May Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: Views of Health Reform Law Remain Unchanged May 25, 2011 Perspective This month’s Kaiser Health Tracking Poll reveals little change in public opinion about the health reform law. Americans remain divided overall, with 42 percent having a favorable opinion of the law and 44 percent viewing it unfavorably. Three in ten continue to want to see the law expanded, while roughly…
Keeping Coverage Continuous: Smoothing the Path between Medicaid and the Exchange May 20, 2011 Event A key challenge for those implementing the reform law is how to manage churning, when people cycle in and out of public programs as their income varies. What approaches are states and the federal government taking to minimize the disruption from churning? Will people be able to keep their provider…
Pulling It Together: Predictions May 20, 2011 Perspective I usually don’t make predictions, unless they are backed up by the kind of statistical modeling we often produce. But here are three predictions I am confident about that form the basis of this latest column. GROUP HEALTH INSURANCE PREMIUMS WILL CONTINUE TO RISE AT HISTORICALLY MODERATE LEVELS, AT LEAST…
Accountable Care Organizations: A New Paradigm for Health Care Delivery? May 13, 2011 Event The health reform law of 2010 authorizes Medicare, beginning next year, to contract with accountable care organizations (ACOs) in a Medicare Shared Savings Program. ACOs provide financial incentives to improve the coordination and quality of care for Medicare beneficiaries, while reducing costs. But providers have raised red flags, saying the…
A Medicaid Block Grant Would Reduce Federal Spending But Trigger Substantial Cuts in Medicaid Coverage in the States That Would Increase the Uninsured May 10, 2011 News Release NEWS RELEASE May 10, 2011 New State-By-State Analysis Shows House Budget Plan For Medicaid Would Reduce Enrollment By Tens of Millions Of People And Cut Funding For Hospitals And Other Medicaid Services WASHINGTON, D.C. — Converting Medicaid into a block grant and repealing the health reform law as adopted by…
Medicaid’s Role for Black Americans May 1, 2011 Fact Sheet This fact sheet examines Medicaid’s role for black Americans. It includes data on Medicaid’s coverage of black Americans and the program’s impact on their access to care, as well as the impacts of the recent recession and the coming expansion of Medicaid under health reform on enrollment in Medicaid among…
Medicaid’s Role for Hispanic Americans May 1, 2011 Fact Sheet This fact sheet examines Medicaid’s role for Hispanic Americans. It includes data on Medicaid’s coverage of Hispanic Americans and the program’s impact on their access to care, as well as the impacts of the recent recession and the coming expansion of Medicaid under health reform on enrollment in Medicaid among…
Kaiser Health Tracking Poll — May 2011 May 1, 2011 Poll Finding Most Americans oppose the idea of converting Medicaid to block grant financing to reduce the federal deficit, and more than half want to see no reductions at all in Medicaid spending. One in five adults has received Medicaid benefits over time, and for most, experiences were positive, although one third…
Public Reporting of Quality Outcomes: What’s the Best Path Forward? April 27, 2011 Event The Affordable Care Act aims to promote higher quality care in part by rewarding – and eventually requiring – the reporting of certain quality measures. Previous efforts suggest that public reporting can add significant value. Yet there are concerns about the best way to measure outcomes and quality, the possible…
KFF April Tracking Poll: Opinions of Reform Remain Steady April 27, 2011 Perspective This month, public opinion on the health reform law continues to be remarkably steady. The April Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds that four in ten feel favorably about the law and an equal share say they feel unfavorably. In recent months there has been a slight decline in the share…