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.

Resources on National Health Reform Efforts
The Kaiser Family Foundation has a number of resources that provide insight into the nation’s health care challenges and various health reform proposals being considered at the national and state levels.

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Pulling it Together from Drew Altman: Multiple Agendas for Controlling Health Care Costs -- January 2009
In his latest essay for "Pulling It Together, From Drew Altman," the Foundation's President and CEO considers whether multiple, and sometimes conflicting agendas for controlling health spending and care costs could play out in separate or combined "grand bargain" health reform and entitlement debates.

Challenges of Providing Health Coverage for Children and Parents in a Recession: A 50 State Update on Eligibility Rules, Enrollment and Renewal Procedures, and Cost-Sharing Practices in Medicaid and SCHIP in 2009 -- January 2009

This eighth annual 50-state survey of eligibility rules, enrollment and renewal procedures, and cost-sharing practices in Medicaid and SCHIP for children finds that state efforts to expand coverage to children slowed in state fiscal year 2008.

Next Steps in Covering Uninsured Children: Findings from the Kaiser Survey of Children’s Health Coverage -- January 2009

This issue brief provides key findings from the Kaiser Survey of Children’s Health Coverage conducted in 2007, including that many low- and middle-income working families with an uninsured child do not have access to employer-sponsored health insurance.

Covering Uninsured Children: Reaching and Enrolling Citizen Children With Non-Citizen Parents -- January 2009

This issue brief examines health insurance coverage for low-income citizen children whose parents are not citizens and some of the specific barriers to enrolling these children in Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program.

Enrolling Uninsured Low-Income Children in Medicaid & SCHIP -- January 2009

This fact sheet outlines issues in outreach and enrollment for Medicaid and SCHIP. It provides a profile of eligible but uninsured children, discusses the greatest barriers to enrollment, and offers strategies to improve enrollment.

Health Insurance Coverage of America's Children -- January 2009

This chartbook provides fundamental facts about children's health insurance coverage.

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.

Reports Examine Impact of Economic Turmoil on Health Coverage and State Medicaid Programs -- January 2009

The Kaiser Family Foundation issued several new reports looking at how the recession and growing unemployment is affecting people's health coverage and state Medicaid programs. The new reports were released in conjunction with an Alliance for Health Reform briefing.

Rising Unemployment, Medicaid and the Uninsured -- January 2009

This policy brief analyzes the relationship between increases in the unemployment rate and changes in the number of people covered by employer-sponsored health insurance, Medicaid, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program and non-group insurance policies, as well as the financial implications for government budgets.

In his latest essay for "Pulling It Together, From Drew Altman," the Foundation's President and CEO considers whether multiple, and sometimes conflicting agendas for controlling health spending and care costs could play out in separate or combined "grand bargain" health reform and entitlement debates.

This chartbook provides fundamental facts about children's health insurance coverage.

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.

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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.