An Assessment of Strategies for Expanding Health Insurance Coverage October 1, 1999 Report This paper provides a conceptual analysis of alternative mechanisms (tax credits, public programs, and direct subsidies) for expanding health insurance coverage. The paper, which is part of the Kaiser Incremental Health Reform Project, discusses the likely impacts alternative approaches on a variety of outcomes including efficiency in increasing coverage and…
Expanding Health Insurance Through Tax Reform October 1, 1999 Report This paper discusses the impacts of the Heritage Foundation proposal for expanding health insurance coverage. Under the proposed tax reform, the employer tax exclusion and all other deductions for health-related expenses would be repealed. A new refundable tax credit would be created for unreimbursed medical expenses. This paper is part…
Subsidizing COBRA: An Option for Expanding Health Insurance Coverage October 1, 1999 Report This paper examines a method for making health insurance more affordable to people who may lose health insurance when they lose or change jobs. A proposal for subsidizing the purchase of group health insurance through COBRA for employees and their dependents who lose their health insurance coverage when the employee…
Expansions in Public Health Insurance and Crowd-Out: What the Evidence Says October 1, 1999 Report Enactment of the Children's Health Insurance Program has been accompanied by concerns that new coverage will “crowd out” private health insurance coverage. Part of the Kaiser Incremental Health Reform Project, this paper reviews existing empirical literature on the magnitude of crowd-out and discusses implications for CHIP. Issue Paper
Retiree Health Coverage: Recent Trends and Employer Perspectives on Future Benefits October 1, 1999 Report The report, based on an analysis of Hewitt Associates' client database, presents new trend data on the prevalence of retiree health coverage sponsored by large employers and finds a continued erosion of retiree health benefits. The report also includes findings from a new survey assessing how large employers might change…
Incrementalism: Ethical Implications of Policy Choices October 1, 1999 Report This paper discusses ethical issues in incremental approaches to expanding health insurance coverage. Although any reduction in the number of uninsured is morally desirable, there are real moral differences between different policy options. This paper, which is part of the Kaiser Incremental Health Reform Project, examines these moral differences by…
Public Subsidies and Private Markets: Coverage Expansions in the Current Insurance Environment October 1, 1999 Report Many proposals for incremental expansion of health insurance coverage would provide subsidies for the purchase of nongroup policies. This paper assesses how subsidy options might play out in regulated or unregulated markets and explores the possible trade-off between two distinct policy goals: maximizing the absolute number of families with insurance…
The New Child Health Insurance Program: A Carefully Crafted Compromise October 1, 1999 Report This paper explores the major policy compromises embodied in the CHIP program. It focuses on two areas: the relative control of the federal and state governments over the program, and the design of the program in relation to the private, employer-based health insurance market. This paper is part of the…
Race, Ethnicity and Medical Care: Improving Access in a Diverse Society September 30, 1999 Report In an effort to address the racial inequities in health care that exist today, the Kaiser Family Foundation brought together leading public and private sector policymakers — including health professionals, educators, civil rights leaders, and consumer organizations — to review the evidence and race and medical care and discuss what can be done to address inequities in care.
Race, Ethnicity & Medical Care: A Survey of Public Perceptions and Experiences September 30, 1999 Poll Finding Toplines This is a copy of the results of a telephone survey conducted on a random, national sample of nearly 4,000 African American, Latino and white adults, 18 years of age and older. The questions were designed to reveal what each respondent believed about the impact of race and ethnicity…
