Twenty years into the AIDS epidemic, the Kaiser Family Foundation conducted its most recent survey of Americans about HIV/AIDS. This report summarizes the key findings from the survey, including analysis of trends over time and across race/ethnicity, age, and gender. It describes Americans’ concerns about HIV/AIDS as a personal, national, and global issue. It also assesses Americans’ knowledge about HIV/AIDS, their information needs, and their perspective on important policy issues and spending priorities.

Report (.pdf)

Timeline (.pdf)

Report: African Americans Views of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic at 20 Years: Findings from a National Survey

Report: Latinos Views of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic at 20 Years: Findings from a National Survey

This issue brief, prepared by Linda Blumberg and Len Nichols of the Urban Institute, examines the factors contributing to the disproportionately high rates of uninsurance among California’s workers compared to the U.S. The report looks at differences in coverage by race and ethnicity, and by citizenship status, and also examines offer and take-up rates for employer health insurance among California’s workers.

• Issue Brief

This chartpack highlights results from a survey of the perceptions and attitudes of 550 Black elected officials (BEOs) on HIV/AIDS issues. The survey, a collaborative effort of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies and the Kaiser Family Foundation, interviewed elected officials from 12 states and jurisdictions that have been hard hit by the HIV epidemic. The officials were selected randomly by type of office (federal, state, county, municipal, school board, judiciary). The survey included questions on perceptions of the impact of the HIV epidemic, the adequacy of efforts to address it, and their views on proposed policy options for combating the spread of HIV/AIDS. Findings from the survey were highlighted in a supplement to the journal Minority Health Today.

• Chart Pack: Survey of Black Elected Officials On HIV/AIDS

Are Schools Just Saying No

Federal and state policymakers face a major challenge in addressing the health needs of an increasingly diverse population. That challenge can be even greater in the growing number of cities and states with large immigrant communities. In a Commission-sponsored conference call on May 15, experts on immigrant health issues discussed recent findings about how the health system is and is not working for immigrants and their potential policy implications.

Audio from the conference call is available below, as well as links to information about the call and relevant reports from the Commission.

Listen to the conference call.

• Agenda
• Speaker Biographies
• Fact Sheet: Immigrants’ Health Care Coverage and Access
• Chart Pack: Immigrants’ Health Care: Coverage and Access
• Issue Paper: Is Immigration Responsible for the Growth in the Number of the Uninsured?
• Policy Brief: Medicaid Eligibility and Citizenship Status: Policy Implications for Immigrant Populations
• Background Paper: Immigrants’ Access to Health Care After Welfare Reform: Findings from Focus Groups in Four Cities
• Background Paper: Caring for Immigrants: Health Care Safety Nets in Los Angeles, New York, Miami, and Houston
• Link to find “Left Out: Immigrants’ Access to Health Care and Insurance”

This report examines the design and implementation of California’s State Children’s Health Insurance Program (known as Healthy Families), including contracting issues, program design and administration, and access to care by adolescents and children with special health care needs. This report is one of several appearing on this website from a five-state study of CHIP implementation in California, Connecticut, Maryland, Missouri, and Utah.

A new Commission report of state experiences after eliminating the Medicaid asset test reveals that the action cut administrative costs, improved program efficiency, and increased access to health care.

Background Paper

A 4-page issue brief that looks at trends in employer-sponsored health insurance coverage in California. The brief also includes public and private sector strategies for expanding employment-based coverage, and discusses how other states have implemented incremental coverage expansions using public programs and financial incentives, with emphasis on New York State. The brief lists the panel for a California Health Policy Roundtable held in Sacramento, California on May 4, 2001.

• Issue Brief

• Issue Update