The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
KFF’s policy research provides facts and analysis on a wide range of policy issues and public programs.
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.
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the organization’s core operating programs.
This data note provides an overview of recent KFF polling on the public’s views of and connections to Medicaid, the federal-state government health insurance for certain low-income adults and children and long-term care program for adults 65 and older and younger adults with disabilities.
This analysis examines the costs, availability, and take-up of health benefits for workers with lower wages, using survey data and focus groups with more than 100 U.S. employers with over a quarter of a million employees.
Promises and Prospects For Low-Income Americans This book explores critical issues affecting access to health care for low-income Americans by assessing the importance of expansions of health coverage for the poor, the emerging challenges providers who serve low-income and uninsured populations face in a rapidly evolving health care delivery system, and the effects of these changes on particularly vulnerable populations. Articles include: IntroductionMarsha Lillie-Blanton, Rose Marie Martinez, Barbara Lyons, Diane Rowland A Review Of The…
Low-income women's high rate of health problems and limited economic resources make access to health care and adequate health insurance coverage particularly important. Health coverage, whether through the private sector or publicly through Medicaid, has been demonstrated to improve access to care for low-income women. However, obtaining coverage is not easy or even possible for many women. Job-based insurance is not always an option for low-income women, despite their high workforce participation. Assistance is available…
This issue paper examines the policies in the HIFA waiver initiative that provide incentives for states to use Medicaid/SCHIP funds to assist in the purchase of private insurance options. It also reports on how states have responded to these new policies and what key policy questions are raised about premium assistance programs. Issue Paper (.pdf)
Major federal changes to Medicaid and other health-related policies could impact children’s health in the coming years. This issue brief explores the latest data on Medicaid and children’s health and highlights five key issues to watch as those federal changes are implemented.
The latest survey of eligibility rules and enrollment and renewal procedures in all 50 states and the District of Columbia in their Medicaid and SCHIP programs for children and parents. It reflects changes states implemented between January 2002 and April 2003. The current survey also solicited information about states premiums and cost-sharing practices. Report Enrolling Children and Families in Health Coverage: The Promise of Doing More (50 State Survey as of January 2002) >>All 50-State…
New 50-State Survey Finds Some States Make Targeted Expansions to Strengthen Coverage and Achieve Efficiencies as They Prepare for Health Reform WASHINGTON -- Despite tight budgets, nearly all states maintained or made targeted expansions or improvements in their Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP) eligibility and enrollment rules in 2010, preserving the programs’ ability to provide coverage to millions of low-income Americans who otherwise lack affordable options, according to a new survey released today…
This report focuses on Oregon's experience in moving their disabled Medicaid beneficiaries into managed care. It is one of a series of reports from The Kaiser/Commonwealth Low-Income Coverage and Access Project. This project examines how changes in the Medicaid program have affected health insurance coverage and access to care for hte low-income population in eight states: California, Florida, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Tennessee and Texas. Report
Homeless adults may gain access to health services under the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion, which takes effect in 2014. This study, published in Health Affairs, analyzed the health coverage, health status, and health services use of 725 chronically homeless adults with disabilities in eleven cities in the United States.
© 2026 KFF