The Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health National Survey on Health Care and the 2000 Elections is a survey of Americans’ views on health related issues in the upcoming 2000 elections. Among leading findings, voters cited education and health as top issues on their minds for the upcoming 2000 elections. The survey was conducted by telephone between December 3-13, 1999. The survey included a national random sample of 1,515 adults, including 1,257 registered voters.

This report analyzes the administrative and implementation issues associated with expanding tax subsidies for the purchase of private health insurance.

• Tax Reform to Expand Health Coverage

Findings from a National Survey

This national telephone survey of low-income parents represents a major effort to better understand the barriers to Medicaid enrollment and to test the usefulness of ideas to facilitate enrollment in a quantitative way. Examining both parents of uninsured children who appear eligible for Medicaid and parents with children currently enrolled in Medicaid, the survey findings present: a profile of low-income, Medicaid-eligible children; parents’ Medicaid knowledge and perceptions; key barriers to enrollment; and preferred strategies for improving enrollment. The findings suggest that most low-income parents value the Medicaid program and want to enroll their children. However, gaps in knowledge of program eligibility and information and a difficult enrollment process prevent many parents from successfully enrolling their children.

• Report

Health News Index March/April, 2000

The March/April 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 Supreme Court’s ruling on the the Food and Drug Administration’s authority to regulate the marketing of tobacco products. The survey is based on a national random sample of 1,012 Americans conducted March 31-April 3, 2000 which 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.

• HNI March-April 2000
• Topline/Survey

This Fact Sheet provides and overview of the current tax subsidies for health insurance, generic subsidy approaches and specific proposals, the effects of tax subsidies, and implementation.

• Fact Sheet

This technical report provides 1) a description of the detailed simulation model and the assumptions used to analyze the effects of different tax subsidies for the purchase of health insurance coverage, and 2) the results of this analysis. The analysis includes the number of people who gain coverage, overall costs to the government, how much is spent on the currently insured vs. uninsured, and the effects on low-income groups.

The results of this report were published in Health Affairs, “The Business of Health Insurance,” January/February 2000, Volume 19 Number 1, Project HOPE–The People-to-People HealthFoundation, Inc.

For copies of the reprinted article (document #1571) call the Kaiser Family Foundation Publications Request Line at 1-800-656-4533 or Health Affairs at (301) 656-7401, ext 200.

• Technical Report

This report includes a side-by-side analysis of recent tax proposals by Members of Congress and various health organizations designed to increase the number of individuals with private health insurance coverage.

• Recent Tax Proposals To Increase Health Insurance Coverage

Health News Index November/December, 1999

The November/December 1999 edition of the Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard Health News Index includes questions about major health stories covered in the news, including questions about Medical Errors and UnitedHealth Group’s Policy Change. The survey is based on a national random sample of 1,515 Americans conducted December 3-13, 1999 which 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.

• HNI November-December 1999
• Topline/Survey

This issue paper explores the potential for increasing enrollment in children’s health insurance programs through “Express Lane Eligibility.” Express Lane Eligibility is the accelerated enrollment of low-income uninsured children already participating in other income-comparable publicly funded programs, such as WIC or school lunch, into Medicaid or CHIP. The paper reviews Express Lane Eligibility’s potential impact on Medicaid and CHIP enrollment, analyzes different models, discusses key challenges with implementation, and suggests steps states and localities can take to initiate the implementation of Express Lane Eligibility.

This report updates a 1997 Foundation report to assess how states are implementing financial protections for the 16 million Medicare beneficiaries who are low-income. These protections, generally referred to as “buy-in programs,” help low-income Medicare beneficiaries meet Medicare’s cost-sharing requirements by using state Medicaid programs to pay either all or some portion of premiums, deductibles, and coinsurance amounts. Using information collected through a survey of state Medicaid directors and consumer advocates, the update seeks to explain current programs and policies and to document variations in practices across the states through state profiles. State profiles include information on outreach, enrollment, eligibility, Qualified Individual program implementation, managed care enrollment, and program administration, and analysis examines recent federal activity on buy-in programs, participation levels, and the impact of related provisions in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997.