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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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This brochure provides key facts about the uninsured population in American today, and the difference having health insurance makes in access to health services and to a family's financial security. Report Report
This paper provides an overview of Medicaid eligibility policy and examines two groups of Americans in particular - low-income children and nondisabled adults under 65 - and summarizes the statutory and regulatory pathways to Medicaid eligibility available to them as individuals. The paper concludes with a discussion of policy options available to states under current law for increasing Medicaid eligibility for these two groups. Issue Paper Issue Paper
How Well Does the Employment-Based Health Insurance System Work for Low-Income Families? September 1998 Most Americans receive health insurance coverage through the workplace. Unfortunately, however, many workers are left out, especially low-wage workers and their families. Being a low paid worker does not mean just that wages are low. It also means a lower likelihood of receiving health insurance protection on the job. Low-wage workers have never been as likely as the better paid to…
Managed Care and Low-Income Populations: Four Years' Experience with TennCare This report updates an earlier study of Tennessee's experience with restructuring their Medicaid programs. 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 the low-income population in eight states: California, Florida, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Tennessee and…
Using findings from the 2014 Kaiser Survey of Low-Income Americans and the ACA, this report examines who the low-income uninsured adults in Missouri are, what their health care access and financial security experiences have been, and why they remain uninsured. It compares findings to those enrolled in Medicaid and to the low-income privately insured.
Continuing an effort to explore Affordable Care Act (ACA) implementation in the states, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Blue Shield of California Foundation examined ACA implementation in California (CA) at a Sacramento, Calif. briefing and panel discussion on May 28. A state official, experts and advocates discussed issues and challenges related to implementation of the law, and the practical impact of providing coverage to roughly 4.5 million Californians who have coverage via the state…
In this column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman discusses why seniors need to be included in the national discussion on income inequality, especially as proposals to change Medicare and Social Security are considered.
Medicaid is the nation’s main public health insurance program for people with low incomes, and it is the single largest source of health coverage in the U.S., covering nearly 70 million Americans. Medicaid also finances 16% of total personal health spending in the nation. States design and administer their own Medicaid programs within federal requirements, and states and the federal government finance the program jointly. As a major payer, Medicaid is a core source of…
Medicaid, the main health insurance program for low-income people and the single largest source of public coverage in the U.S., turns 50 this year. In that time, it has grown to cover nearly 70 million Americans and become a key source of financing for safety net hospitals and health centers, as well as the main source of coverage and financing of long-term care. The program continues to be a focus of policy debate and partisan…
A new comprehensive Kaiser Family Foundation report analyzes key trends that have shaped the Medicare Part D marketplace since the program launched nine years ago, providing a detailed assessment of changes in plan availability, enrollment, premiums and cost sharing in both private stand-alone drug plans, and Medicare Advantage drug plans.
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