U.S. State Health Policy, Public Opinion & Research

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Statehealthfacts.org
This redesigned and updated website provides the latest state-level data on demographics, health, and health policy, including health coverage, access, financing, and state legislation and budgets.

New Analysis Shows Effect of Rising Unemployment on Health Coverage, Medicaid and SCHIP Spending and Enrollment
Every one percentage point rise in the unemployment rate leads to a 1.1 million increase in the uninsured population and a one million increase in Medicaid and SCHIP enrollment, according to a new Kaiser analysis. Another report analyzes the history of Medicaid during recent economic downturns.

Recent Documents: (195 results)

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State Fiscal Conditions & Medicaid -- November 2008

This fact sheet examines how an economic downturn increases state Medicaid program enrollment and costs at the same time that states face new budget constraints, as well as possible policy responses.

States Moving Towards Comprehensive Health Care Reform -- November 2008

With the problem of the uninsured continuing to grow, states have taken the lead in developing proposals to reform of their health care systems with the goal of significantly increasing the number of people with health coverage. An interactive map and related summaries of plans track which states have enacted or are planning comprehensive initiatives to cover their uninsured population.

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 Affairs Article: Florida's Medicaid Reform: Informed Consumer Choice? -- October 2008

Based on the Kaiser Family Foundation's 2006-2007 Survey of Florida Medicaid Beneficiaries, this Health Affairs article finds that many enrollees in the state's reform program lacked key information about their Medicaid changes, leading to reporting difficulties choosing a health plan.

Florida Medicaid Reform Waiver: Early Findings and Current Status -- October 2008

Florida Medicaid Reform Waiver: Early Findings and Current Status

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?

Headed for a Crunch: An Update on Medicaid Spending, Coverage and Policy Heading into an Economic Downturn -- September 2008

This eighth annual 50-state survey on Medicaid and state budget actions finds enrollment began to rise in fiscal year 2008 with states expecting even larger increases for fiscal year 2009. With the increased enrollment, Medicaid spending is also rising more rapidly than in the recent past.

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

Healthy Indiana Plan: Key Facts and Issues -- June 2008

This fact sheet provides an overview of Indiana's new Medicaid waiver program, the Healthy Indiana Plan, which is the first that allows a state to use Medicaid funds to provide a benefit package modeled after a high-deductible plan and health savings account to previously uninsured adults. This piece examines key components of the plan and identifies key issues to consider.

Testimony: State-Based Health Reform Efforts -- June 2008
Gary Claxton, a Kaiser Family Foundation vice president, testified about state-based health reform efforts as part of the Senate Finance Committee's Prepare For Launch Health Reform Summit. His testimony examines the role of Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program, as well as the way various federal laws and policies may limit innovation at the state level.

This fact sheet examines how an economic downturn increases state Medicaid program enrollment and costs at the same time that states face new budget constraints, as well as possible policy responses.

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.

Florida Medicaid Reform Waiver: Early Findings and Current Status

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?

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

Gary Claxton, a Kaiser Family Foundation vice president, testified about state-based health reform efforts as part of the Senate Finance Committee's Prepare For Launch Health Reform Summit. His testimony examines the role of Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program, as well as the way various federal laws and policies may limit innovation at the state level.

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State Health Policy

States play a major role in the delivery and financing of health care and public health in the United States. Insurance regulation, Medicaid policy and financing of public health services, and many reproductive health policies are under state jurisdiction. States operate their own Medicaid programs within broad federal guidelines, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) for low-income children, and in some cases also offer additional health care programs such as discount drug programs for seniors.

In recent years, states have been facing major budget shortfalls. These fiscal constraints have broad implications for many aspects of the health care financing and delivery system. Recent reductions to Medicaid coverage and benefit packages have been a reversal from the programs expansions of the late 1990s when states experienced unprecedented budget surpluses. State legislatures are also playing an increasingly important role in health policy, enacting legislation on issues that have been controversial and slow-moving at the national level, such as patients’ rights and reproductive health.

The Foundation’s work in state health policy cuts across nearly all of the Foundation’s policy priority areas. The Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured analyzes state Medicaid and SCHIP programs, and tracks changes states are making to their Medicaid programs as a result of their deteriorating fiscal conditions. The California Health Policy Program provides information and analysis about health policy issues and key trends in the nation's largest and most diverse state. Nearly all of the Foundation’s priority areas collect and conduct analyses on state-based policies. Much of this information is presented in State Health Facts Online, a web-based interactive database, including demographic information, health insurance coverage rates, Medicaid and Medicare enrollment, spending and policies, private insurance mandates, health care financing and delivery information, as well as disease and mortality statistics.