These toplines present detailed survey results from a November 2007 survey conducted jointly by NPR, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Harvard School of Public Health on the public’s views of over-the-counter children’s cold and cough medications in the wake of recent concerns regarding their safety and effectiveness.

A nationally representative sample of 1,522 adults, including an oversample of parents with young children, participated in telephone interviews from Nov. 15-25. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points for the full sample, and plus or minus 5 percentage points for parents with young children.

This survey is part of 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 report focuses on the recent experiences of a group of 35 Medicare beneficiaries in the early years of the Medicare prescription drug benefit, including a number who were enrolled in a Medicare Part D drug plan in 2007. It looks at their attitudes about the open enrollment season for 2008, and their interest related to switching to a new Part D plan for 2008.

It finds that most enrollees do not intend to reexamine their drug coverage options for the coming year or switch to a different Part D plan. Some enrollees are content with their experiences in their current plan, while others say they do not want to revisit the time-consuming process of comparing and choosing from among the many plans available.

is the fourth and final report that came out of a series of one-on-one structured interviews over two years with a diverse group of Medicare beneficiaries in four cities: Baltimore, Miami, Sacramento, and Lincoln, Nebraska. The Kaiser Family Foundation commissioned Lake Research Partners and American Viewpoint to conduct these interviews.

The first report, “Profiles of Medicare Beneficiaries With Medicaid Drug Coverage Prior to the Medicare Drug Benefit,” profiled four people who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid to provide greater insights into their circumstances as the new Medicare drug benefit went into effect. The second report, “Voices of Beneficiaries: Early Experiences with the Medicare Drug Benefit,” addressed the first months of Part D coverage in 2006. The third report, “Voices of Beneficiaries: Medicare Part D Insights and Observations One Year Later,” found that drug plan enrollees generally said they were satisfied with their drug coverage, but many of them didn’t fully understand how their plan worked.

Report (.pdf)

This survey, conducted jointly by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Pew Global Attitudes Project, examines how people around the world perceive and prioritize health in their countries and gauge the efforts of donor nations. People in 47 countries were polled on a series of health questions, giving them an opportunity to share their views on health as a priority for their government and in their own lives.

Specifically, the survey looks at what people consider to be the top problem facing their country, such as HIV/AIDS, crime, pollution and political corruption. It also examines the top public health priorities in low and middle income countries, such as preventing and treating HIV, fighting hunger and malnutrition, and accessing health care.

An additional question about foreign aid assesses whether people think that wealthier countries are doing enough to help poorer nations with problems such as economic development, reducing poverty, and improving health.

The survey was discussed at an event sponsored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., as part of their Smart Power Speaker Series.

Survey (.pdf)

Survey News Release

This Medicare Part D data spotlight focuses on the use of specialty tiers for high-cost and injectible drugs in Medicare Prescription Drug Plans in 2008. It finds that the number of plans with specialty tiers has nearly doubled since 2006. It also looks at the drugs assigned to specialty tiers, the beneficiary cost sharing structure, and policy implications such higher out-of-pocket expenses and selection issues among beneficiaries who evaluate plans based on cost sharing.

This spotlight is one in a series analyzing key aspects of the Medicare Part D drug plans that will be available to beneficiaries in 2008. The analysis was conducted jointly by Jack Hoadley of Georgetown University, Elizabeth Hargrave and Katie Merrell of NORC at the University of Chicago, and Juliette Cubanski of the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Data Spotlight (.pdf)

To mark the 20th anniversary of the passage of landmark federal legislation to improve the quality of nursing home care, the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 (known as OBRA 87), this video examines the history surrounding the law. The video includes a look at the state of nursing home care before the law, an overview of the legislative process that brought about the law, and recent developments in nursing home quality. The video features historical clips and new interviews of key individuals from government, the nursing home industry, and consumer advocates who were instrumental in the historical developments related to nursing home reform.

Nursing Home Care Quality: Twenty Years After the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987

To mark the 20th anniversary of the passage of landmark federal legislation to improve the quality of nursing home care, the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 (known as OBRA ’87), this report explains the key provisions of OBRA ’87 related to nursing home care and examines the progress and problems in quality assurance in nursing homes over the past twenty years.

Report (.pdf)

The Nursing Home Reform Law, part of the Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1987 (OBRA ’87), was passed twenty years ago with hopes of improving the quality of nursing homes throughout the United States. Today, however, there are still concerns about the progress that has been achieved since this legislation and the overall quality of long-term care.

This chartpack presents the key findings from the survey Update on the Public’s Views of Nursing Homes and Long-Term Care Services. The survey evaluates the public’s opinion of the current state of long-term care in the United States. Specifically, it assesses personal experiences, perceptions of quality and staffing, and opinions of government regulation related to nursing homes and long-term care services.

The survey was designed and analyzed by researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation. Telephone interviews were conducted from October 1-10, 2007, among a nationally representative sample of 1,032 adults ages 18 and older. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.

The survey was released at a December 7, 2007 briefing sponsored by the Alliance for Health Reform and the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Chartpack

New Resources and Briefing Explore Nursing Home Reform Twenty Years After Passage of Landmark Law

Update on the Public’s Views of Nursing Homes and Long-Term Care Services – Toplines

The Nursing Home Reform Law, part of the Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1987 (OBRA ’87), was passed twenty years ago with hopes of improving the quality of nursing homes throughout the United States. Today, however, there are still concerns about the progress that has been achieved since this legislation and the overall quality of long-term care.

These toplines present the detailed results from the survey Update on the Public’s Views of Nursing Homes and Long-Term Care Services. The survey evaluates the public’s opinion of the current state of long-term care in the United States. Specifically, it assesses personal experiences, perceptions of quality and staffing, and opinions of government regulation related to nursing homes and long-term care services.

The survey was designed and analyzed by researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation. Telephone interviews were conducted from October 1-10, 2007, among a nationally representative sample of 1,032 adults ages 18 and older. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.

The survey was released at a December 7, 2007 briefing sponsored by the Alliance for Health Reform and the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Toplines (.pdf)

New Resources and Briefing Explore Nursing Home Reform Twenty Years After Passage of Landmark Law

This article presents findings from the 2004 Kaiser Women’s Health Survey examining how health insurance coverage affects access to prescription medicines for non-elderly women. Results from the nationally representative telephone survey indicate that a lack of health insurance coverage is significantly associated with experiencing cost barriers to prescription medications, regardless of income level. These findings underscore the important role that insurance coverage plays in protecting women from out-of-pocket costs and for accessing prescription medicines.

The article was written by Usha Ranji, a Kaiser Senior Policy Analyst; Roberta Wyn, Associate Director at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research; Alina Salganicoff, Kaiser Vice President and Director of Women’s Health Policy; and Hongjian Yu, Director for Statistical Support at UCLA’s Center for Health Policy Research. It was published in the journal Women’s Health Issues.

Full Text of Article (pdf)

Women’s Health Issues — Journal

Of the estimated 1.2 million people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States, approximately 500,000 are not receiving care for their disease. This includes an estimated 250,000 people who do not know they are HIV positive.

This article reviews data on insurance coverage and access to HIV testing and treatment, with a particular focus on individuals who are at risk for HIV infection and those whose infection is undiagnosed. The article, co-authored by Kaiser HIV Policy Director Jennifer Kates, appeared in the December 15, 2007 Clinical and Infectious Diseases HIV Journal Supplement.

Article

Journal Supplement — Opportunities for Improving the Diagnosis of, Prevention of, and Access to Treatment for HIV Infection in the United States