Healthcare

Controlling Healthcare Costs, Part Two: Analysis of Five Reform Concepts

Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes

Utah Foundation’s November 2006 report examines healthcare reform concepts suggested by the Employers Healthcare Coalition, a group formed by members of the Salt Lake Chamber. This is part two of a two-part report; the first examined rising healthcare costs and the reasons for high cost growth, and this second report analyzes five reform ideas selected by the coalition after reviewing the findings from part one.

Utah’s Health Condition

Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes

Maintaining good physical health is a priority for Utahns. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 31.9% of Utahns report that they exercise vigorously at least three times per week. Several factors contribute to maintaining overall wellness. In this research brief, Utah Foundation examines the underlying patterns and components of Utahns’ health, including several individual indicators of citizens’ health, the cost and availability of health insurance, and the availability of health care … Continued

Dealing with Growth in Utah

Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes

The rapid population growth that occurred in Utah during the 1990s is still expected to continue for the next thirty years. The challenges presented by the significant growth underlie many of the other top issues facing this state. Education, jobs, water supply, health care, crime, higher education, environment, and transportation are all greatly impacted by population growth. This brief will seek to explain how growth patterns will impact some of the top issues identified by … Continued

Utah’s Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP): How Well Are We Doing?

Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes

In November of 2000, Utah Foundation released an initial analysis of the Children’s Health Insurance Program or CHIP. That report provided an overview of the program and its purpose as well as discussing first year results and health care reform in Utah. It concluded by detailing the state’s plan for operation as well as the measurement tools used to determine how successful CHIP was in reaching its goals.

Utah’s Implementation of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program

Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes

Unlike most developed countries in the world, the United States does not have nationalized health insurance. Rather, health insurance is largely provided by the private sector in the U.S. with national health insurance for certain segments of the population, namely the elderly (Medicare) and poor (Medicaid). One of the concerns of many Americans with this approach is that there is a segment of the population that remains uninsured. Many of these uninsured earn too much … Continued

Household Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in Utah

Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes

The Utah economy experienced a decade of growth and expansion during the 1990s that is unparalleled in Utah’s peacetime history. The United States economy is also performing extraordinarily well. Unemployment rates reached 30 year lows around 3 percent in Utah and 4.1 percent nationally. In October of 1998, Utah Foundation reported that the growth in the economy was having a positive impact on the lives of low and middle income Americans in general and for … Continued