Revisiting ‘Skin in the Game’ Among Medicare Beneficiaries: An Updated Analysis of the Increasing Financial Burden of Health Care Spending From 1997 to 2005 January 20, 2009 Issue Brief This issue brief presents an analysis of the financial burden of out-of-pocket health care spending for Medicare beneficiaries between 1997 and 2005. The analysis shows median out-of-pocket spending as a share of Medicare beneficiaries’ income increased between 1997 and 2005, from 11.9 percent to 16.1 percent. For some beneficiaries, the spending burden was even greater, with 25 percent of people on Medicare spending nearly one-third or more of their income on health care.
Rising Unemployment, Medicaid and the Uninsured January 9, 2009 Issue Brief This policy brief and accompanying snapshot examines the relationship between increases in the unemployment rate and changes in the number of people covered by employer-sponsored health insurance, Medicaid, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program and non-group insurance policies, as well as the financial implications for government budgets. The report also…
Window of Opportunity? January 7, 2009 Perspective Beginning this Spring, between expected approval of an economic stimulus package and the start of campaigning for the midterm election, there will be a rare window of opportunity for passage of major health reform legislation. History suggests that momentum can be lost if policymakers do not move quickly to seize…
Challenges of Providing Health Coverage for Children and Parents in a Recession: A 50 State Update on Eligibility Rules, Enrollment and Renewal Procedures, and Cost-Sharing Practices in Medicaid and SCHIP in 2009 January 1, 2009 Report Overall, more than one-third of the states (19 states) took steps last year to increase access to health coverage for low-income children, pregnant women and parents –- including 15 states that authorized or implemented coverage expansions. At the same time, 10 states enacted at least one measure to restrict access.…
Reports and Other Resources on Trends in Children’s Health Coverage January 1, 2009 Event With Congress poised to reauthorize the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) with a substantial increase in its federal funding, there are potentially new opportunities for reducing the estimated 9 million uninsured children nationwide. At the same time, the nation’s weak economy and growing unemployment is resulting in fewer families…
Covering Uninsured Children: Reaching and Enrolling Citizen Children With Non-Citizen Parents January 1, 2009 Issue Brief This issue brief examines health insurance coverage for low-income citizen children whose parents are not citizens and some of the specific barriers to enrolling these children in Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. It is based on findings from the Kaiser Survey of Children’s Health Coverage, a telephone…
Next Steps in Covering Uninsured Children: Findings from the Kaiser Survey of Children’s Health Coverage January 1, 2009 Issue Brief This issue brief provides key findings from the Kaiser Survey of Children’s Health Coverage, including that many low- and middle-income working families with an uninsured child do not have access to employer-sponsored health insurance. The telephone survey of parents that was conducted in 2007 to learn more about children’s access…
Addressing the HIV/AIDS Epidemic at Home and Abroad: Short-Term Policy Options Under Consideration by the New Administration and Congress January 1, 2009 Issue Brief This past summer, the United States government’s global HIV/AIDS program was reauthorized and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new data indicating that the epidemic at home was worse than previously thought. These events called significant attention to HIV/AIDS and together present the new Administration and…
Health Insurance Coverage of America’s Children January 1, 2009 Report This chartbook provides fundamental facts about children’s health insurance coverage. Chartbook (.pdf) Previous Versions: February 2007 (.pdf)
Enrolling Uninsured Low-Income Children in Medicaid & SCHIP January 1, 2009 Fact Sheet This fact sheet outlines issues in outreach and enrollment for Medicaid and SCHIP. It provides a profile of eligible but uninsured children, discusses the greatest barriers to enrollment, and offers strategies to improve enrollment. Fact Sheet (.pdf)
