Pre-Existing Conditions

Health reform bills passed in the House and Senate would create a national high-risk pool insurance program to offer health coverage to otherwise uninsurable individuals during the interim period between the enactment of legislation and the implementation of broader health care reform. This issue brief discusses the structure, operation, benefits…

Three years after the passage of the Affordable Care Act, the March 2013 Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds that a majority of Americans are unsure how the law will impact them, and few are paying attention to the details of state-level decisions about implementation.

Time Magazine’s recent cover story on health care – “Bitter Pill” by Steven Brill – has focused attention on hospital prices, especially for people paying out of their own pockets. This is not a new issue, but certainly one that deserves attention. However, what has been lost in the ensuing…

“AIDS at 30: The U.S. Epidemic” chronicles the thirty years since the first cases of a rare pneumonia found in young gay men were reported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. This four minute video highlights landmarks in the history of AIDS from the discovery of the AIDS virus and…

With open enrollment in new health coverage options created under the Affordable Care Act set to begin in October, much of the public remains confused about the status of the law. The April 2013 Kaiser Health Tracking Poll provides a rough baseline of public awareness of the ACA before more intensive consumer information and consumer assistance efforts begin.

Facing Such Increases, Some Enrollees Switched To Lower-Cost Coverage People With Pre-Existing Conditions Much More Likely To Report Problems MENLO PARK, CA — People who buy their own insurance report that their insurers most recently requested premium increases averaging 20 percent, according to a new Kaiser survey examining the experiences…

The health reform law creates a temporary national high-risk pool to provide health coverage to people with pre-existing medical conditions who have been uninsured for six months. It is a temporary measure designed to bridge the gap until the implementation of other coverage provisions in the law that will take…

The September tracking poll examines public opinion about the “super committee” and explores the views and experience of individuals who have pre-existing health conditions, in addition to continuing tracking opinion about the health reform law. Findings from the poll include: Most Americans express doubt that the congressional super committee can…

With several elements of the ACA targeted toward individuals with pre-existing conditions, this month’s Kaiser Health Tracking Poll takes a closer look at this group. Fifty-two percent of Americans say that they or someone else in their household has what would be considered a “pre-existing condition,” and among this group, one…

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently announced significant changes to the premiums charged in the Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP), aka the “high risk pool” created by the Affordable Care Act. Premiums will now be up to 40% lower depending on the state (in some states…