Patient and Consumer Protections

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TrumpRx: What’s the Value for Customers?

In February, the Trump administration launched TrumpRx, a government website that provides prescription drug discounts to consumers. This brief examines issues that may impact consumers, especially those with private insurance, who access drug discounts through TrumpRx.

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  • Health Reform: Lessons From Massachusetts

    Event Date:
    Event

    As Congress debates comprehensive national health reform, the Kaiser Family Foundation has two reports and an updated fact sheet that examine state-level health reform in Massachusetts and the lessons it offers for policymakers in Washington. Consumers’ Experience in Massachusetts: Lessons For National Health Reform and In Pursuit of Affordable Health Care: On the Ground Lessons from Families in Massachusetts, examine the impact of health reform on the lives of ordinary people in the state, including…

  • Consumers’ Experience in Massachusetts: Lessons For National Health Reform

    Report

    This report examines the impact of state health reform efforts on the lives of ordinary people in Massachusetts, including a look at coverage provided by both public programs and private sources. It focuses specifically on people's ability to afford and obtain needed care. Report (.pdf)

  • Pulling it Together: Last Week’s Health Reform “Shocker”

    Perspective

    Last week we learned that health reform could cost the federal government at least a trillion dollars over ten years, and that it will be really difficult to forge bipartisan agreement on legislation and keep major interest groups on board. This obviously brought more angst to the deliberations, several Republicans seized the moment to criticize the Democrats' plans, and the press was all over it, with many commentators declaring health reform in dire straits. But…

  • Pulling it Together: The Sleeper in Health Reform

    Perspective

    The health reform legislation currently being crafted on Capitol Hill is undeniably complex.  To oversimplify slightly it can be boiled down into four parts: coverage (subsidies for private coverage and Medicaid expansions); delivery and payment reforms; insurance market reforms and regulations; and prevention, with each broad category containing a range of specific policy proposals and ideas. There’s been a lot of discussion so far about coverage expansions and how to pay for them, as well…

  • Explaining Health Care Reform: What Is An Employer “Pay-or-Play” Requirement?

    Issue Brief

    To broaden coverage, some health reform proposals would require employers to offer coverage or pay to help finance subsidies for those without access to affordable coverage. These types of reforms are often referred to as “pay-or-play” policies. The brief explains the concept and policy implications of employer pay-or-play proposals, which can vary in terms of the level of coverage required for compliance, the cost of the penalty to employers who do not offer, and whether…

  • Explaining Health Care Reform: What is Health Insurance?

    Issue Brief

    A key element in any comprehensive health reform plan is defining what health insurance is and the amount of insurance coverage people will have. There are two components to that coverage: the types of services covered (e.g., physician care, hospitalization, prescription drugs, etc.), and the cost sharing required of enrollees (e.g., the annual deductible, the copayments or coinsurance, and the maximum out-of-pocket costs for a year). The overall approach to reform drives the kinds of…

  • The Cost of Cancer

    Video

    This Kaiser Family Foundation documentary explores the financial consequences faced by three people, all privately insured, after being diagnosed with cancer. It was released in conjunction with a joint Kaiser/American Cancer Society report, "Spending To Survive: Cancer Patients Confront Holes in the Health Insurance System." The Cost of Cancer: Tom Olszewski Tom Olszewski, a retiree who lives in Texas, had prostate cancer but has been in remission for a decade. His medical history made it…

  • Spending To Survive: Cancer Patients Confront Holes in the Health Insurance System

    Event Date:
    Event

    This report highlights the severe challenges cancer patient may face in paying for life-saving care even when they have private health insurance. Jointly authored by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the American Cancer Society, the report profiles 20 patients and illustrates the potential difficulties people diagnosed with cancer or other serious illnesses have in maintaining affordable health insurance and paying for their health care. The patients in the report and accompanying video were selected to…

  • Cost Sharing for Health Care: France, Germany, and Switzerland

    Issue Brief

    As policymakers in the United States weigh options for reform to the nation’s health care system, the level of cost sharing that consumers face when they receive services covered by their health plans is a major consideration, especially for those with serious health conditions. This background brief authored by Kaiser Family Foundation researchers examines how three European countries – France, Germany, and Switzerland – have dealt with cost sharing in their health systems. While cost…

  • Primers on Key Health Care Topics and Programs

    Issue Brief

    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. Medicaid: A Primer Medicare: A Primer The Uninsured: A Primer Health Care Costs: A Primer How Private Health Coverage Works: A Primer Mental Health Financing in the United States: A Primer The…