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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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With Congress poised to reauthorize the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) with a substantial increase in its federal funding, there are potentially new opportunities for reducing the estimated 9 million uninsured children nationwide.
This issue brief examines health insurance coverage for low-income citizen children whose parents are not citizens and some of the specific barriers to enrolling these children in Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program.
Overall, more than one-third of the states (19 states) took steps last year to increase access to health coverage for low-income children, pregnant women and parents –- including 15 states that authorized or implemented coverage expansions. At the same time, 10 states enacted at least one measure to restrict access.
This report relays the perspective of leading state Medicaid directors to describe the fiscal strain on Medicaid and other safety-net programs as enrollment swells and state tax revenues shrink, raising the prospect of program cutbacks. It draws on focused interviews with leading Medicaid directors in November 2008.
This issue brief illuminates the emotional and pocketbook struggles of families who have suffered financial reversals and lost health coverage in the economic recession forcing many to juggle bills, skip prescription medications and postpone visits to the doctor while they scramble to find a new job.
The Kaiser Family Foundation maintains a number of primers providing overviews of key health care programs and issues. Written by Foundation staff, each primer provides key data and information that helps illustrate the topic and its relevance for the nation's health care system.
The economic downturn has strained family finances and prompted some Americans to cut back on medications and forgo preventive care and visits to the doctor. At the same time, the downturn has triggered declines in tax revenue that inhibit states’ ability to meet rising Medicaid program costs as enrollment spikes during economic hard times.
Based on data from Kaiser's Second Post-Katrina Survey, this Survey Brief profiles low-income adults in New Orleans in 2008, examining their demographics, personal recovery from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, worries and concerns, and financial and health care challenges.
More than 100 million Americans have no insurance to help cover dental needs. With health reform discussions ongoing, the Foundation's Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (KCMU) cosponsored a briefing which examined oral health in the broader conversation of improving quality and expanding access. Three new reports from KCMU were released at the event.
In October 2007, the Foundation’s Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured and the National Academy for State Health Policy convened a day-long meeting of policy officials and oral health experts to discuss children’s access to dental care in Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and exchange information and perspectives on the…
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