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)

Full Report

Health News Index May/June, 2001

The May/June 2001 edition of the Health News Index includes questions about major health stories covered in the news, including the Supreme Court ruling regarding the distribution of medical marijuana and the debate in Congress over a Patients Bill of Rights. This edition also includes findings on public support for certain prescription allergy medicines being sold over the counter.

The Health News Index is designed to help the news media and people in the health field gain a better understanding of which health news stories Americans are following and what they understand about those issues. Every two months, Kaiser/Harvard issues a new index report.

• HNI May-June 2001
• Topline/Survey

Ever seen a condom advertised on TV? Up until a few years ago, the answer was almost always “no.” But condoms and other topics once considered “taboo” are beginning to make an appearance on the small screen. A number of leading broadcast networks, as well as cable channels have in recent years quietly let go of long-standing policies prohibiting contraceptive commercials. But several others still prohibit advertising for condoms – even though they accept ads for other types of birth control – and those that do run condom commercials often have restrictions about when and how they may be advertised.

What is behind these shifting policies? What has been the experience of those networks that now allow condom ads? Why do some other networks feel comfortable with increasingly sexual programming, but not with condom commercials? How do viewers really feel about condom ads on TV? How much influence does advertising have on the use and choice of contraception? On attitudes toward safer sex?

These are the questions discussed at the Emerging Issues in Reproductive Health Briefing on Tuesday, June 19th in New York City. Vicky Rideout, Vice President for the Study of Entertainment Media and Health, Kaiser Family Foundation discussed network policies as well as presented new findings on public attitudes toward condom advertising. Ms. Rideout moderated a discussion with a panel of experts including Susan Kannel, Senior analyst, Social Policy Research Institute; Richard Kline, Vice President for Marketing, Carter Products, Carter-Wallace, Inc.; Rick Mater, Senior Vice President, Broadcast Standards, The WB Television Network; and Thomas J. Coates, PhD, Director, Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, University of California at San Francisco.

New data on public attitudes toward condom advertising was released.

• Press Release: Public and Networks Getting Comfortable With Condom Advertising on TV

This report, written by Marilyn Moon and Matthew Storeygard of the Urban Institute, estimates the potential cost of targeting drug benefits to low-income Medicare beneficiaries and those with catastrophic drug expenses and discusses some of the key programmatic issues that could arise under this approach. The authors predict that a targeted and comprehensive drug benefit would likely help more than half of the 11.3 million low-income beneficiaries who lack drug coverage through Medicaid or an employer-sponsored plan. Covering this population and offering catastrophic protection to beneficiaries with extremely high out-of-pocket drug expenses would require an estimated $345 billion over ten years.

• Report
• Medicare and Prescription Drugs, Fact Sheet

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

Newly released survey findings show continued public support for patient protections, including the right to sue health plans, but that support erodes if people believe that the cost of health insurance may increase or that companies might stop offering health coverage to their workers. The survey found that the percentage of people reporting problems with their health plans and the urgency the public attaches to Congressional action has not changed in recent years.

Public Opinion Update, February 2000: The Public, Managed Care, and Consumer Protection (.pdf)

Past surveys and studies concerning Patients’ Rights

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”