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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.
A new national survey of women on their health finds that a substantial percentage of women cannot afford to go to the doctor or get prescriptions filled. Although a majority of women are in good health and satisfied with their health care, many have health problems and do not get adequate levels of preventive care. The report also examines women’s health status, health care costs, insurance, access to care, prevention, and their role in family…
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 for more issue briefs. Eliminating Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Health Care: What are the Options Health Care Costs and Election 2008 Women's Health and Election 2008…
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 Family Foundation researchers examines how three European countries – France, Germany, and Switzerland – have dealt with cost sharing in their health systems. While cost…
Toplines -- The Public's Health Care Agenda for the New President and Congress This document contains the detailed toplines from The Public's Health Care Agenda for the New President and Congress poll. The poll involved a nationally representative random sample of 1,628 adults ages 18 and older who were interviewed by telephone between December 4 and 14, 2008. The margin of sampling error for the full sample is plus or minus 3 percentage points. For…
This brief examines who the uninsured are and explores how they could be affected by health reform, including estimates of how many might qualify for coverage under a Medicaid expansion, how many would be eligible for subsidies and how many would not be eligible for such help. Issue Brief (.pdf)
Wednesday, Sept. 8, the Foundation held a policy workshop examining Medicare, health reform and the challenges facing people with disabilities. Younger Medicare beneficiaries with disabilities are much more likely than seniors in the program to report problems accessing and paying for needed medical services, Kaiser Family Foundation researchers report in this Health Affairs article. Based on a national random-sample survey of people on Medicare, the study finds that half of nonelderly disabled beneficiaries report problems…
The Affordable Care Act creates a process for states and the Department of Health and Human Services to review “unreasonable” premium increases and provide information to consumers about the process. The rules governing this rate review process went into effect September 1, 2011. This briefing by the Kaiser Family Foundation, held on September 22, 2011, addressed how these new rules might work and what the implications may be for the growth in health insurance premiums…
Underinsured in America: Is Health Coverage Adequate? This fact sheet examines the adequacy of health insurance coverage of the insured and focuses on the consequences and future policy challenges of what some experts have defined as "underinsurance." Fact Sheet
Medicare Beneficiaries: A Population at RiskFindings from the Kaiser/Commonwealth Fund 1997 Survey of Medicare Beneficiaries Cathy Schoen, Patricia Neuman, Michelle Kitchman, Karen Davis, and Diane RowlandDecember 1998 Table Of ContentsExecutive Summary Findings from the Kaiser/Commonwealth 1997 Survey of Medicare Beneficiaries Medicare Beneficiaries: Health Status and Income Health Insurance Coverage Satisfaction, Access, and Financial Burden: Variations by Income Prescription Drugs: Use and Cost Exposure Satisfaction, Access, and Financial Burden: Variations by Type of Insurance Coverage HMOs:…
Health Care Reform: The Long Term Care Factor Note: This publication is no longer in circulation. However, a copy may still exist in the Foundation's internal library that could be reproduced. Please email order@kff.org if you would like to pursue this option.
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