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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.
This chartpack highlights demographic data about African Americans, Hispanics and whites with Medicare to highlight potential implications for outreach efforts under the new Medicare drug benefit. The information is being used in a series of November 2005 briefings at the start of the first open-enrollment period for the new benefit. Chartpack (.pdf)
An article in the January/February 2001 issue of Health Affairs by Judith Feder, Larry Levitt, Ellen O’Brien, and Diane Rowland assesses how best to expand health insurance coverage for the low-income uninsured. The article concludes that despite flaws in existing public programs, which can and should be remedied, strengthening programs like Medicaid and CHIP establishes a foundation for truly effective coverage for all low-income Americans. Available at www.healthaffairs.org.
On the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s landfall, a paper authored by Foundation staff, released as a web exclusive by the journal Health Affairs, examines the impact of the storm on New Orleans, the current state of health care in the city, and lessons learned about the city’s health care delivery system. Health Affairs article: Full Article Abstract
This survey, conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Hewitt Associates between June and September 2003 provides detailed information on retiree health programs offered by large private-sector employers. The data in this survey reflect the responses of 408 large firms (private-sector employers with 1,000 or more workers) and provides information on eligibility, benefits, premiums, and total cost in 2003, and offers insights as to what changes employers say they are likely to make in the…
May 10 - 16, 2004 is Cover the Uninsured Week. This week, organized by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, was developed to focus the nation’s attention on America's uninsured population. On May 5, 2004, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation launched Cover the Uninsured Week at an event in Washington, DC. Webcast: Cover the Uninsured Week Launch On May 10, 2004, The Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured is sponsoring a breakfast briefing, "The Cost…
The Uninsured Download a printable .pdf of Health Care and the 2004 Elections: The Uninsured. IssueBackgroundOptions for Covering the Uninsured and the 2004 DebateAssessing Candidate PositionsIssue With nearly 45 million Americans under the age of 65 without health insurance – one in six Americans – addressing the uninsured population is a major issue in the upcoming election. Health insurance affects access to health care as well as the financial well-being of families. Thus, both the…
In a few short weeks, Medicare will undergo big changes that will have a major impact on nearly 4 million African American seniors and younger people with permanent disabilities who rely on Medicare for their health coverage. More than four in ten African Americans with Medicare lack coverage for their prescription drugs for at least part of the year. Many others will need to make decisions about their existing coverage and the new Medicare benefit.…
Health Challenges for the People of New Orleans This analysis of a household survey of Greater New Orleans area residents conducted in Fall 2006 examines the health care status of the adult population and details their health coverage and access to health care services after the disaster. News Release Full Report (.pdf) Executive Summary (.pdf) Health Status (.pdf) Health Coverage and Access (.pdf) Households with Children (.pdf) Appendices (.pdf)
These toplines present detailed survey results from an October 2007 survey conducted jointly by NPR, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Harvard School of Public Health on the public’s views and opinions of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program and the pending legislation surrounding its reauthorization. Toplines (.pdf)
The Nonelderly Uninsured Population by Age and Parent Status, 2011 Download Source KCMU/Urban Institute analysis of 2012 ASEC Supplement to the CPS
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