The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
This policy brief details the eligibility and benefit structure of Medicaid showing what portions of enrollment and spending are mandatory or optional.
Link to Retructuring Medicaid Financing: Implications of the NGA Proposal
Medicare is a critical source of health insurance coverage for virtually all older women in the U.S. and for many younger women who have permanent disabilities. Because women have longer life expectancies than men, more than half (57%) of the people covered by the program are women. In 1999, there were 21 million women on Medicare 19 million ages 65 and over and another 2 million women under age 65 with disabilities who received Social Security Disability Insurance benefits. This fact sheet highlights the health needs and financial security concerns of women on Medicare. Prescription drug coverage, supplemental insurance, and out-of-pocket costs are highlighted as key issues for women.
The third in a series of reports on implementation issues and challenges in the first year of S-CHIP finds that non-Medicaid S-CHIP programs faced more administrative challenges. Success with enrollment appeared primarily related to administrative decisions, including a lower band of S-CHIP income eligibility, and the lack of premiums.
The fourth in a series of reports on implementation issues and challenges in the first year of S-CHIP finds that states have been able to enter arrangements with plans for their S-CHIP population fairly easily.
A fact sheet summarizing Medicaid spending and enrollment trends in Georgia and Rhode Island drawn from a briefing in February 2001.
Three companion surveys by the Kaiser Family Foundation, conducted in collaboration with Public Perspective magazine, give new insight into how the public, policy leaders and media professionals view public opinion polls. The surveys show that while policy leaders and journalists see polls as an effective tool for giving the public a voice in the policymaking process, the public itself is more skeptical. The discussions of the surveys in Public Perspective also explore the extent to which the public feels it actually has input in the policymaking process. The polls are featured in the July/August 2001 issue of Public Perspective along with expert commentary on the subject.
News Release (.pdf)
Toplines/Survey (.pdf)
Chart Pack (.pdf)
How Accessible is Individual Health Insurance for Consumers in Less-Than-Perfect Health?
This report documents the findings of a study examining access to health insurance coverage in the individual market for people with health problems. Seven hypothetical consumers with varying health conditions were defined and insurers and HMOs in eight different markets around the country were asked to consider them as though they were real consumers applying for coverage.
Executive Summary (.pdf)
A Leadership Forum convened by The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, The Ford Foundation, and The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, New York, NY
A Leadership Forum on HIV Prevention took place in New York immediately preceding the UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS, held June 25-27, 2001. Organized as a congregation of top international leaders, policymakers and program planners in the global effort against HIV, the meeting focused attention on the resources needed to more effectively curtail the global HIV pandemic. The forum reviewed the fundamental role of prevention in the fight against HIV and identified the principles of effective prevention programs globally. The meeting also explored the barriers to prevention and discussed funding needs and prevention priorities for the future.
This report documents the findings of a study examining access to health insurance coverage in the individual market for people with health problems. Seven hypothetical consumers with varying health conditions were defined and insurers and HMOs in eight different markets around the country were asked to consider them as though they were real consumers applying for coverage.
A new chart book examines Fiscal Year 2002 budget proposals by President Bush and Congress, focusing on their impact on health programs. It provides both an examination of how health care programs fit into the overall U.S. budget and a review of past budget trends and future projections for government health care programs.