Kaiser Family Foundation Report Examines HSAs and Low-Income Families; NGA Report Examines State Expansions to Mother, Child Health Programs

• "Health Savings Accounts and High Deductible Health Plans: Are They An Option for Low-Income Families?," Kaiser Family Foundation: The issue paper, based on analyses of available data and research, examines whether low-income families could benefit from health savings accounts and high deductible health plans. According to the paper, such plans shift financial risk to consumers through higher deductibles, and out-of-pocket costs for such plans could consume up to 15% of the annual income for low-income families. In addition, the paper says that the incomes of most low-income families and individuals are not high enough to benefit from the tax deductions associated with HSAs and such plans reduce the use of preventive care and primary services (Kaiser Family Foundation, "Health Savings Accounts and High Deductible Health Plans: Are They An Option for Low-Income Families?," October 2006).
  
  
• "Maternal and Child Health Update 2005: States Make Modest Expansions to Health Care Coverage," National Governors Association: The issue brief examines state efforts in 2005 to provide health care to low-income women and children through Medicaid and SCHIP and examines some policies states have implemented to expand coverage. The brief finds that Medicaid covered more than 40% of U.S. births to low-income pregnant women, a percentage that has remained constant since 1986. The brief also finds that many states have expanded eligibility and enrollment policies for Medicaid and SCHIP to cover more low-income women and children and that 10 states made modest expansions of continous eligibility and other practices to help maintain coverage for Medicaid and SCHIP beneficiaries (NGA, "Maternal and Child Health Update 2005: States Make Modest Expansions to Health Care Coverage," 9/28).