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Obamacare and You is a series of one-page papers explaining how the Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare,” will affect different groups of people. Click on the links below to learn more: If You Are Uninsured Haga clic para leer en español If You Are Low-Income and May Qualify for Medicaid Haga clic para leer en español If You Have a Pre-Existing Condition Haga clic para leer en español If You Buy Coverage in the Individual Market…
With the open enrollment period for health insurance exchanges less than six months away, consumers are already asking questions about their new health care options under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Even in the age of digital information, hands-on consumer assistance could play a key role in helping people understand their insurance choices come 2014 — a recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll showed that two thirds of the uninsured and a majority of Americans overall…
This tracker monitors preliminary 2019 premiums in the Affordable Care Act’s marketplaces as insurers file rate information with state regulators. It shows preliminary premium information in a major city in each available state for the lowest-cost bronze plan and “benchmark” silver plan, which is used to determine the size of the premium tax credits available to low- and moderate-income enrollees. The tracker also shows how those premiums are changing from 2018 and what a 40-year-old…
In a Health Affairs blog post, Laurie Sobel, Caroline Rosenzweig and Alina Salganicoff of the Kaiser Family Foundation discuss the feasibility of abortion riders to private group and individual health plans as a means of providing access to abortion coverage when states ban the coverage as part of an insurance plan. They summarize their 2018 analysis that these amendments are virtually non-existent.
This report documents the findings of a study examining access to health insurance coverage in the individual market for people with health problems. Seven hypothetical consumers with varying health conditions were defined and insurers and HMOs in eight different markets around the country were asked to consider them as though they were real consumers applying for coverage. Report
: Structure, Practices, and Products in Ten States New Study of Individual Health Insurance Market: Major Barriers Identified in Individual Health Insurance Market for People with Health Problems. Rates and Regulations Vary Across Ten States Studied Denials, Waiting Periods, and High Premiums Pose Problems for Pre-Medicare Population For Immediate Release Tuesday, March 17, 1998 Washington, DC - For many people who have health problems or who are approaching the age of retirement, coverage through the…
Regulation of Private Long-Term Care Insurance: Implementation Experience and Key Issues While private long-term care insurance (LTCI) has been available since the mid-1970s, its popularity has grown rapidly in recent years, and Congress is considering proposals that would further encourage LTCI purchase through expanded tax subsidies. Yet there has been little research on how well LTCI works and how much security it really provides. This report focuses on consumer protections for individuals buying LTCI in…
This document includes the toplines from the joint USA Today/Kaiser/Harvard School of Public Health survey exploring Americans’ views on health care costs. Survey Toplines (.pdf)
To broaden coverage, some health reform proposals would require employers to offer coverage or pay to help finance subsidies for those without access to affordable coverage. These types of reforms are often referred to as “pay-or-play” policies. The brief explains the concept and policy implications of employer pay-or-play proposals, which can vary in terms of the level of coverage required for compliance, the cost of the penalty to employers who do not offer, and whether…
Privatization of Public Hospitals Full Report available in PDF format.Summary available in PDF format.Return to top Privatization of Public HospitalsReport
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