Health Coverage & the Uninsured - Research, Public Opinion, Facts & Analysis

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Health Coverage in an Economic Downturn: Impact of Tight Budgets for Families and States
The economic downturn has strained family finances and led some Americans to cut back on 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 and trends in states’ Medicaid enrollment and spending.

New Brief Offers Five Basic Facts on the Uninsured
This brief provides and discusses five basic facts on the uninsured to help explain why 45 million people in the United States lack health insurance and how this affects their health and financial security.

Recent Documents: (735 results)

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Health Coverage in a Period of Rising Unemployment -- December 2008

This policy brief outlines the public and private options available to help people maintain coverage if they become unemployed during a downturn and cannot get employer-sponsored coverage through a spouse.

President-Elect Obama's Campaign Position on Health Reform and Other Health Care Issues -- November 2008
These summaries explain President-Elect Obama's campaign proposal on comprehensive health reform, as well as his campaign positions on a variety of other health care issues.

Health Coverage of Children: The Role of Medicaid and SCHIP -- November 2008

This fact sheet summarizes the latest coverage data on the nation's children and examines the key role played by two public health coverage programs, Medicaid and SCHIP.

The Fraying Link Between Work and Health Insurance: Trends in Employer-Sponsored Insurance for Employees, 2000-2007 -- November 2008

This analysis examines the factors behind the steady decline in the share of workers with employer-sponsored health insurance coverage between 2000 and 2007 and how that has contributed to increases in the uninsured rate for employees and their children.

Pulling It Together: Keeping the Health Reform Coalition Together -- November 2008
In his latest essay for "Pulling It Together, From Drew Altman," the Foundation's President and CEO looks toward a future health reform debate and a potential schism between advocates of long-term health delivery system changes and those who think there needs to be immediate help for the uninsured and the insured struggling with the cost of health care. He ponders whether budget woes and a crowded policy agenda that limits health reform to incremental changes will splinter the health reform coalition.

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.

Low-Income Adults in New Orleans in 2008: Who Are They and How Are They Faring? -- October 2008
Based on data from Kaiser's Second Post-Katrina Survey, this Survey Brief finds that New Orleans continues to have a sizeable population of low-income adults in 2008, and that these adults are more likely than other adults in the city to still be dealing with recovery from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and financial and health care challenges.

Women's Health Insurance Coverage Fact Sheet -- October 2008
This updated fact sheet discusses the predominant forms of health insurance coverage for women ages 18 to 64, including coverage rates, benefits, recent coverage trends, and issues related to uninsured women.

The Uninsured: A Primer -- October 2008

This primer, updated with 2007 data, reviews the basic profile of the uninsured population, how they receive care, the latest trends in health insurance coverage, and what the options are for increasing coverage.

These summaries explain President-Elect Obama's campaign proposal on comprehensive health reform, as well as his campaign positions on a variety of other health care issues.

This fact sheet summarizes the latest coverage data on the nation's children and examines the key role played by two public health coverage programs, Medicaid and SCHIP.

In his latest essay for "Pulling It Together, From Drew Altman," the Foundation's President and CEO looks toward a future health reform debate and a potential schism between advocates of long-term health delivery system changes and those who think there needs to be immediate help for the uninsured and the insured struggling with the cost of health care. He ponders whether budget woes and a crowded policy agenda that limits health reform to incremental changes will splinter the health reform coalition.

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.

Based on data from Kaiser's Second Post-Katrina Survey, this Survey Brief finds that New Orleans continues to have a sizeable population of low-income adults in 2008, and that these adults are more likely than other adults in the city to still be dealing with recovery from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and financial and health care challenges.

This updated fact sheet discusses the predominant forms of health insurance coverage for women ages 18 to 64, including coverage rates, benefits, recent coverage trends, and issues related to uninsured women.

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Health Coverage & The Uninsured

Lack of health insurance coverage for 46 million Americans is one of the nation's most pressing problems. While most elderly Americans have coverage through Medicare and over 60% of non-elderly Americans receive health coverage through employer-sponsored plans, many workers and their families remain uninsured because their employer does not offer coverage or they cannot afford the cost of coverage. Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) help fill in the gaps for low-income children and some of their parents, but the reach of these programs is limited. As a result, millions of Americans without health insurance face adverse health consequences because of delayed or foregone health care and extending coverage to the uninsured has become a national priority.

This section provides data and information on the uninsured population, profiling the uninsured and describing the consequences to individuals and society from lack of health insurance. Data from surveys, studies of the impact of lack of insurance, and analysis of proposals for reform are provided. These materials can help to inform the debate on how to achieve coverage for the nation's 46 million uninsured.

The Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured is the main source for the Foundation's work related to the uninsured population. The Commission provides analysis of the uninsured population, and the impact of lack of insurance on access to care and health status with a particular focus on the low-income population. Through its reports and briefings, the Commission provides up-to-date information on the number and characteristics of the uninsured and assesses options for reform. In addition, the Foundation continues to assess both incremental and comprehensive proposals to address the uninsured, including modeling reform proposals ranging from tax credits to expansions of public programs.