The Kaiser Family Foundation and Self magazine have partnered on a nationally representative survey of more than 1000 Americans, ages 18 and older, to examine how women (and men) rate the importance of health policy issues from abortion to HIV/AIDS to Medicare in the upcoming election. Highlights from the survey include Americans views about politicians health care promises as well as which candidate Americans trust with the health care issues that are most important to them.

Racial and ethnic groups in the United States continue to experience major differences in health status compared to the majority white population. Although many factors affect health status, the lack of health insurance and other barriers to obtaining health services markedly diminish minorities’ use of both preventive services and medical treatments. This report, produced in collaboration with the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, examines health insurance coverage and access to physician services among African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and American Indians and Alaska Natives. By pooling national survey data over two years, information about particular minority subgroups is also provided.

Four new fact sheets examining health insurance coverage and access to physician services among these racial and ethnic minority groups have also been released.

• Report
• News Release: New Report Provides Critical Information About Health Insurance Coverage and Access for Racial and Ethnic Minority Groups
• Fact Sheet: Health Insurance Coverage and Access to Care Among American Indians and Alaska Natives
• Fact Sheet: Health Insurance Coverage and Access to Care Among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
• Fact Sheet: Health Insurance Coverage and Access to Care Among Latinos
• Fact Sheet: Health Insurance Coverage and Access to Care Among African Americans

This document provides a side-by-side comparison of four major federal proposals under consideration to provide outpatient prescription drug coverage to Medicare beneficiaries. It begins with a summary table comparing key features of each proposal, followed by a detailed comparison of the following major proposals: Clinton/Moynihan (The Medicare Modernization Act), House-Passed Plan (The Medicare Rx 2000 Act), Breaux/Frist (The Medicare Prescription Drug and Modernization Act), and Graham/Bryan/Robb (The Medicare Outpatient Drug Act of 2000).

• Side-by-side

This report reveals that the total number of children enrolled in state CHIP programs had grown to 1.8 million by December 1999, a 112% increase from December 1998. Although enrollment doubled in 20 states during that year, growth did begin to moderate in several states that had implemented their programs relatively earlier on. The report also demonstrates that enrollment of new children continued at roughly the same pace during the second half of 1999 as the first. Conducted by Vernon Smith of Health Management Associates for the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, this report is part of a larger project to track Medicaid and CHIP enrollment in all 50 states.

Immigrants account for 20 percent of the uninsured. There are many reasons for immigrants’ lack of coverage, but the welfare reform law of 1996 was significant in restricting Medicaid eligibility for certain immigrant populations. The Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured has produced new reports on immigrant health care: a chart pack highlighting statistics and a policy brief discussing the legal status of Medicaid eligibility. An issue paper summarizing the findings of immigrant focus groups in four cities will be posted soon.

• Policy Brief: Medicaid Eligibility and Citizenship Status: Policy Implications for Immigrant Populations
• Report: Immigrants’ Health Care: Coverage and Access

A policy brief that provides an overview of Medicaid eligibility and citizenship status, including a discussion of recent legislative changes.

• Policy Brief

This report examines the implications for Medicare beneficiaries of leading approaches to provide coverage for prescription drugs, looking at coverage, benefit levels and out-of-pocket spending.

• Report

National Public Radio/Kaiser Family Foundation/Kennedy School of Government Survey on Americans’ Attitudes Toward Government

This survey, conducted by National Public Radio/Kaiser Family Foundation/Kennedy School of Government, looks at Americans’ attitudes toward government. The survey finds that while most Americans say they distrust government, they still want more government involvement to solve the nation’s problems. Nearly a six out of ten Americans believe that the federal government does what is right only some of the time, and another 10 percent say it never does what is right. Despite these negative feelings, however, Americans are more confident than they were five years ago that the federal government can be effective. The findings are based on a telephone survey conducted with 1,557 adults, 18 years or older between May 26 and June 25, 2000. Survey results can also be viewed on NPR’s web site (July 2000).

• Toplines/Survey
• Summary of Findings

Issues in the 2000 Election: Health Care

The Washington Post/Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard University national survey on “Issues in the 2000 Election: Health Care” is the second in a series of surveys examining policy issues in the 2000 national elections. This survey, conducted July 5-18, 2000, of a nationally representative sample of registered voters also included an oversample of “health care or Medicare-oriented” registered voters. This survey and all surveys in this series, are designed to provide a more in-depth look at the attitudes of issue-oriented voters and compare them to registered voters in general. Results from this survey were released by The Washington Post in July 2000.

• Toplines/Survey

This report examines the potential savings for employers who currently represent the largest source of drug coverage for seniors. The study finds substantial savings for large employers under comprehensive Medicare prescription drug proposals ranging from $5-8.5 billion in 2003 to $10-$15 billion in 2009. It also finds that the majority of large employers are likely to retain retiree coverage, as a supplement to a Medicare drug benefit.

• Report