News Releases: Health Insurance

115 documents

Sort By: Date Alphabetical

Choice: When Does It Lead to Higher Customer Satisfaction?

March 10, 2006 - Commonwealth Fund President Karen Davis's March 7th presentation from the World Congress Leadership Summit outlines the impact of choice of physicians and health plans on patient satisfaction.

New EBRI–Commonwealth Fund Research: Consumer-Directed Health Plan Participants Less Satisfied Than Those With Comprehensive Insurance, Survey Finds

December 8, 2005 - Americans enrolled in a relatively new type of health coverage designed to make them more cost conscious are less satisfied with their health plan than those with comprehensive health insurance and are less likely to recommend the new plans to a friend or colleague, a groundbreaking nationwide survey reported today.

Only One-Fifth of Nonstandard Workers Have Health Insurance Through Their Jobs

December 1, 2005 - Just one of five of the estimated 34 million "nonstandard" workers in the U.S. workerforce has health insurance through his or her employer, compared with three-quarters of regular full-time employees, according to a new Commonwealth Fund report by researchers at the Iowa Policy Project.

Health Care Opinion Leaders: Medicaid Should Be Improved and Expanded to Cover More Low-Income Americans

October 6, 2005 - As states struggle with mounting Medicaid budgets and greater than ever need among their populations, the overwhelming majority of respondents to the latest Commonwealth Fund Health Care Opinion Leaders survey say that Medicaid is important to achieving many goals of the U.S. health care system, particularly in improving access to health care for those with low incomes.

Majority of Working Adults Prefer Employer-Selected Health Plans to Employer-Funded Accounts

September 22, 2005 - Policymakers should be cautious about embracing the individual market and health savings accounts as a way to improve satisfaction with the health care system, according to a new Commonwealth Fund study authored by Jeanne Lambrew of George Washington University.

"Lost Labor Time" Costs U.S. $260 Billion Each Year

August 31, 2005 - Sickness and health problems among working-age Americans and their families carry an estimated price tag of $260 billion in lost productivity each year.

New Survey: Millions of Family Caregivers Go Without Needed Health Care, Have Problems Paying Medical Bills

August 24, 2005 - Sixteen million working-age adults now spend time caring for a sick or disabled family member, yet more than half of those adults—9 million—have health problems of their own, according to new survey data released today by The Commonwealth Fund.

Estimated 77 Million Americans Have Medical Bill Problems or Medical Debt

August 10, 2005 - The high cost of health care and inadequate health insurance coverage are undermining the financial security of millions of Americans, according to a new report from The Commonwealth Fund.

Baby Boomers Concerned About Their Financial and Health Security, Says Survey

June 28, 2005 - Concerned about their future financial and health security, a substantial majority of older Americans would favor setting aside a portion of their earnings in a special account to save for future medical expenses not covered by Medicare, according to a new Commonwealth Fund survey report.

New Study: At Least 16 Million Adults Lack Adequate Health Insurance Coverage; Total Number of Uninsured and Underinsured Adults Climbs to 61 Million

June 14, 2005 - In addition to the 45 million uninsured adults in this country, at least another 16 million adults were underinsured in 2003, meaning they did not have enough financial protection to cover their health care expenses, according to a web-exclusive study released in the journal Health Affairs.

Young Adults Without Health Insurance Increased by More Than Two Million Over Three Years

May 4, 2005 - Over 13 million young adults ages 19 to 29 lacked health insurance in 2003, a jump of 2.2 million since 2000, a new Commonwealth Fund report finds.

HSAs Unlikely to Help Cover Substantial Numbers of Uninsured Americans: New Study

April 20, 2005 - Fewer than 1 million of the nation's 45 million uninsured are likely to get new health coverage as a result of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) coupled with high-deductible health plans, says a new report by researchers Sherry Glied and Dahlia Remler of Columbia University.

New Study Calls for Tougher Regulation of Discount Medical Cards

March 11, 2005 - Many of the millions of consumers who enroll in discount medical cards may lack accurate information about what these cards are, have trouble getting the care they need at the promised discounts, and have problems finding providers that participate in the discount programs, says a new study released today.

New Health Care Opinion Leaders Survey: Uninsured Rate Could Be Reduced By Half in Ten Years

March 8, 2005 - The proportion of Americans without health insurance can and should be reduced to 8 percent in ten years, less than half the current rate, according to the Commonwealth Fund Health Care Opinion Leaders survey, an online survey of widely-recognized experts in health care practice and policy.

Half of Insured Adults with High-Deductible Health Plans Experience Medical Bill or Debt Problems

January 27, 2005 - About half of insured adults with a high-deductible health plan have medical bill problems or debts, compared with less than one-third (31%) of those with lower-deductible plans, according to new research from The Commonwealth Fund. Individuals with high-deductible plans are also more likely than those with lower-deductible plans to experience access problems such as not filling a prescription, or skipping a medical test, treatment, or follow-up when needed, due to cost.