The Wisconsin Health Care Landscape
Wisconsin has long been a leader among states in expanding coverage to its low-income residents since even before the major coverage provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) took effect on January 1, 2014.
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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.
Wisconsin has long been a leader among states in expanding coverage to its low-income residents since even before the major coverage provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) took effect on January 1, 2014.
As Medicaid marks its 50th year, the program has unquestionably become the mainstay of health coverage for low-income women in the nation. Since its inception, its role for women has continued to evolve and expand, but the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) swung open the doors for Medicaid to serve even more low-income women who lack access to private or employer-based insurance. This is because the ACA enabled states to finally eliminate Medicaid's historical “categorical” requirements, which had essentially shut out women and men without dependent children.
This brief examines the experiences of low-income adults in three states that have made varied Medicaid expansion decisions: Ohio, which adopted the ACA Medicaid expansion, Arkansas which implemented the Medicaid expansion through a “Private Option” waiver, and Missouri, which has not adopted the expansion. While Arkansas and Ohio implemented the expansion in different ways, participants in both states described how obtaining coverage improved their ability to access care, contributing to improvements in their ability to work and family relationships. In contrast, participants in Missouri remained uninsured limiting their ability to obtain needed care, creating significant stress and anxiety in their lives, and interfering with their ability to work and care for their families.
This brief provides profiles of twelve individuals living with HIV to offer an in-depth look at how the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has affected their healthcare and coverage. Participants live in California, Florida, Georgia, New York, and Texas and discuss their enrollment and coverage experience, including whether they got new coverage (in the Marketplace or Medicaid), how their HIV care has been affected, and the role of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program.
Health Care Coverage and Access for Men, 2013-2015 Download View JAMA infographic…
This June 2015 Visualizing Health Policy infographic provides a snapshot of men’s health care and insurance coverage issues, including health status, access to care and use of services. It compares the uninsured rates of men and women before and after coverage expansions under the Affordable Care Act; their cost barriers to care, their connection to clinicians, and their use of prescription drugs, screening, and counseling services.
This brief provides an on-the-ground view of ACA implementation after completion of the second open enrollment period. It is based on 40 in-person interviews conducted in five states that have made different implementation choices, including three states (Colorado, Kentucky, and Washington) that have developed a State-based Marketplace and adopted the Medicaid expansion and two states (Utah and Virginia) that rely on the Federally-facilitated Marketplace (FFM) for enrollment of individuals into qualified health plans (QHPs) and that have not adopted the Medicaid expansion to date. The interviews were conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured and Perry Undem Research/Communication with a range of stakeholders in each state, including Medicaid and Marketplace officials, consumer advocates, assisters, and hospital and community health center representatives, during April and May 2015. The report presents key findings related to enrollment systems; enrollment and renewal; outreach, marketing, and enrollment assistance; and access to and utilization of care. It concludes with key priorities identified by stakeholders looking ahead.
An analysis of a 2014 survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that previously uninsured Americans who obtained health coverage that year experienced improved access to care and a decrease in financial insecurity, though they remained concerned about cost.
These Visualizing Health Policy infographics commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Medicaid and Medicare programs. This infographic provides details about the reach and demographics of the programs, as well as the Federal and total US health-care spending associated with them. This infographic illustrates trends and challenges going forward.
The July 28 special issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) includes an article written by Kaiser Family Foundation President and CEO Drew Altman and former U.S. Senate Majority Leader William H. Frist, MD, and two infographics from the Foundation that examine the past, present, and future of Medicaid and Medicare.
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