Health Insurance Costs, Health Care & Health Care Services - Research, Public Opinion, Facts & Analysis

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2008 Kaiser/HRET Employer Health Benefits Survey
This annual survey of employers provides a detailed look at trends in employer-sponsored health coverage, including changes in premiums, employee contributions, cost-sharing policies and other relevant information.

How Private Health Coverage Works
This primer explains the role and operations of private health coverage in the United States. It discusses the fundamental aims of private coverage and sorts out the complicated web of state and federal regulations that govern it.

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Medicare Health & Prescription Drug Plan Tracker -- November 2008
The interactive resource provides local, regional and national information about Medicare Advantage plans, as well as current information on stand-alone Part D prescription drug plans. The tool allows users to graph or map comparative and trend data about enrollment, plan participation and other key information.

Health Coverage in an Economic Downturn: Impact of Tight Budgets on Families and States -- November 2008
The economic downturn has strained family finances and led some Americans to cut back on medications and medical care. The Foundation has a number of resources that shed light on how Americans and states are faring and provide background on the uninsured, employer-sponsored health insurance costs, trends in states’ Medicaid enrollment and spending and prior efforts to support the Medicaid program during a slumping economy.

Health Care Costs and Election 2008 -- October 2008
The fourth in a series of 2008 election briefs examines the issue of health care costs and provides an overview of how the high and rapidly rising cost of health care affects the financial security of families and the economic health of the nation. The brief also summarizes the presidential candidates' stated positions on these topics. Previously released briefs on the uninsured, Medicare and women's health can also be viewed online.

Snapshots: Health Benefit Offer Rates and Employee Earnings -- October 2008
This analysis finds that across most establishment sizes, the health insurance offer rate increases as the share of workers earning higher wages increases. It is part of the online Snapshots: Health Care Costs series, written by Foundation staff.

Snapshots: Compensation for Workers with and without Access to Health Benefits at Work -- October 2008
This report analyzes the differences in payroll compensation at companies where health benefits are and are not offered. It finds that workers at companies that offer health benefits on average receive more than double the compensation of workers at companies that do. It is part of the online Snapshots: Health Care Costs series, written by Foundation staff.

Pulling It Together: What Do We Want Health Insurance To Be? -- September 2008
In the latest installment of "Pulling It Together, From Drew Altman" series, the Kaiser Family Foundation's president and CEO argues that trends in the marketplace and differences in approaches to health reform warrant more attention to a fundamental question that has not received much public discussion or debate: what do we want health insurance to be?

2008 Kaiser/HRET Employer Health Benefit Survey -- September 2008

This benchmark annual survey of employers provides a detailed look at trends in employer-sponsored health coverage, including changes in premiums, employee contributions, cost-sharing policies and other relevant information.

Prescription Drug Trends Fact Sheet - September 2008 Update -- September 2008
This updated fact sheet provides trend information about prescription drug expenditures and coverage, key factors that contribute to rising prescription spending, and efforts to contain certain rising drug costs.

Health Reform Resources on health08.org -- July 2008
A collection of resources on health reform issues from the Kaiser Family Foundation

Tax Subsidies for Health Insurance -- July 2008
With policymakers debating potential changes to the tax treatment of health insurance benefit, this issue brief illustrates how families with different incomes are affected by the tax subsidies for private health insurance included in current law.

The interactive resource provides local, regional and national information about Medicare Advantage plans, as well as current information on stand-alone Part D prescription drug plans. The tool allows users to graph or map comparative and trend data about enrollment, plan participation and other key information.

The economic downturn has strained family finances and led some Americans to cut back on medications and medical care. The Foundation has a number of resources that shed light on how Americans and states are faring and provide background on the uninsured, employer-sponsored health insurance costs, trends in states’ Medicaid enrollment and spending and prior efforts to support the Medicaid program during a slumping economy.

The fourth in a series of 2008 election briefs examines the issue of health care costs and provides an overview of how the high and rapidly rising cost of health care affects the financial security of families and the economic health of the nation. The brief also summarizes the presidential candidates' stated positions on these topics. Previously released briefs on the uninsured, Medicare and women's health can also be viewed online.

This analysis finds that across most establishment sizes, the health insurance offer rate increases as the share of workers earning higher wages increases. It is part of the online Snapshots: Health Care Costs series, written by Foundation staff.

This report analyzes the differences in payroll compensation at companies where health benefits are and are not offered. It finds that workers at companies that offer health benefits on average receive more than double the compensation of workers at companies that do. It is part of the online Snapshots: Health Care Costs series, written by Foundation staff.

In the latest installment of "Pulling It Together, From Drew Altman" series, the Kaiser Family Foundation's president and CEO argues that trends in the marketplace and differences in approaches to health reform warrant more attention to a fundamental question that has not received much public discussion or debate: what do we want health insurance to be?

This updated fact sheet provides trend information about prescription drug expenditures and coverage, key factors that contribute to rising prescription spending, and efforts to contain certain rising drug costs.

A collection of resources on health reform issues from the Kaiser Family Foundation

With policymakers debating potential changes to the tax treatment of health insurance benefit, this issue brief illustrates how families with different incomes are affected by the tax subsidies for private health insurance included in current law.

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Health Insurance/Costs

Americans receive their health care coverage from a variety of sources including private insurance provided through their employment or purchased on their own, and public insurance programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. About 160 million nonelderly Americans have employer-sponsored health insurance, and another 13 million purchase insurance directly from an insurer or HMO. Spending for health care services continues to rise, in total ($1.4 trillion in 2001; $3.1 trillion projected for 2012) and as a share of the country’s gross national product (14.1% in 2001; 17.7% projected for 2012).

Premium costs for people with private insurance have risen dramatically in recent years, with double-digit rate increases each of the first three years of the new millennium. At the same time, consumers have seen their out-of-pocket costs for deductibles, copayments, and other cost sharing rise significantly over the same period. While coverage availability has declined only modestly for those with job-based coverage, a slack economy and high unemployment have focused attention on access and cost issues faced by consumers seeking individual coverage. Coverage and cost issues have led to debate about how to control increases in health care costs and how to provide coverage for the uninsured.

Through its Health Care Marketplace Project, the Foundation provides information and analysis about issues and trends in health insurance, health care costs, and health care services. Descriptions of how the private health insurance market operates and how it is regulated are provided in a series of fact sheets, chart packs, and reports. Data from the annual KFF/HRET employer health benefit survey documents annual changes in the costs, availability, and benefits of job-based coverage. Information on insurance issues of importance to consumers, such as appeal rights and other consumer protections, is provided through reports and surveys. The Foundation also provides information on trends in health care costs and how these costs affect individuals and employers.