Regulation of Private Long-Term Care Insurance: Implementation Experience and Key Issues

While private long-term care insurance (LTCI) has been available since the mid-1970s, its popularity has grown rapidly in recent years, and Congress is considering proposals that would further encourage LTCI purchase through expanded tax subsidies. Yet there has been little research on how well LTCI works and how much security it really provides. This report focuses on consumer protections for individuals buying LTCI in the current market. It begins with a brief description of how LTCI works and how it is regulated. It then examines how well existing federal and state regulatory mechanisms address issues, including suitability in choosing a policy, policy replacement, benefit triggers and other coverage issues, and post-claims underwriting.

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Private Long-Term Care Insurance: Who Should Buy It and What Should They Buy?

Despite the growing interest in private long-term care insurance (LTCI), there has been little independent examination of how much protection LTCI policies provide consumers or whether LTCI policies are a worthwhile purchase for people of average means. This report draws on data from the 1998 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) and the 1996 Medical Expenditures Panel Survey (MEPS) to explore the feasibility of LTCI for working families and older adults. Specifically, the report looks at how many working-age families can afford LTCI, whether it is a sensible investment for people who are decades away from requiring long-term care, and how LTCI policies can be made more flexible, to keep pace with changes in long-term care delivery and financing. The report also examines the affordability of LTCI for older people, what kind of policies make sense for seniors, and whether there are less costly products that might reach more buyers and still provide some meaningful protection.

• Report

This issue brief, prepared as part of the National ADAP Monitoring Project, examines ADAP formulary coverage of medications for the prevention and treatment of AIDS-related Opportunistic Infections across states, including trends in coverage and expenditures over time, and discusses some of the potential reasons for variations in coverage. For more information on the series see the National ADAP Monitoring Project page.

• Issue Brief

This fact sheet reviews abortion in the U.S. About half (49%) of the approximately 5.4 million pregnancies occurring in the United States each year are unintended. Fifty-four percent (54%), or approximately 1.4 million, of these unintended pregnancies ended in abortion in 1996. While abortion remains one of the most common surgical procedures in this country, abortion rates have declined.

• Fact Sheet:

This report answers how much the country spends on care for the uninsured and how much care the uninsured receive compared to insured Americans. It is part of our Cost of Not Covering the Uninsured project.

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Health Insurance Coverage in America: 2001 Data Update

This chartbook provides year 2001 data on health insurance coverage, with special attention to the uninsured. It includes trends and major shifts in coverage and a profile of the uninsured population.

• Chartbook
• A link to additional state-specific data on the uninsured at State Health Facts.
• Link to other Health Insurance Coverage in America chartbooks.

The third biennial Sex on Television 3: Content and Context study finds the amount of sex on television remains high, but TV sex is more likely than in previous years to include some reference to “safer” sex issues such as waiting to have sex, using protection, or the possible consequences of unprotected sex.

News Release

Executive Summary

Report: Sex on TV 3

Chart Pack: Sex on TV 3: Content and Context

Chart Pack: Teen Sexual Activity

Biographies

List of Video Clips

Fact Sheet: Teen Sexual Activity

Issue Brief: Rating Sex and Violence in the Media

Read the latest edition of this report.

The third biennial Sex on Television 3: Content and Context study finds the amount of sex on television remains high, but TV sex is more likely than in previous years to include some reference to “safer” sex issues such as waiting to have sex, using protection, or the possible consequences of unprotected sex.

• Executive Summary

Read the latest edition of this report.

The third biennial Sex on Television 3 study finds the amount of sex on television remains high, but TV sex is more likely than in previous years to include some reference to “safer” sex issues such as waiting to have sex, using protection, or the possible consequences of unprotected sex.

• Report: Sex on TV 3

Read the latest edition of this report.

Public and private sector organizations are involved in a number of activities that seek to reduce cultural and communication barriers to health care. These activities are often described as cultural competency and/or cross-cultural education. A recent Institute of Medicine report recommended that the health care system pursue several of these techniques as part of a multi-level strategy to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in medical care. To address this need, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation has developed a compendium, as a first attempt to describe these activities in a single document. The compendium was prepared in response to the many requests from the media and others to define cultural competency and identify efforts underway in this emerging field.

The initiatives included in the compendium are from 1990 to the present and it is divided into two categories: Public Sector Initiatives (Federal/state/local) and Private Sector Initiatives (health care institutions or professional organizations, foundations, academic institutions/policy research organizations, and other). This resource also includes brief definitions for the major terms, organizational descriptions of initiatives and a list of experts in the field.