October 2, 2008 - This analysis examines key differences and areas of agreement in the health system reform proposals of presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama. The report describes how each candidate would seek to expand health insurance coverage, improve the quality and efficiency of the health system, and control costs
Fund Report
December 25, 2000 - The problem of nearly 43 million Americans without health insurance could be virtually eliminated in a single generation through a health plan based on universal, automatic coverage that allows choice of plan and provider. The proposal could be paid for, according to Fund President Davis and coauthors, by using the quarter of the federal budget surplus which results from savings in Medicare and Medicaid.
Other
December 7, 2006 - Consumer-driven health plans are not catching on, according to a survey released today by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and The Commonwealth Fund. Enrollment in consumer-driven plans remains small, and satisfaction continues to be lower compared with more comprehensive health insurance.
Issue Brief
May 28, 2009 - More than two years after implementation of its landmark health insurance reforms, Massachusetts had achieved historically high levels of coverage and widespread improvements in access to care, according to this study—the latest in a series of reform updates, funded by the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, The Commonwealth Fund, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
In the Literature
November 13, 2009 - Access to doctors and use of mammography, cholesterol testing, and other preventive services improved for both white and Hispanic patients nationally from 1991 to 2004, Fund-supported researchers reported in the journal Medical Care. Gaps in access to care, however, widened between whites and Hispanics in individual states, including Texas and Florida.
In the Literature
November 9, 2009 - A Commonwealth Fund–supported study in the journal Inquiry found that workers employed by small businesses are less likely than those in large ones to be offered health insurance. Administrative costs are a major reason why so many smaller firms do not offer health benefits to their employees.
In the Literature
May 16, 2012 - A new analysis of the Commonwealth Fund 2010 Biennial Health Insurance Survey demonstrates that when low-income adults have both health insurance and a medical home, they are less likely to report cost-related access problems, more likely to be up-to-date with preventive screenings, and report greater satisfaction with the quality of their care.
Issue Brief
May 21, 2009 - Rather than wait and see how health reform legislation unfolds, physicians should help lead the effort to establish affordable, high-quality health care in this country, say Elliott S. Fisher, M.D, M.P.H., Donald M. Berwick, M.D., M.P.P., and Karen Davis, Ph.D., in a New England Journal of Medicine "Perspectives" column.
Literature Abstract
March 28, 2007 - New federal initiatives to cover the uninsured include many proposals to use fully refundable federal income tax credits to subsidize uninsured individuals' purchase of coverage. A new Fund issue brief points out that policymakers can learn from the country's only current use of tax credits to cover the uninsured--the Health Coverage Tax Credits (HCTCs).
Issue Brief
March 3, 2004 - Rising health care costs and growing instability in insurance coverage have made health reform a key issue in this election year, a Commonwealth Fund survey shows. Nearly six of 10 Americans (57%) say presidential and congressional candidates' views on health reform will be a "very important" factor in their vote this November.
Fund Report
September 8, 2011 - The number of U.S. adults who had health insurance all year but were still "underinsured"—that is, they had very high medical expenses relative to their incomes—rose by 80 percent between 2003 and 2010, from 16 million to 29 million, according to a new Commonwealth Fund study published in the September issue of Health Affairs.
In the Literature
December 9, 2000 - This report examines the need for a coverage initiative that fosters greater access to affordable benefits through employment, particularly in light of the strong support that employment-based coverage enjoys among the public. Under this proposed program, states would organize a group health insurance market for small firms with low-wage workers.
Fund Report
March 19, 2007 - This report, the first of a two-part series, compares leading congressional bills and Administration proposals to expand health insurance coverage introduced over 2005–2007.
Fund Report
January 9, 2009 - This Commonwealth Fund analysis of leading bills of the 110th Congress aimed at expanding and improving health insurance coverage finds several of these proposals could substantially reduce the number of uninsured Americans, and would either reduce health care spending or add only modestly to annual health care expenditures.
Fund Report
May 1, 2002 - The number of Americans without health insurance is near an all-time high, and various legislative proposals in Congress over the past few years have made little headway in reducing the number or uninsured. Now, members of Congress, as well as the Bush administration, are sponsoring legislation that would allow individuals to receive tax credits toward buying health insurance. This paper addresses the affordability of individual coverage under such a system of tax credits.
Fund Report