Snapshots: Health Care Spending in the United States & Selected OECD Countries April 12, 2011 Issue Brief Health spending is rising faster than incomes in most developed countries, which raises questions about how countries will pay for their future health care needs. The issue is particularly acute in the United States, which not only spends much more per capita on health care, but also has had one of…
A Public Opinion Surprise, The Latest “Pulling It Together, From Drew Altman” April 5, 2011 Perspective With Medicaid being the focus of federal and state debate on deficits, the Kaiser Family Foundation’s President and CEO examines recent poll findings about the program’s popularity that may be a surprise considering the current discussion.
The State of Children’s Health, Care and Coverage April 4, 2011 Event A record 90 percent of children now have health coverage – more than a third of whom are covered by Medicaid and CHIP. Yet about 7.5 million children remain uninsured, including 5 million who are eligible for Medicaid and CHIP but not enrolled. Who are the at-risk kids? How are…
Pulling It Together: A Public Opinion Surprise April 4, 2011 Perspective Medicaid is the nation’s primary health insurance program for low-income people and people with disabilities, covering more than 60 million people this year. And it’s about to get a lot of attention: it’s likely to be a prime target for spending reductions by “deficit hawks” in debate over the budget;…
Implications Of A Federal Block Grant Program For Medicaid April 1, 2011 Issue Brief This issue brief examines the broad implications of converting Medicaid to block grant financing, one of several ideas that have been put forth to help reduce the federal deficit. The paper, which does not analyze any specific proposal, notes that switching to block grant financing would fundamentally alter the Medicaid…
The Digital Divide And Access To Health Information Online April 1, 2011 Poll Finding The Affordable Care Act (ACA) calls for a number of web-based initiatives, including development of the website healthcare.gov which provides a variety of health information and helps individuals find coverage options. Therefore, understanding the level and quality of Internet access among those groups most likely to benefit from reform, such…
Trends in the Use of Hospital and Provider Quality Ratings April 1, 2011 Poll Finding With a renewed emphasis on health care quality driven by the Affordable Care Act, this polling data note examines historical trends in Americans’ reliance on quality ratings and how their perceptions have changed over time. Data Note (.pdf)
Federal Core Requirements And State Options In Medicaid: Current Policies And Key Issues April 1, 2011 Fact Sheet Medicaid is a jointly financed partnership between the federal government and states. The federal-state financing and administrative structure of Medicaid provides a framework of federal core requirements along with broad state options for program design and administration. This issue brief presents an overview of the current Medicaid program framework, with…
Physician Willingness and Resources to Serve More Medicaid Patients: Perspectives from Primary Care Physicians April 1, 2011 Issue Brief This issue brief attempts to assess how primary care physicians will respond to the entry of 32 million newly insured people into the health care system under health reform. The increase in the number of people with health coverage is expected to intensify competition among patients and payers for primary…
Kaiser Health Tracking Poll — April 2011 April 1, 2011 Poll Finding As Congress and the president debate different approaches to reducing the deficit, the April Kaiser Health Tracking Poll indicates that initial public reaction is fairly evenly split when a premium support/voucher program like the one in House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s “Path to Prosperity” proposal is described, but seniors…
