SUMMARIES OF 14 KAISER REPORTS
October 2001- December 2001
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2001 reports from the Kaiser Family Foundation
AFRICAN AMERICANS’ VIEWS AND KNOWLEDGE OF HIV/AIDS AND
An examination of African Americans’ views and knowledge of HIV/AIDS, including analysis by race/ethnicity, of trends over time, and among African American subgroups. Nearly 80% more African Americans than White Americans viewed Aids as the most urgent health problem in 2000. Also African Americans have higher level of misconcepton about how disease can be contracted.
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LATINOS’ VIEWS OF THE HIV/AIDS EPIDEMIC
"Latinos’ Views of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic at 20 Years: Findings from a National Survey"(in English and Spanish) Examination of attitudes toward the epidemic and knowledge about HIV/AIDS among Latinos and subgroups within the Latino community, and trends over time.
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KEY FACTS: LATINOS AND HIV/AIDS
Overview of the impact of HIV/AIDS on Latinos in the United States. It presents current snapshots and trends, drawing from recent data and research on the epidemiology of HIV/AIDS among Latinos, including data on AIDS cases and deaths health services use and coverage and attitudes.
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The AIDS Epidemic at 20 Years: The View from America
"The AIDS Epidemic at 20 Years: The View from America"
More than one in four Americans names AIDS, second only to cancer the most urgent health problem in the country. Nearly half of Americans think HIV/AIDS is a more pressing problem for the nation today than it was a few years ago. And more than one third name HIV/AIDS as the most urgent international health problem, ranking it number one among all global health issues. More than four in ten Americans say they know someone who is either living with HIV/AIDS or has died of AIDS, and nearly four n ten say they are personally concerned about becoming infected. Forty percent say AIDS is a serious problem for people they know. And 71% of parents are worried about their children becoming infected.
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PROTECTING AMERICA'S WORKERS
Stimulating the current economy and protecting America's workers are key concerns for federal lawmakers. Included in pending legislation are provisions to help protect the Medicaid safety net by assisting states with their Medicaid funding. "The Role of Medicaid in State Budgets" discusses the reasons behind rising growth in Medicaid and explores strategies for the federal government and states to cope with higher Medicaid spending in tough economic times. (Nov 01)
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Health Insurance for Unemployed Workers
The Commission’s executive director, Diane Rowland, prepared testimony for the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. "Health Insurance for Unemployed Workers" is her prepared statement from the cancelled hearing. Therein she stated that not all workers have access to coverage since some employers offer none or limit coverage to their full-time employees. Only 38% of workers at or below 200% federal poverty have insurance through their employers, often because it their premiums would be too large a burden on the family. The rate of workers who are covered through their employers programs is much better than twice this low rate for workers above 300% poverty. And so it is that 17% of US workers remain uninsured. The current economic downturn will have a heavy impact on workers and especially low-wage workers.
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Medicaid Budgets Under
Stress: Survey Findings for State Fiscal Year 2000, 2001, and 2002
is a survey of states detailing current Medicaid spending, the factors contributing to the growth, and what states are doing to curb the growth. The report was substantially completed prior to September 11; therefore, an update was commissioned that conveys the outlook since September 11 to consider the economic downturn which has followed. Medicaid a joint federal-state progam is often the only source of health coverage available for low-income children, a ctitical support for people with disabilities and the sole source of financial assistance for nursing home care. Twenty states are starting of FY 2002 anticipating that they have underfunded Medicaid. Medicaid enrollment has begun to increase (1999, 4% follwing a 3 year decrease of 3%).States have reported a growth of nearly 10% for 2001.
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The second report updating past Sept 11 is found at
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COBRA Coverage for Low-Income Unemployed Workers
As Congress debated an assistance package for a special subset of unemployed workers, including assistance with health coverage, the Commission has prepared a fact sheet, "COBRA Coverage for Low-Income Unemployed Workers". Worker eligibility for COBRA is severely by size of the firm they worked for, requirements of prior coverage. It is estimated that less than one in three low-income workers (<200% federal poverty) would be eligible for COBRA if out of work. Further limitations of COBRA are that its expensive, especially for low-income workers. In the current economic downturn low-wage workers are at great risk.
