Analysis of Health Insurance Policies: Kaiser Family Foundation Report

This report provides an overview of the health insurance policies offered by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF). It details various plans, including Medicare, Medicaid, employer-sponsored insurance, military health benefits, and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The report explains the benefits and drawbacks of each plan, such as Medicare's coverage for seniors and those with disabilities, Medicaid's assistance for low-income individuals, and employer-sponsored plans' cost-reducing features. It also touches upon the KFF's role as a reliable source of healthcare information and its impact on global health challenges. The analysis also includes the benefits of each plan and their associated drawbacks, providing a comprehensive look at the health insurance landscape. Reference to the Affordable Care Act is also mentioned in the report.

Running head: HEALTH INSURANCE POLICIES OF KAISER FAMILY FOUNDATION
Health Insurance Policies of the Kaiser Family Foundation
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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The Kaiser Family Foundation(KFF) is a non-profit association that takes health
issues of national level as their center of attention, along with the U.S. role in international
health policies(www.kff.org, 2020). The organization provides impersonal, impartial facts
and journals for policymakers, the health policy community as well as offers health care
plans for individuals and families, medicare, administrators, employers.
In the United States, health insurance is a scheme that assists an individual to help
them pay for medical fees, in terms of the social insurance, privately purchased insurance, or
a social welfare program which is funded by the government(Usa.gov, 2020). In 2010, The
Affordable Care Act was proposed to offer health care services to those individuals in need.
Kaiser Family Foundation has many health insurance plans or programs for its users.
Medicare is a federated social insurance plan that aims to provide health insurance to older
adults and also to individuals who become permanently disabled(Adepoju, Preston &
Gonzales, 2015). Seniors who are also under employer-sponsored coverage, are not included
in this plan along with those who are covered by both Medicare and Medicaid facilities.
Medicare makes sure that its enrolled individuals have an economical, cost-effective health
care costs regardless of unplanned illness or injury. Medicaid insurance plan is another plan
that covers individuals assisted by Medical Assistance and Children's Health Insurance Plan
(CHIP) or any plan supported by the government. It also helps patients with less incomes or
disabilities, as well as those who are assisted by both Medicaid and other types of coverage.
The plan covers everyone with incomes under the level of federal poverty(FPL) and who are
not eligible for Medicare. The health insurance plan for employers includes those individuals
who cover current or former employer either as a client or as a reliant. Military health
benefits fall under the military or Veterans Administration such as present service members
or retired service members. The Department of Defense Military Health System (MHS)
provides direct treatment facilities to the presently active militaries, and the Veterans Health

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Administration aims to provide support to the veterans also. The Uninsured Health Insurance
Plan covers those who do not have any health insurance and those who are under the Indian
Health Service only. The Indian Health Service (IHS) delivers medical support to the entitled
American Indians, helping them in paying the expense for some facilities offered by non-
Indian Health Service health care suppliers. The Children’s Health Insurance Program
(CHIP) was established in 1997 and helps in providing financial assistance for uninsured
children who have less income but are allowed to apply for the Medicaid
facilities(Healthcare.gov, 2020).
Medicare insurance plan aims to offer additional coverage and beneficiaries at a
limited cost and also resulted in improvement in the standards of medications. The plan
includes prescription drug coverage and requires a low monthly premium. The cons are, it
requires one to pay copays and coinsurance fees(Claxton et al, 2016). Medicaid insurance
plan helps in providing affordable healthcare support to those who cannot afford costly
insurance premiums. The program also has some drawbacks associated with it such as
coverage limitations and limitations in health care options. Though the employer-sponsored
health insurance plans offer premium insurance facilities to the employers which helps in
reducing the cost of coverage for individual employees each month, this plan brings a lack of
choice in insurance policies. Moreover, some employees may prefer going for individual
insurance. The military health insurance program under TRICARE aims to provide medical
insurance for the military personnel of the United States along with their families. However,
it has no coverage for chiropractic services and dental work and requires the individuals to
prepare and file claims on their own, as there is no primary care manager. Children Health
Insurance Program or CHIP, on the other hand, provides health coverage to children at a low
cost and to the families who fall short to be eligible to qualify for Medicaid(Kreider et al,

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2016). But this service may require co-payments and may demand a monthly premium charge
for uninterrupted CHIP coverage.
Kaiser Family Foundation is a reliable source for gathering healthcare information
which is also factual. This website has been announced as the provider of the most up-to-date
and accurate information related to various health policies. Moreover, the site is also quite
user-friendly with enhanced user experience. It also provides in-detailed information and
knowledge on the issues regarding health policies, including Medicaid, Medicare, health
reforms and international health policies.
Presently multiple agencies and programs, along with international and local partners,
are trying to reach most economically backward countries around the world providing them
financial assistance. The Kaiser Family Foundation is one such organization involved in
offering health care insurances to people and focuses on global health-related issues. Given
its reach and funding in this particular field of healthcare, it is evident that this organization
will have a considerable impact on the world's response to global health challenges.

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REFERENCE:
Adepoju, O. E., Preston, M. A., & Gonzales, G. (2015). Health care disparities in the post–
Affordable Care Act era. American Journal of Public Health, 105(S5), S665-S667.
Claxton, G., Rae, M., Long, M., Damico, A., Foster, G., & Whitmore, H. (2016). Kaiser
Family Foundation. Health Research & Educational Trust.
HealthCare.gov. (2020). Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Eligibility
Requirements. Retrieved 10 February 2020, from
https://www.healthcare.gov/medicaid-chip/childrens-health-insurance-program/
Kreider, A. R., French, B., Aysola, J., Saloner, B., Noonan, K. G., & Rubin, D. M. (2016).
Quality of health insurance coverage and access to care for children in low-income
families. JAMA pediatrics, 170(1), 43-51.
Usa.gov. (2020). Health Insurance | USAGov. Retrieved 10 February 2020, from
https://www.usa.gov/health-insurance
www.kff.org. (2020). The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Retrieved 11 February 2020,
from https://www.kff.org/

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