The Basics of Medicare and Medicaid February 28, 2007 Issue Brief Together, Medicare and Medicaid provide health coverage to about 90 million Americans. To help explain the two programs, the Kaiser Family Foundation issued a new primer on the Medicare program and an updated version of its primer on the Medicaid program. Prepared by Kaiser staff, the primers provide an overview…
Characteristics of the Uninsured: Who Is Eligible for Public Coverage and Who Needs Help Affording Coverage? January 30, 2007 Issue Brief This brief analyzes health coverage data and determines that 25% of the nation's uninsured population is eligible for either Medicaid or SCHIP. The brief goes on to describe the characteristics of the population. Issue Brief (.pdf)
Health Coverage for Low-Income Americans: An Evidence-Based Approach to Public Policy October 30, 2006 Report Health Coverage for Low-Income Americans: An Evidence-Based Approach to Public PolicyThis report offers an evidence-based framework for developing public policy approaches to covering low-income Americans. The first part of the report is devoted to the question: What is the role for publicly sponsored health insurance? The second part turns to…
Voices of the Storm: Health Experiences of Low-Income Katrina Survivors July 30, 2006 Report This report provides key findings from interviews with low-income Katrina survivors about their health care experiences after the storm to provide insight into how they fared and to highlight ways to improve the response to this and future disasters. The report also includes several in-depth, individual profiles of survivors’ health…
KYHealth Choices Medicaid Reform: Key Program Changes and Questions July 2, 2006 Fact Sheet This fact sheet summarizes the key changes Kentucky has approved for its Medicaid program as a result of the new flexibility available through the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. Kentucky uses new options related to benefits, cost sharing and long-term care.Fact Sheet (.pdf)
Key Issues and Opportunities: Implementing the New Medicaid Integrity Program June 30, 2006 Report The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 created a new Medicaid Integrity Program to increase the government's capacity to prevent, detect and address fraud and abuse in the Medicaid program. The new initiative represents the most significant single, dedicated investment the federal government has made in ensuring the integrity of the…
Beyond Cash and Counseling: An Inventory of Individual Budget-based Community Long-Term Care Programs March 31, 2006 Issue Brief Beyond Cash and Counseling: An Inventory of Individual Budget-based Community Long-Term Care ProgramsThis brief describes the evolution of beneficiary-managed home and community-based services since the original demonstration and provides an overview of state activity as of January 2006. The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 gives states the option to use…
Health Centers Reauthorization: An Overview of Achievements and Challenges February 28, 2006 Report This report reviews the role of community health centers in the nation's health care safety net. Today, over 1,000 federally funded and “look-alike” health centers serve 14.3 million people, three-quarters of whom are uninsured or covered by Medicaid.As health centers look toward legislative reauthorization in 2006, they face several policy…
Can States Stretch the Medicaid Dollar Without Passing the Buck? Lessons from Utah February 27, 2006 Report With the enactment of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, states have gained increased flexibility over benefits and cost sharing for certain currently eligible Medicaid populations without having to obtain a waiver of Medicaid rules. New findings from the Kaiser Family Foundation's 2004 survey of the experiences of Medicaid beneficiaries…
Tracking Prescription Drug Coverage Under Medicare: Five Ways to Look at the New Enrollment Numbers February 1, 2006 Issue Brief Tracking Prescription Drug Coverage Under Medicare: Five Ways to Look at the New Enrollment NumbersThis new analysis, which assesses Medicare drug benefit enrollment statistics released Feb. 22 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, examines five different approaches to understanding the Medicare drug coverage numbers:What share of the…