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Covering Parents through Medicaid and
SCHIP: Potential Benefits to Low-Income Parents and Children
Many states have initiated efforts to expand Medicaid and SCHIP coverage to low-income parents. The October 2001 report, "Covering Parents through Medicaid and SCHIP: Potential Benefits to Low-Income Parents and Children" by Lisa Dubay and Genevieve Kenney of the Urban Institute examines the impact of insurance coverage for parents on access to care for themselves and their children. It also examines whether parental coverage impacts the participation of children in Medicaid and SCHIP. In 1999 10.6 million parents, 16% of all the parents in US lacked health insurance. If Medicaid and SCHIP were to cover parents to same extent as children are currently covered, 70% of uninsured parents would be eligible.
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NATIVE
AMERICAN HEALTH COVERAGE AND ACCESS
Few people realize that the majority of American indians and Alaska Natives in the United States are now living in American cities, not on reservations. One in three Native Americans were uninsured in 1999 and more than one third of these report that they do not have a regular source of medical care. The federal government has a trust responsibility based on treaties and federal statutes to provide health care to members of federally recognized Indian tribes. Few Indian health Service facilities whether operated by the agency itself or by tribes, are located in urban areas. IHS eligibility rules limit IHS service population to about 1.5 million of the 2.5 to 4.1 million individuals who identify themselves soley or partially as American Indian and Alaska Native, most urgan native americans are excluded.
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UNSPENT S-CHIP
MONEY
Discusses of issues involving over $11 billion of S-CHIP funds (federal money allocated to the states for child health insurance) that states have not spent. What are the implications of allowing states to apply to use the funds for unemployed workers? A good demonstration of why incremental funding for one age group or demographic group at a time is inefficient and ineffective. The unused S-CHIP money, of course, reflects children still not getting the health care access they need.
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IMPORTANT ROLE FOR NURSING HOMES AND
Americans see an important role for nursing homes in caring for those not able to care for themselves, yet they also voice significant concerns about the actual quality of care nursing homes provide. Two-thirds (65%) of the public says the government is not doing enough to enforce existing quality standards.
People who have substantial experience with a friend or family member in a nursing home, or have been in a nursing home themselves, have generally positive views about the care provided. A significant minority of those with nursing home experience, however, says that the person they know has received poor quality care in the nursing home. For example, one quarter report that the resident they know has been treated badly or abused by the staff, while close to the same amount report that the resident they know has been overmedicated. The percentages and demographic breakdown of Americans with coverage for long term care are not addressed here, nor are attitudes about what quality and quantity of long-term care Americans feel ought to be available to all. Some 47% of Americans say that non-profit companies offer better quality services and this rises to 54% among those with some experience.
The survey highlights with a chartpack and toplines.
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ADS FEATURING PRESCRIPTION MEDICATIONS
Ads featuring prescription medications for everything from heartburn and asthma to birth control and impotence have appeared in growing numbers on prime-time television since new Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules cleared the way in 1997. Last year alone, the pharmaceutical industry spent $2.5 billion on all forms of direct-to-consumer(DTC) ads. A new survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation gauges the public’s response to drug ads in general, as well as to three specific advertisements shown to some respondents prior to the survey. The survey finds that the majority of the public gives prescription drug ads high marks, but most FDA-required information doesn’t register with TV viewers, and that one in eight Americans has gotten a prescription in response to a TV drug ad. While considering some economic aspects the survey has no estimate of lost health care provider time in discussing advertisements with patients. The report does include though that three of ten adults in the country have discussed at least one drug they saw advertised with at least one physician.
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PRESCRIPTION
DRUG TRENDS
Prescription Drug Trends: A Chartbook Update: a comprehensive resource with data on prescription drug coverage, spending, utilization, drug promotion, and the pharmaceutical industry. Including:
* Prescription Drug Expenditures: National spending for prescription drugs, projected to be $116.9 billion in 2000, has almost tripled since 1990. Although prescription drugs represent only 10% of personal health care spending, they are the fastest growing segment of health care spending, accounting for 20% of the estimated increase in such spending between 1999 and 2000.
* Utilization: Prescription drug use continues to grow steadily. The number of prescriptions has grown at an average annual rate of 6% since 1992, reaching almost 3 billion prescriptions in 2000.
* Trends in DTC Ad Spending: DTC promotion spending increased nine-fold from $266 million in 1994 to nearly $2.5 billion in 2000, largely due to growth in television advertising (13% of DTC spending in 1994, rising to 64% in 2000). DTC spending as a proportion of total spending on drug promotion ($15.7 billion in 2000) grew from 8.6% in 1996 to 15.7% in 2000. Since 1994, DTC ad spending has risen at an average rate of 45% each year.
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Additionally, see 12 more summaries of other 2001 reports from the
Kaiser Family Foundation
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