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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The Public's Health Care Agenda for the New President and Congress -- January 2009
This survey captures the public's attitudes regarding the health care agenda for President-elect Obama and the new Congress in 2009. It assesses the relative priority placed on health care by the American public as part of addressing the economic recession and as a large scale reform issue.

Cost Sharing for Health Care: France, Germany, and Switzerland -- January 2009
This background brief examines how three European countries – France, Germany, and Switzerland – have dealt with cost sharing in their health systems, including specific policies that limit the impact on people and families with significant health care needs and low incomes.

Pulling It Together: The "R" Word Is Back -- December 2008
In his latest essay for "Pulling It Together, From Drew Altman," the Foundation's President and CEO reviews the history of regulation in health and the return of regulatory approaches to the health policy agenda and how they fit in health reform.

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.

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.

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: 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?

This survey captures the public's attitudes regarding the health care agenda for President-elect Obama and the new Congress in 2009. It assesses the relative priority placed on health care by the American public as part of addressing the economic recession and as a large scale reform issue.

This background brief examines how three European countries – France, Germany, and Switzerland – have dealt with cost sharing in their health systems, including specific policies that limit the impact on people and families with significant health care needs and low incomes.

In his latest essay for "Pulling It Together, From Drew Altman," the Foundation's President and CEO reviews the history of regulation in health and the return of regulatory approaches to the health policy agenda and how they fit in health reform.

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.

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 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 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?

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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.