Cost Sharing for Health Care: France, Germany, and Switzerland December 31, 2008 Issue Brief As policymakers in the United States weigh options for reform to the nation’s health care system, the level of cost sharing that consumers face when they receive services covered by their health plans is a major consideration, especially for those with serious health conditions. This background brief authored by Kaiser…
Primers on Key Health Care Topics and Programs December 1, 2008 Issue Brief The Kaiser Family Foundation maintains a number of primers providing overviews of key health care programs and issues. Written by Foundation staff, each primer provides key data and information that helps illustrate the topic and its relevance for the nation’s health care system. Medicaid: A Primer Medicare: A Primer The…
President Obama’s Campaign Position on Health Reform and Other Health Care Issues November 1, 2008 Issue Brief During the 2008 Presidential campaign now President Barack Obama announced a comprehensive health care reform proposal and laid out his positions on a number of other key health care issues. The two documents below summarize these campaign policies and positions. They were prepared by the Kaiser Family Foundation with the…
Emerging Health Information Technology for Children in Medicaid and SCHIP Programs October 31, 2008 Report This report highlights states' innovative use of health information technology in their Medicaid and SCHIP programs to improve their ability to reach and enroll eligible children, improve the quality of care for children, increase communications with families, and continue to modernize their programs. Although many of these efforts are still…
Health Coverage in an Economic Downturn: Impact of Tight Budgets on Families and States November 3, 2008 Fact Sheet The economic downturn has strained family finances and prompted some Americans to cut back on medications and forgo preventive care and visits to the doctor. At the same time, the downturn has triggered declines in tax revenue that inhibit states’ ability to meet rising Medicaid program costs as enrollment spikes…
Pre-Election Poll: Voters, Health Care and the 2008 Election October 2, 2008 Poll Finding This document contains the detailed toplines from the “Pre-election Poll: Voters, Health Care and the 2008 Election” designed and analyzed by researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard School of Public Health. The study’s findings are featured in an article published in The New England Journal of Medicine. The…
2008 Update on Consumers’ Views of Patient Safety and Quality Information – Toplines September 30, 2008 Poll Finding 2008 Update on Consumers’ Views of Patient Safety and Quality Information – ToplinesThese toplines provide complete survey questions and findings on the updated examination of consumers’ views on health care quality information reveals major challenges remain in providing the public with comparative quality information and encouraging its use. The 2008…
Trends in Access to Care Among Working-Age Adults, 1997-2006 September 30, 2008 Issue Brief Trends in Access to Care Among Working-Age Adults, 1997-2006This policy brief finds about 39 million working-age adults nationally reported cost as a barrier to receiving needed health care in 2006, a number that grew by an average of 1 million people annually over the decade studied. Uninsured working-aged adults experienced…
2008 Election Briefs October 7, 2008 Poll Finding Health care remains among the top three election issues voters want to hear the presidential candidates discuss. Kaiser’s new series of election briefs frame the challenges the heath care system faces, provide basic facts, and offer questions to assess the presidential candidates’ plans on key health policy issues. Check back…
Pulling It Together: What Do We Want Health Insurance To Be? September 26, 2008 Perspective Trends in the health insurance marketplace show substantial growth in high deductible health plans, especially among smaller firms, where 35% of workers are now covered by plans with a deductible of $1,000 or more. That’s according to our recently released employer health benefits survey, which we have been conducting now…
