Health Insurance Costs, Health Care & Health Care Services - Research, Public Opinion, Facts & Analysis

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2009 Kaiser/HRET Employer Health Benefits Survey
This annual survey of employers provides a detailed look at trends in employer-sponsored health coverage, including changes in premiums, employee contributions, cost-sharing policies and other relevant information.

Report Examines How Families Affected By Cancer Are Faring in the Recession
This report profiles six cancer patients and survivors and the challenges they face to help gauge how the recession and rising unemployment is affecting workers who are most in need of ongoing medical care. It is a follow up to Spending to Survive: Cancer Patients Confront Holes in the Health Insurance System, released in February.

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The Message from Massachusetts -- January 2010
In his latest column, the Kaiser Family Foundation's President and CEO examines what the message from the Massachusetts special election is for the health care debate based on the results of the Foundation's recent post-election poll with The Washington Post and the Harvard School of Public Health.

State High-Risk Pools: An Overview -- January 2010

This issue brief provides an overview of the primary components of state high-risk pools, discusses their benefits and challenges, and concludes with a discussion of high-risk pools in national health reform.

Kaiser Health Tracking Poll -- January 2010 -- January 2010
The January Health Tracking Poll finds the public divided evenly between support and opposition to the health reform bills in Congress, but also that many Americans remain unaware of key provisions in the legislation and often react positively when told about them.

Massachusetts Special Election Poll -- January 2010
As part of the Washington Post/Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard University partnership series, these toplines are of a poll taken to better understand how health care played into the mix of issues and frustrations that brought voters to the polls in the Massachusetts special election for the U.S. Senate.

Uninsured Young Adults: Who They Are and How They Might Fare Under Health Reform -- January 2010

This issue brief highlights the current health coverage status of young adults (ages 19-29), current approaches to expand coverage to this population, and how they might be affected by national health reform.

Access to Abortion Coverage and Health Reform -- January 2010
This issue brief discusses the treatment of coverage for abortion services under the major health reform bills and explores the possible impact of the leading House and Senate passed legislation on coverage for abortion services.

Issues for Structuring Interim High-Risk Pools -- January 2010
This brief examines the role of high-risk pools as a coverage safety net today and reviews key issues involved in implementing a national high-risk pool, which would be one of the first provisions to be implemented under pending health reform legislation.

Summaries of Coverage Provisions In House and Senate Reform Legislation -- January 2010
These two-page summaries describe the health coverage provisions contained in the House reform legislation as approved on Nov. 7, 2009 and the Senate reform legislation as approved on Dec. 24, 2009.

Pulling It Together: The Repeal Trap? -- January 2010
In his latest column, the Kaiser Family Foundation's President and CEO examines the strategies behind the simmering discussion of repeal of health reform legislation and its potential prospects after passage.

The COBRA Subsidy and Health Insurance for the Unemployed -- December 2009

This issue brief and related fact sheet examine the workings, potential impact and limitations of temporary subsidies created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to help people maintain their employer-sponsored health coverage after a layoff.

In his latest column, the Kaiser Family Foundation's President and CEO examines what the message from the Massachusetts special election is for the health care debate based on the results of the Foundation's recent post-election poll with The Washington Post and the Harvard School of Public Health.

The January Health Tracking Poll finds the public divided evenly between support and opposition to the health reform bills in Congress, but also that many Americans remain unaware of key provisions in the legislation and often react positively when told about them.

As part of the Washington Post/Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard University partnership series, these toplines are of a poll taken to better understand how health care played into the mix of issues and frustrations that brought voters to the polls in the Massachusetts special election for the U.S. Senate.

This issue brief discusses the treatment of coverage for abortion services under the major health reform bills and explores the possible impact of the leading House and Senate passed legislation on coverage for abortion services.

This brief examines the role of high-risk pools as a coverage safety net today and reviews key issues involved in implementing a national high-risk pool, which would be one of the first provisions to be implemented under pending health reform legislation.

These two-page summaries describe the health coverage provisions contained in the House reform legislation as approved on Nov. 7, 2009 and the Senate reform legislation as approved on Dec. 24, 2009.

In his latest column, the Kaiser Family Foundation's President and CEO examines the strategies behind the simmering discussion of repeal of health reform legislation and its potential prospects after passage.

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Health Insurance/Costs

Americans receive their health care coverage from a variety of sources including private insurance provided through their employment or purchased on their own, and public insurance programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. About 160 million nonelderly Americans have employer-sponsored health insurance, and another 13 million purchase insurance directly from an insurer or HMO. Spending for health care services continues to rise, in total ($1.4 trillion in 2001; $3.1 trillion projected for 2012) and as a share of the country’s gross national product (14.1% in 2001; 17.7% projected for 2012).

Premium costs for people with private insurance have risen dramatically in recent years, with double-digit rate increases each of the first three years of the new millennium. At the same time, consumers have seen their out-of-pocket costs for deductibles, copayments, and other cost sharing rise significantly over the same period. While coverage availability has declined only modestly for those with job-based coverage, a slack economy and high unemployment have focused attention on access and cost issues faced by consumers seeking individual coverage. Coverage and cost issues have led to debate about how to control increases in health care costs and how to provide coverage for the uninsured.

Through its Health Care Marketplace Project, the Foundation provides information and analysis about issues and trends in health insurance, health care costs, and health care services. Descriptions of how the private health insurance market operates and how it is regulated are provided in a series of fact sheets, chart packs, and reports. Data from the annual KFF/HRET employer health benefit survey documents annual changes in the costs, availability, and benefits of job-based coverage. Information on insurance issues of importance to consumers, such as appeal rights and other consumer protections, is provided through reports and surveys. The Foundation also provides information on trends in health care costs and how these costs affect individuals and employers.