broadcasts on the surveys.

Summary & Chartpack

Toplines

Stories on NPR

The April Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds that six in ten Americans continues to say that they or a member of their household have delayed or skipped health care in the past year. A solid majority of the public believes health care reform is more important than ever because of current economic problems.

The country’s overall economic problems have not dampened their interest in pursuing health care reform: a solid majority of the public (59%) believes health care reform is more important than ever compared with the thirty-seven percent who say we can’t afford health reform because of economic problems.

The most common actions taken due to costs were substituting home remedies or over-the-counter drugs for doctors visits (42%) and skipping dental care or check ups (36%). Additionally, three in ten (29%) did not fill a prescription for medicine and two in ten (18%) cut pills in half or skipped doses.

The April Kaiser Health Tracking Poll, the second 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

This summary and chartpack of the results of a survey by NPR and researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health highlight the public’s attitudes and experiences with the American health care delivery system. The new survey sheds light on Americans’ experiences with issues more typically discussed by health policy experts –- including electronic medical records, coordination of care and comparative effectiveness –- all of which have become serious components of reform plans and some of which have been signed into law this year. It also covers public opinion on possible policy changes.

The telephone survey of a nationally representative sample of 1,238 adults was conducted between March 12 and March 22.

The survey is the latest in a series of projects about health-related issues by NPR, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Harvard School of Public Health. Representatives of the three organizations worked together to develop the survey questionnaire and to analyze the results, with NPR maintaining editorial control over its broadcasts on the surveys.

Summary and Chartpack (.pdf)

These toplines from a survey by NPR and researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health highlight the public’s attitudes and experiences with the American health care delivery system. The new survey sheds light on Americans’ experiences with issues more typically discussed by health policy experts –- including electronic medical records, coordination of care and comparative effectiveness –- all of which have become serious components of reform plans and some of which have been signed into law this year. It also covers public opinion on possible policy changes.

The telephone survey of a nationally representative sample of 1,238 adults was conducted between March 12 and March 22.

The survey is the latest in a series of projects about health-related issues by NPR, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Harvard School of Public Health. Representatives of the three organizations worked together to develop the survey questionnaire and to analyze the results, with NPR maintaining editorial control over its broadcasts on the surveys.

Toplines (.pdf)

This document contains the chartpack from the April Health Tracking Poll. The survey was designed and analyzed by public opinion researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation and was conducted April 2 through April 8, 2009, among a nationally representative random sample of 1,203 adults ages 18 and older. Telephone interviews conducted by landline (902) and cell phone (301, including 98 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.

Chartpack (.pdf)

This study, published in a Health Affairs Web exclusive, provides the first national and state-by-state update of Medicaid physician fees since 2003.

Medicaid has historically reimbursed physicians under fee-for-service at levels below what Medicare and private health insurers would pay for the same services. The study finds that Medicaid fees grew by more than 15 percent from 2003 to 2008, but fell in real terms because the gains did not keep pace with inflation. Medicaid fees did grow faster than Medicare fees during that period, however, rising from 69 percent of Medicare in 2003 to 72 percent by 2008. Increases were greatest in Medicaid fees for primary care and obstetrical services.

Although findings are based only on Medicaid fee-for-service physician reimbursement, nearly two-thirds of program spending still occurs in the fee-for-service setting. The study was conducted by researchers at the Urban Institute in partnership with the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured and the California HealthCare Foundation.Study (free access until April 11, 2013)