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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.
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State Health Facts is a KFF project that provides free, up-to-date, and easy-to-use health data for all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the United States. It offers data on specific types of health insurance coverage, including employer-sponsored, Medicaid, Medicare, as well as people who are uninsured by demographic characteristics, including age, race/ethnicity, work status, gender, and income. There are also data on health insurance status for a state's population overall and broken down by age, gender, and income.
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 chartbook provides information on key trends in the health care marketplace including health spending, the structure of the health care marketplace, and health plan and provider relationships. It highlights data on health plan enrollment, premiums, and benefits, and the implications of health market trends for consumers and the safety net. Chartbook (.pdf)
The debate over President Clinton's national health care reform plan put health care policy at the forefront of the national agenda in 1993 and 1994. After the end of that debate, it remained to be seen whether or not health policy would hold the media's and the public s interest to the same degree. To help answer that and other questions, a comprehensive study of health policy media coverage from 1997 through 2000 - focusing…
The President's Fiscal Year 2003 Budget: An Overview of Health Programs A new chartbook describes the government's overall budget situation and examines the health policies and programs proposed in the President's latest budget. Chartbook View a webcast of A Capitol Hill briefing on budgets and health care
An Analysis of Reforming Medicare Through a 'Premium Support' Program This report examines one of the leading approaches to reforming the Medicare program, known as premium support. Under this model, the current Medicare program would be replaced by a system of competing public and private health plans, and the federal government would pay a set amount per beneficiary. The authors conclude that, while premium support could potentially improve Medicare's efficiency and improve quality, traditional Medicare…
Health Insurance Coverage in America: 2001 Data Update This chartbook provides year 2001 data on health insurance coverage, with special attention to the uninsured. It includes trends and major shifts in coverage and a profile of the uninsured population. Chartbook A link to additional state-specific data on the uninsured at State Health Facts. Link to other Health Insurance Coverage in America chartbooks.
This fact sheet, recently updated with 2002 data, describes how long the uninsured remain without coverage, who tends to go without insurance for long spells of time, and what difference time without coverage makes in terms of access to and utilization of care. Fact Sheet (.pdf) Link to Policy Brief: Is Lack of Coverage a Short- or Long-Term Condition?
The Kaiser Commission co-sponsored a policy briefing on America's uninsured population and potential models for coverage expansion. Expanding public programs and providing tax credits are both being discussed as ways to cover some of the 42 million uninsured Americans. A link to the webcast and related resources is provided. Webcast of Policy Briefing
The current economy is a key concern as federal and state leaders worry about the expected rise in unemployment and the related loss of employer health coverage. Policymakers are considering several options to ensure that we do not experience a health coverage crisis as we deal with the impact of the September 11th tragedy and ongoing concerns. In addition, states that were already preparing for budget problems are reporting even worse scenarios for their fiscal…
This report by the Institute for Medicare Practice at Mount Sinai School of Medicine takes a hard look at the operational challenges facing Medicare and considers incremental, structural changes to improve the management of the Medicare program from the standpoint of beneficiaries and providers. Based on interviews with key experts and Medicare stakeholders including representatives of beneficiaries, hospitals, physicians and other providers of care, as well as current and former Congressional and Administration staff, the…
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