4/28/2008: This 24-page guide, newly updated, provides a readable overview on how Americans get health coverage, why coverage is so important, why so many of us don’t have coverage and what could be done to ease the problem. Includes many graphs and links to sources of additional information, including a glossary of health coverage terms and several specific proposals for change. Also includes nine questions to ask when evaluating any health reform proposal. Supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

10/31/2007: Seventeen years ago, a bipartisan congressional commission agreed unanimously that “all Americans should have access to affordable health and long-term care coverage in an efficient and effective system.” The Pepper Commission, chaired by Sen. Claude Pepper and then by Sen. Jay Rockefeller, is all but forgotten. But the insights and recommendations contained in the commission’s final report make for fascinating reading today and offer guidance as the nation ramps up for another try at major health reform. (328 pages -- 57 MB) To download the 18-page executive summary, see the next entry below.

10/26/2007: This is the executive summary of the Pepper Commission's Final Report. (18 pages -- 4 MB)

4/11/2007: This 24-page guide, updated for Cover the Uninsured Week 2007, provides a readable overview to how Americans get health coverage, why so many of us don’t have coverage and what could be done to ease the problem. Includes many graphs, a glossary of health coverage terms and links to sources of additional information. Supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

3/3/2007: Quality improvement programs could achieve even better results if they paid more attention to the contribution of nurses, concludes a new Alliance for Health Reform briefing summary.

2/2/2007: Dr. Reinhardt concludes that “Bush’s proposed health reforms would do little for the millions of low income, uninsured Americans who would not much benefit from the standard tax deductions” that are a key selling point for the plan. (Uwe Reinhardt is James Madison professor of political economy at Princeton University.)

2/2/2007: We may not see action soon on the two-part health plan to help the uninsured prposed by President Bush in his January 23 State of the Union address. But the president's plan is sure to generate discussion on and off Capitol Hill for months to come.

10/9/2006: This chapter from the Alliance sourcebook, “Covering Health Issues, 2006” presents key facts, background, story ideas, experts and websites on public health. It includes information on how public health works, the infrastructure, funding, addressing obesity, public health workforce, health information technology (health IT) , public health and the uninsured, and environmental health.

3/1/2006: Health insurance is one of the most important - and most misunderstood - subjects any of us faces in everyday life. This 23-page guide, written by the Alliance staff for Cover the Uninsured Week 2006, helps clarify who has coverage and who doesn't, and why being uninsured can cause so many problems - for uninsured individuals and for society at large. Several options for increasing coverage are discussed, along with questions to consider when evaluating proposals to help the uninsured. Funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

9/1/2004: This chapter from the Alliance sourcebook, “Covering Health Issues, 2004” presents key facts, background, story ideas, experts and websites on the subject of the uninsured.

9/1/2004: This chapter from the Alliance sourcebook, “Covering Health Issues, 2004” presents key facts, background, story ideas, experts and websites on the subject of employer-sponsored coverage.

9/1/2004: This chapter from the Alliance sourcebook, “Covering Health Issues, 2004” presents key facts, background, story ideas, experts and websites on the subject of individual coverage.

9/1/2004: This chapter from the Alliance sourcebook, “Covering Health Issues, 2004” presents key facts, background, story ideas, experts and websites on the subject of children's coverage.

9/1/2004: This chapter from the Alliance sourcebook, “Covering Health Issues, 2004” presents key facts, background, story ideas, experts and websites on the subject of Medicare.

9/1/2004: This chapter from the Alliance sourcebook, “Covering Health Issues, 2004” presents key facts, background, story ideas, experts and websites on the subject of prescription drugs.

9/1/2004: This chapter from the Alliance sourcebook, “Covering Health Issues, 2004” presents key facts, background, story ideas, experts and websites on the subject of Medicaid.

9/1/2004: This chapter from the Alliance sourcebook, “Covering Health Issues, 2004” presents key facts, background, story ideas, experts and websites on the subject of health care costs.

9/1/2004: This chapter from the Alliance sourcebook, “Covering Health Issues, 2004” presents key facts, background, story ideas, experts and websites on the subject of racial and ethnic disparities.

9/1/2004: This chapter from the Alliance sourcebook, “Covering Health Issues, 2004” presents key facts, background, story ideas, experts and websites on the subject of mental health.

9/1/2004: This chapter from the Alliance sourcebook, “Covering Health Issues, 2004” presents key facts, background, story ideas, experts and websites on the subject of public health.

9/1/2004: This chapter from the Alliance sourcebook, “Covering Health Issues, 2004” presents key facts, background, story ideas, experts and websites on the subject of reproductive health.