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Families USA Director Explains What Could Block Health Care Reform

Excerpt: [Ron Pollack, director of Families USA,] told a small group of bloggers and journalists in an interview at the Families USA conference last Friday, 'I know where the sharp dividing lines are.' When ... asked 'What are the intractable differences between the insurance industry and health care reform?' Pollack listed three[.]

Families Caught Between Unemployment Benefits and Health Care Costs

Excerpt: This report shows that, to maintain their employer-based health coverage under COBRA, most unemployed people would have to devote an unrealistically high proportion of their incomes to health insurance. For many, it would take their entire unemployment check and more to continue coverage for themselves and their families. However, if laid-off workers do not continue their employer-based coverage by electing COBRA and instead seek coverage in the individual health insurance market, those with health problems are likely to find that no insurer will sell them a policy that will cover their pre-existing conditions at any price. Thus,many American workers find themselves in a catch-22.

ABC News/Kaiser Family Foundation/USA Today Health Care in America 2006 Survey (PDF)

Excerpt: This poll examines Americans' views and experiences related to health care costs and quality, as well as their attitudes toward possible policy solutions. The results are featured in a series of reports on ABC News programs, ABCNews.com, and in USA Today during the week of Oct. 15, 2006.

USA Today/Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health Survey: The Public on Prescription Drugs and Pharmaceutical Companies (PDF)

Excerpt: [The survey] finds Americans greatly value prescription drugs' potential benefits for their families, but most believe they cost too much money and many struggle to pay for needed medicines. The survey also provides a comprehensive look at Americans' views on, and experiences with, prescription drugs and the pharmaceutical industry, including drug costs, advertisements, safety issues, government regulation and medical research.

Maryland's Fair Share Health Care Law (PDF)

4 pages. Excerpt: On January, 12th, 2006, Maryland's much-anticipated Fair Share Health Care (FSHC) bill became law. That was the day that the Maryland legislature voted overwhelmingly to override the governor's May 2005 veto of the legislation. Maryland thus became the only state -- with the exception of Hawaii and Massachusetts -- to require large employers to either pay a share of their payroll toward their employees' health insurance or pay into a state fund to expand coverage.

Issue Brief: High-Risk Health Insurance Pools (PDF)

12 pages. Excerpt: High-Risk Health Insurance Pools provides answers to key questions about high-risk pools, including who they help and how they are financed. The report also includes a list of questions consumers should ask if they are considering joining a high-risk pool, as well as a checklist for advocates.

Report: Proposed Health Reform in Massachusetts: Net Gain for the Business Community (PDF)

20 pages. Excerpt: [The report] examines the health reform bill passed by the Massachusetts House of Representatives, which is designed to expand coverage to the state's uninsured. It finds that, overall, the bill would result in a net benefit for the state's business community.

Proposed Health Coverage Reform in Massachusetts: Net Gain for the Business Community (PDF)

20 pages. Excerpt: The Massachusetts House of Representatives has passed a health reform bill (An Act Promoting Access to Health Care -- H. 4479) that is designed to expand health coverage for people in Massachusetts who are uninsured. To achieve this goal, the bill seeks to build on the current system of employer-provided health coverage.

Health Care Reform Newsmaker Series: Nancy-Ann DeParle, Director, White House Office of Health Reform (PDF)

Video, Transcript, and mp3 formats available. Excerpt: Nancy-Ann DeParle, director of the White House Office of Health Reform, appeared as the third guest in a series of Health Care Reform newsmaker briefings sponsored by the Kaiser Family Foundation, Families USA and the National Federation of Independent Business. The reporters-only briefings, designed to inform the public about prospects and options for health reform, feature a short presentation by an influential leader followed by an extended question-and-answer session.

Uwe Reinhardt: 'The U.S. is Not a Democracy; it's an Aristocracy' - Implications for Healthcare Reform

Excerpt: In a private conversation with bloggers at the Families USA healthcare conference last week, Princeton healthcare economist Uwe Reinhardt recalled a conversation, when he asked health care economist Victor Fuchs, 'When will we ever have universal health insurance in the U.S.?' Fuchs' answer: 'Not until World War III, a Great Depression, or a major epidemic that threatens everyone.'