Austin Smith

Author's posts

The Kaiser Initiative on Health Reform and Private Insurance

The Kaiser Initiative on Health Reform and Private Insurance <!– Copyright 2006 Bontrager Connection, LLCvar cX = 0; var cY = 0;function UpdateCursorPosition(e){ cX = e.pageX; cY = e.pageY;}function UpdateCursorPositionDocAll(e){ cX = event.c…

Rate Review: Spotlight on State Efforts to Make Health Insurance More Affordable

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act creates a new federal role to examine “unreasonable increases” in the premiums charged for certain individual and small group health plans. Under the health reform law, the U.S. Department of H…

Snapshots: Compensation for Workers with and without Access to Health Benefits at Work

A newer version of this Snapshot is available here. Compensation for Workers with and without Access to Health Benefits at Work  October 2008 This paper compares the payroll and benefit compensation of workers that had access to employer-sponsored heal…

Illustrating the Potential Impacts of Adverse Selection on Health Insurance Costs in Consumer Choice Models

Health Care Spending in the United States and OECD Countries  Health spending is rising faster than incomes in most developed countries, which raises questions about how these countries will pay for future health care needs.  The issue may be…

National Council of Jewish Women features article on “Diagnosing Women’s Health Care”

National Council of Jewish Women features article on “Diagnosing Women’s Health Care” Kaiser Vice President and Director of Women’s Health Policy, Alina Salganicoff, authored an article titled “Diagnosing Women’s Hea…

The Distributional Consequences of  Medicare Premium Support Proposal

The Distributional Consequences of a Medicare Premium Support Proposal This article analyzes the expected distributional impact of enacting a premium support proposal for Medicare based on legislation introduced by Sen. Breaux and Sen. Frist in 1999. T…

Current Trends and Future Outlook for Retiree Health Benefits:  Findings from the Kaiser/Hewitt 2004 Survey on Retiree Health Benefits

Current Trends and Future Outlook for Retiree Health Benefits: Findings from the Kaiser/Hewitt 2004 Survey on Retiree Health Benefits A new survey of large employers finds businesses and retirees experienced double-digit increase in retiree health cost…

The Impact of Cost Sharing on Appropriate Utilization and Health Status: A Review of the Literature on Seniors

The Impact of Cost-Sharing on Appropriate Utilization and Health Status: A Review of the Literature on Seniors This article provides a review of research that has addressed the impact of patient cost-sharing on the use of health care services and subse…

Health Care and the 2004 Elections

** Update: For information on health care and the 2008 election, visit www.health08.org. ** Health care issues continue to be important for many Americans and a vital part of the policy debates in Washington and around the country. During an election s…

Section 2: Page One

Although nearly all large firms (200 or more workers) offer health benefits, all small firms (3-199 workers) are only about half as likely as all large firms to offer coverage (Exhibit 2.2). Annual changes in the offer rate over the last several years …