The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
KFF’s policy research provides facts and analysis on a wide range of policy issues and public programs.
KFF designs, conducts and analyzes original public opinion and survey research on Americans’ attitudes, knowledge, and experiences with the health care system to help amplify the public’s voice in major national debates.
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the organization’s core operating programs.
The fourth in a series of reports on implementation issues and challenges in the first year of S-CHIP finds that states have been able to enter arrangements with plans for their S-CHIP population fairly easily. REPORT Download
Submitted testimony of Diane Rowland, executive director of the Commission, about health insurance options for unemployed workers. She was scheduled to testify to the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, but the hearing was postponed.
Analyses of the Child Health Plan and Other Kaiser Permanente Services for Publicly and Privately Insured Children, a new policy brief prepared for the Kaiser Family Foundation and the California HealthCare Foundation by the Institute for Health Policy Studies at U.C. San Francisco, summarizes the results and policy implications of four different analyses comparing the experiences of children enrolled through Kaiser Permanente in the Child Health Plan, Medi-Cal, Healthy Families, and commercial programs. The aggregate…
This report presents the results of eight focus groups conducted in several languages throughout California to explore the knowledge and opinions of parents of potentially eligible children about the Medi-Cal program, California's Medicaid program. The study found that participants were confused about eligibility requirements, found the enrollment process onerous and demeaning, and had suggestions about how they could be better educated about the program. Policy Brief: Medi-Cal Eligibility And Enrollment (.pdf) Report: Barriers to…
Medicaid Facts: Medicaid's Role for Children This fact sheet provides an overview of children's eligibility and coverage under Medicaid, summarizes Mediciad benefits and expenditures for children, and highlights key issues facing the program as it continues to serve children. Fact Sheet Fact Sheet
In 2002, the state of Washington eliminated state-funded Medicaid look-alike coverage for certain immigrant families. These families then became eligible for more limited coverage in the state's Basic Health program. This report details the process of this transition and the outcomes for coverage and access for these individuals. Report (.pdf)
This guide explains the critical role Medicare and Medicaid have come to play in the lives and the futures of roughly 20 million children, adults, and seniors with disabilities - and gives people with disabilities new information to help them get the most from these programs. Full PDF Report (.pdf) Section 1: Introduction HTML PDF Section 2: Medicare HTML PDF Section 3: Medicaid HTML PDF Section 4: Interaction Between Medicare and Medicaid HTML PDF
This policy brief reviews the literature and examines the impact of Medicaid and SCHIP on coverage, access to care and health for the nation's low-income children. Issue Brief (.pdf)
Currently, eleven states cover parents with SCHIP funds via a federal waiver. This paper examines these programs and considers them within the context of the states' efforts to cover children. Issue Brief (.pdf)
Health Coverage for Children and Families in Medicaid and SCHIP: State Efforts Face New Hurdles The seventh annual 50-state survey of eligibility rules, enrollment and renewal procedures, and cost-sharing practices in Medicaid and SCHIP for children and families reports that nearly two-thirds of states expanded access to Medicaid and SCHIP between July 2006 and January 2008. Executive Summary (.pdf) Report (.pdf)
© 2026 KFF