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“...the search for a single top issue through polling questions — whether it’s health costs, or gas prices, or the cost of food — is artificial. People worry about and experience these costs together. There is no top issue, unless that issue is the catchall, ‘cost of living.’” — Drew Altman, KFF Founding President and CEO

Are Health Care Costs THE Top Issue for Voters?

In a new column, Dr. Drew Altman, Founding President and CEO, analyzes the polling on health costs as a voting issue and concludes that there is no one top voting issue. He writes: “I have come to the conclusion that the search for a single top issue through polling questions—whether it’s health costs, or gas prices, or the cost of food—is artificial. People worry about and experience these costs together. There is no top issue, unless that issue is the catchall, “cost of living.”

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  • Analysis of the Number of Workers Covered by Self-Insured Health Plans Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and 1995.

    Report

    This report presents findings based upon the KPMG health benefits survey of private and public employers and explores the extent of ERISA preemption on health plans covering U.S. workers. Included is estimated data on the total number of workers covered by fully and partly self-insured health plans in 1993 and 1995, a summary of the ERISA provisions and case law dealing with health plans and an analysis of potential changes to ERISA. Note: This publication…

  • Estimates of Medicare Beneficiaries’ Out-of-Pocket Drug Spending in 2006

    Report

    This report projects the impact of the new Medicare drug benefit on out-of-pocket spending for people who enroll in 2006. This analysis from November 2004 estimates that 6.9 million beneficiaries are projected to be affected by the coverage gap (the so-called "doughnut hole") in the standard Part D drug benefit. This estimate is based on projected enrollment in Part D plans of 29 million (Congressional Budget Office, July 2004), prior to implementation of the drug…

  • Health Affairs Article: Impact of State Tort Reforms on Physician Malpractice Payments

    Issue Brief

    A study in the March/April 2007 issue of Health Affairs analyzes the impact of state tort reforms on physician malpractice claims. The study finds that the tort law changes have had a measurable but limited impact on physician malpractice claims, depending on the type and strength of the tort reform. Commissioned by Kaiser, the study was authored by Teresa M. Waters of the University of Tennessee, and Peter P. Budetti of the University of Oklahoma, and Gary…

  • Kaiser Family Foundation/NBC News Survey Questions

    Poll Finding

    The Kaiser Family Foundation partnered with NBC News to ask several survey questions of the U.S. public about their feelings towards the 2010 health care law, as well as their worries about affording health care more generally. These questions were asked as part of the September 2013 Kaiser Health Tracking Poll. Kaiser Family Foundation/NBC News Survey Topline Download

  • Concentration of Health Care Spending in the U.S. Population, 2010

    Feature

    Concentration of Health Care Spending in the U.S. Population, 2010 Download Source Kaiser Family Foundation calculations using data from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), Household Component, 2010.

  • Cumulative Change in Single and Family Health Insurance Premiums and Federal Poverty Level, 1996-2011

    Feature

    Cumulative Change in Single and Family Health Insurance Premiums and Federal Poverty Level, 1996-2011 Download Source Premium data from Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, private sector data from Insurance Component, 1996-2010, at http://meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/.  Federal Poverty Level based on HHS Federal Poverty Guidelines (1996 through 2011) at http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/figures-fed-reg.shtml; rate of growth based on change for one person (change for a four-person family would be  43.3% rather than 40.7% over the period). 

  • Employer-Sponsored Family Health Premiums Rise a Modest 4 Percent in 2013, National Benchmark Employer Survey Finds

    News Release

    Annual premiums for employer-sponsored family health coverage reached $16,351 this year, up 4 percent from last year, with workers on average paying $4,565 toward the cost of their coverage, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation/Health Research & Educational Trust (HRET) 2013 Employer Health Benefits Survey. This year's rise in premiums remains moderate by historical standards. The 15th annual Kaiser/HRET survey of more than 2,000 small and large employers provides a detailed picture of the status…

  • Pulling it Together: Health Reform’s Six-Month Checkup

    Perspective

    Six months after its enactment, there are two totally different stories to tell about the health-reform law. The public remains split on the law largely along traditional partisan lines. Confusion and misperception are rampant, with more than a third of seniors still thinking the law contains "death panels" (it does not). Yet beneath the political battle lies a success story of early implementation: The federal government that many regard as sluggish and ineffective has turned…

  • Inside Deficit Reduction: What it Means for Health Care

    Event Date:
    Event

    After much heated debate on the U.S. debt limit, the Budget Control Act of 2011 was passed on August 2, 2011, containing more than $900 billion in federal spending reductions over 10 years. The law also established the 12-person “super committee” charged with finding more than $1 trillion in additional savings. What exactly is called for in the law? What are the implications for health care programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP and the Patient Protection…

  • New Kaiser/New York Times Survey Finds One in Five Working-Age Americans With Health Insurance Report Problems Paying Medical Bills

    News Release

    Among the Insured with Medical Bill Problems, 63% Report Using Up Most or All Their Savings and 42% Took on an Extra Job or Worked More Hours Half of People Without Health Insurance Report Problems With Medical Bills, and They Face Similar Financial and Personal Consequences As Those With Insurance Among people with health insurance, one in five (20%) working-age Americans report having problems paying medical bills in the past year that often cause serious…