Financing

A major goal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) is to significantly expand coverage and reduce the number of uninsured. Beginning in 2014, the ACA will establish a new continuum of coverage that will provide assistance to individuals with incomes up to 400% of poverty through a…

This briefing provided an overview of the Medicare program and its role in the health care system. Panelists discussed who is eligible for Medicare, what benefits are covered and how the program is administered. Medicare financing and the program’s role in health reform was also explained. More information on Medicare…

About 9 million low-income seniors and younger people with disabilities in the United States are covered by both Medicare and Medicaid. This brief examines the role of Medicare in providing health coverage for these beneficiaries. Medicare is the primary source of health insurance, while Medicaid provides supplemental coverage, helping with…

Overview and Briefing ChartsThis chartpack reviews the President’s FY 2006 budget request to Congress and highlights overall budget assumptions and funding for major health programs. It begins with a description of the federal budget process, followed by an overview of federal surplus/deficit spending patterns dating back to 1969. It then…

Although Medicare is not the main focus of current health reform legislation, the bill recently passed by the House—H.R. 3962, America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009—and the bill before the Senate—H.R. 3590, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act—include a number of provisions that would affect Medicare program expenditures. This…

The Alliance for Health Reform and Eli Lilly co-sponsored this briefing to have an expanded panel of prominent experts answer questions about the current health reform efforts. Questions addressed include: What is the status of major reform bills? How do they differ from each other, and from the plan that…

This study compares the value of Medicare’s fee-for-service benefits last year with the value of benefits in two large employer health plans — a large health plan serving federal employees and a typical large employer Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plan. For individuals ages 65 and older, the study finds that…

Since its enactment in 1965, the Medicaid program has used the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) to determine the federal government’s share of the cost of covered services in state Medicaid programs. On average, the federal share has been 57 percent. Beginning in 2014, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) establishes…

This issue brief provides an overview of California’s “Bridge to Reform” Medicaid Demonstration Waiver, which was approved in 2010 and will make up to roughly $8 billion in federal Medicaid matching funds available to California over a five-year period to expand coverage to low-income uninsured adults and preserve and improve…

A new report from the Kaiser Family Foundation examines funding and demographic data for countries receiving support under the U.S. Global Health Initiative (GHI), the Obama Administration’s six-year effort aimed at improving the health and lives of people in the developing world. The new analysis evaluates data from fiscal year…