The Uninsured: Publications

At a Crossroads: Is Health Coverage Ahead for America? examines how the Senate health reform bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, will affect health coverage. It provides state-specific numbers on how many people will gain coverage under the bill, as well as how many people will be uninsured without health reform. 9 pp. Print copies free (December 2009)

Your Medical Bills: A Consumer's Guide to Coping with Medical Debt covers steps for paying your medical bills, understanding your rights, and other information you need to know if you are struggling with medical debt. The guide also includes links to many useful online resources. 19 pp. Print copies free | Fact Sheet | State Protections (November 2009)

One-Two Punch: Unemployed and Uninsured takes a more in-depth look at the link between unemployment and uninsurance to get a clearer picture of the crisis of the uninsured. The report provides state-by-state numbers showing the likely magnitude of the increase in the uninsured due to rising unemployment. 13 pp. Print copies $5.00 (October 2009)

Help for Small Businesses discusses how small businesses face a disadvantage when it comes to providing health insurance and how health reform will help remedy this situation. 3 pp. Print copies free (October 2009)

Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Soften the Blow during Tough Economic Times discusses how these programs have served as an effective health care safety net for many newly uninsured families, particularly for children. 3 pp. Print copies free (October 2009)

Health Coverage in the States: How Will Health Reform Help? analyzes how the House health reform bill, America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009, would address many of the gaps and problems in the health care systems of specific states. 8 pp. Print copies free (September-October 2009)

The Essential Benefits Package in the House Health Reform Bill (H.R. 3200) examines the proposed benefits package for the plans in the exchange, discusses the benefits committee and its responsibilities, and outlines issues that advocates should monitor as health reform moves forward. 6 pp. Print copies free (September 2009)

Bridging the Gap: How Health Reform Will Help 55- to 64-Year-Olds discusses how the health reform legislation currently before Congress will make insurance more available and affordable for 55- to 64-year-olds and provide coverage stability for this age group. 6 pp. Print copies free (September 2009)

Health Coverage in Communities of Color: Talking about the New Census Numbers takes a closer look at the latest data and finds that communities of color continue to bear the brunt of the uninsured crisis. This fact sheet looks at who is uninsured, poverty levels of different racial and ethnic groups, and why public programs are vital to communities of color. 4 pp. Print copies free (September 2009)

Understanding the Role of the "Exchange" or "Gateway" discusses the new health insurance marketplace, or exchange, that is being developed in national health reform proposals. This short piece looks at how an exchange would work and how it could help middle-class and low-income families find and keep the affordable, quality health care they deserve. 4 pp. Print copies free. (July 2009)

Coverage for America: We All Stand to Gain provides state-by-state estimates of how many people will gain coverage under the House health reform bill, known as America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009. 6 pp. Print copies $5.00 (July 2009)

The Clock Is Ticking: More Americans Losing Health Coverage provides the first ever state-by-state data on the number of people who may lose health coverage between the beginning of 2008 and the end of 2010. Numbers are broken down per week, per month, and per year. 5 pp. Print copies $5.00 (July 2009)

Investing in Health Coverage: It Just Makes Sense explores four key reasons why we all have a stake in making sure everyone has health coverage. 4 pp. Print copies free. (June 2009)

CoverTN, Tennessee's Barebones Health Plan: A Case Study uses Tennessee's barebones health plan as an example to examine how limited-benefit plans fail to meet the health coverage needs of consumers. 16 pp. Print copies free. (May 2009)

Too Great a Burden: Americans Face Rising Health Care Costs reveals how many Americans face very high health care costs and shows the magnitude of the health care cost crisis. The report provides data on how many people are in families that will spend more than 10 percent or 25 percent of their pre-tax income on health care in 2009. 30 pp. Print copies $15.00 (April 2009)

Health Care Must Be Affordable for All Families, Regardless of Income presents crucial arguments for why health reform must ensure that health care is truly affordable. It proposes placing reasonable limits on out-of-pocket costs and providing subsidies, especially for those with low and moderate incomes. 2 pp. Print copies free (April 2009)

Covering the Uninsured in Medicaid describes the critical role Medicaid must play in ensuring coverage for all low-income Americans as part of health care reform. 2 pp. Print copies free (April 2009)

Health Care Reform: Critical to Closing the Gap for Communities of Color presents a more in-depth look at data on the uninsured, which reveal alarming racial and ethnic disparities in health coverage. 2 pp. Print copies free (March 2009)

Yes We Can...Cover More than 4 Million Uninsured Children shows how many children would gain coverage in all 50 states and the District of Columbia under the CHIP reauthorization bill passed by the House (H.R. 2). 5 pp. Print copies $5.00 (January 2009)

A Shot in the Arm for West Virginia: Increasing Health Coverage for Working Families discusses the state's opportunity to reduce the number of uninsured residents by expanding Medicaid to more parents. The report also examines how expanding parent coverage could boost the state's economy, creating new jobs, wages, and business activity. 13 pp. Print copies $5.00 (January 2009)

Squeezed! Caught between Unemployment Benefits and Health Care Costs examines COBRA coverage and unemployment benefits and finds that, to maintain their employer-based coverage under COBRA, most unemployed workers would have to devote an unrealistically high proportion of their unemployment check to health insurance. 13 pp. Print copies $10.00 (January 2009)

A Painful Recession: States Cut Health Care Safety Net Programs documents one impact of the current recession by examining state cuts in Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The report also shows, on a state-by-state basis, how temporarily increasing federal funding for Medicaid can stimulate state economies, increasing business activity, jobs, and wages. 25pp. Print copies $10 (December 2008)

Left Behind: America's Uninsured Children: The Bush Administration's opposition to expanding CHIP, as well as the economic crisis, have put new pressure on states to deal with the growing need for health coverage. These state-specific reports examine new data and discuss the future of children's health coverage. 10 pp. Free (October-November 2008)

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