Access to Care

This Kaiser survey report looks at how the bankruptcies of two steel companies, the LTV Corporation and Bethlehem Steel, affected health coverage for the companies' retirees and dependents. The bankruptcies left about 200,000 retirees and spouses without retiree health coverage in 2002 and 2003. The report provides insight into the…

The first National Healthcare Disparities Report was issued by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in 2003. Now, three years later, the Kaiser Family Foundation hosts a forum to discuss what has been learned following the release of AHRQ’s latest progress report on disparities, and how that information can…

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…

A new Health Affairs article and a policy brief examine the implications of cuts to public coverage programs like Medicaid and SCHIP. The Health Affairs article finds that Medicaid and SCHIP cuts would increase emergency department visits by the uninsured, suggesting that cost containment actions on public coverage programs would…

A Pre-Katrina Look At the Health Care Delivery System For Low-Income People InNew OrleansThis issue brief offers a retrospective look at how care was provided to poor residents in New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina hit. It describes the structure of the public safety net and briefly discusses the challenges facing…

This policy brief examines national data to determine the share of current enrollees of public health coverage programs who would have alternate coverage options if public coverage were no longer available. The authors estimate that no more than 9 percent of low-income adults would have access to an alternative source…

In a few short weeks, Medicare will undergo big changes that will have a major impact on more than 3 million Hispanic seniors and younger people with permanent disabilities who rely on Medicare for their health coverage. More than one in three Hispanics with Medicare lack coverage for their prescription…

In a few short weeks, Medicare will undergo big changes that will have a major impact on nearly 4 million African American seniors and younger people with permanent disabilities who rely on Medicare for their health coverage. More than four in ten African Americans with Medicare lack coverage for their…

Threadbare: Holes in America’s Health Care Safety NetThis report describes the impact of coverage gaps in our safety net through the perspectives of those who provide care to the uninsured and first-hand accounts of the uninsured who are seeking care. Report (.pdf)

This study examines the privately insured who have had problems paying medical bills and compares their access to care to those who have not had medical bill problems as well as those with no health coverage at all, using a national representative survey of adults. The study finds that care-seeking…