The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
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.
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).
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.
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.
Prescription Drug Trends – A Chartbook, an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Sonderegger Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, provides information about trends in prescription drug coverage, spending, prices, use, and industry structure. Although overall coverage for prescription drugs has increased over the last decade, about a quarter of the nonelderly and a third of Medicare beneficiaries have no drug coverage. Spending for prescriptions is one of the fastest growing components of health care, with increases affected more by increased utilization and changes in the types of drugs used (from older drugs to newer, more expensive drugs) than by price increases for existing drugs.
This is an update of an earlier report also prepared by The National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA), with support from the Foundation. That report was the product of a 1996 meeting of people with HIV, their advocates, and researchers designed to provide information about Medicaid managed care for people with HIV. This new report updates information to reflect changes in the policy and regulatory environment since that time.
Report (.pdf)
This new report, prepared by NAPWA with support of the Foundation, grew out of a key recommendation in the Making Medicaid Managed Care Work report, and is designed to provide people with HIV and their advocates with the tools for understanding Medicaid managed care contracts and for working with states to make them responsive to the needs of people with living with HIV.
Report (.pdf)
Health News Index May/June, 2000
The May/June 2000 edition of the Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health, Health News Index includes questions about major health stories covered in the news, including questions about the Congressional Democrats’ proposal to have the Medicare program cover prescription drug costs for the elderly. The survey is based on a national random sample of 580 Americans and was conducted May 26-June 4, 2000. The survey measures public knowledge of health stories covered by news media during the previous month. The Health News Index is designed to help the news media and people in the health field gain a better understanding of which health stories in the news Americans are following and what they understand about those health issues. Every two months, Kaiser/Harvard issues a new index report.
To shed light on Americans’ views about the state of the HIV/AIDS epidemic worldwide and the role of the U.S. in addressing the global epidemic, the Kaiser Family Foundation conducted a national survey of Americans about their attitudes towards HIV/AIDS globally and in sub-Saharan Africa, in particular. This survey examines Americans’ understanding of the magnitude of the epidemic, perceptions about access to treatment and care, and support for government and private sector involvement in prevention and treatment in developing nations. It is being released in preparation for the 13th International AIDS Conference to be held in Durban, South Africa.
SUMMARY OF CALIFORNIA VERSUS THE U
KEY HEALTH CARE FACTS IN CALIFORNIA AND THE U.S.
California
U.S.
Percentage uninsured (non-elderly) (1998)
24.4%
18.3%
Percentage of children uninsured (1998)
20.8%
15.5%
Percentage of non-elderly enrolled in Medicaid:
1998
11.1%
8.4%
1994
14.3%
10.0%
Percentage of employers that offer health insurance (1999)
48%
61%
Percentage of workers with access to coverage for “non-traditional” partners (1999)
31%
18%
Average monthly HMO premium for family coverage (1999)
$405
$445
Percentage of premium paid by covered workers (1999):
Single coverage
11%
16%
Family coverage
24%
32%
Percentage of workers enrolled in HMOs (1999)
53%
28%
Percentage of health care dollars spent on (1993):
Hospitals
37%
41%
Nursing home care
4%
8%
Physician services
31%
24%
Physicians mean net income (1997)
$172,400
$199,600
Average spent per Medicaid beneficiary (1997)
$2,418
$3,582
Health of Californians (1998):
Overall percentage saying they re in fair to poor health
15%
13%
Percentage of Hispanics saying they re in fair to poor health
23.8%
14.8%
Percentage of the population living in poverty (1998)
15.4%
12.7%