Browsing by Author "Sim, Shao-Chee"

Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
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    Health Reform Monitoring Survey – Texas, Issue Brief #17: Affordability of Health Services among Non-Elderly Texas Adults
    (2016) Sim, Shao-Chee; Marks, Elena M.; Ho, Vivian; Balihe, Philomene; James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy
    In September 2015, just before the third open enrollment period of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) Health Insurance Marketplace was about to open, we surveyed Texans ages 18 to 64 to see whether they had trouble paying health care bills or skipped various types of care due to cost. We compared their responses to data from September 2013 to learn whether affordability had changed based on insurance status or income level. We also compared the Texas data to similar national data regarding affordability.
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    Health Reform Monitoring Survey – Texas, Issue Brief #18: Why were 20% of Adult Texans Uninsured in 2015?
    (2016) Marks, Elena M.; Sim, Shao-Chee; Ho, Vivian; Balihe, Philomene; James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy
    In September 2015, just before the third open enrollment period of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) Health Insurance Marketplace was about to open, we surveyed Texans ages 18 to 64 to understand the reasons why the uninsured population remained uninsured two years after the implementation of the ACA’s , major insurance coverage provisions. We looked at the group of uninsured as a whole and by demographic subgroups including race/ethnicity and age. Our analysis shows that for the full group of uninsured adults, the overwhelming reason cited for remaining uninsured because they did not want health insurance, and even fewer cited lack of information as a reason.
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    Health Reform Monitoring Survey – Texas, Issue Brief #19: Health Insurance Literacy among Adult Texans
    (2016) Marks, Elena M.; Sim, Shao-Chee; Ho, Vivian; Balihe, Philomene; James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy
    In September 2015, just before the third open enrollment period of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) Health Insurance Marketplace was about to open, we surveyed Texans ages 18 to 64 to assess their confidence level in understanding the basic terminology about health insurance plans. Our data show that approximately one-quarter of adult Texans lacked confidence in their understanding of some of the most basic health plan terms, including premium and co-payment. Uninsured Texans were significantly more likely to report a lack of confidence in understanding health plan terminology than their insured counterparts. White Texans generally reported greater confidence than Black respondents. Hispanic respondents reported the least confidence in their understanding of health plan terminology.
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    Health Reform Monitoring Survey – Texas, Issue Brief #23: The Experience of Texas Young Invincibles 2013-2016
    (2016) Marks, Elena M.; Ho, Vivian; Sim, Shao-Chee; James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy
    A central goal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is to provide access to affordable health insurance coverage for millions of Americans. The inclusion in the insurance markets of young adults, who are generally healthier than older adults, helps the system as a whole by offsetting the costs of health services used by the older and less healthy populations. In this brief, we examine the health insurance experiences of Texans ages 18 to 34, the so-called “Young Invincibles,” between 2013 and 2016. The Young Invincibles term was coined by the health insurance industry to describe young people who were expected to forego health insurance based on the belief they were too healthy to warrant the cost. Prior to the implementation of the ACA, the Young Invincibles were less likely to be insured than their older counterparts. Our data show that the uptake of health insurance by Young Invincibles has increased significantly from 2013 to 2016. The uninsured rate for this group has fallen by more than one-third, from 32.7% to 21.3%. The increase is significantly attributable to the Young Invincibles' coverage through employer-sponsored insurance plans (21% increase). The largest sub-groups of Young Invincibles who remain uninsured are Hispanic and low income.
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    Health Reform Monitoring Survey – Texas, Issue Brief #24: Stability of Health Insurance Coverage among Texans ages 18-64
    (James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy;Rice University;The Episcopal Health Foundation, 2016) Sim, Shao-Chee; Marks, Elena M.; Ho, Vivian; James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy
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    Health Reform Monitoring Survey- Texas, Issue Brief #20: Insured Texans lack clear understanding of their health insurance plans
    (James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy;Episcopal Health Foundation, 2016-03) Sim, Shao-Chee; Marks, Elena M.; Ho, Vivian; Balihe, Philomene; James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy
    In September 2015, just before the third open enrollment period of the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) Health Insurance Marketplace was about to open, we surveyed insured Texans ages 18 to 64 to assess their confidence level in understanding the basic terminology about health insurance plans and in how they use their health insurance plans. Our data show that, as compared to Texans with employer-sponsored insurance (ESI) and those with public health insurance, Texans with individual plans were more likely to lack confidence in understanding health insurance terminology. Texans with individual plans also expressed more difficulty in understanding how to use their health insurance plans.
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    Health Reform Monitoring Survey-Texas, Issue Brief #21: Changes in Rates and Characteristics of the Uninsured among Texans ages 18-64 from 2013 to 2016
    (2016) Marks, Elena M.; Ho, Vivian; Sim, Shao-Chee; James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy
    In this brief, we examine the changes in the rates of uninsurance among Texans ages 18-64 from September 2013, before the opening of the first open enrollment period of the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) Health Insurance Marketplace, and March 2016, after the close of the third open enrollment period. We also examine the demographic characteristics of the uninsured and the changes in rates of uninsurance among various demographic groups. The data show that from 2013 to 2016, the rate of uninsured Texans ages 18-64 dropped by nearly one-third (30% decrease). Of ten demographic sub-groups examined, all showed decreases in rates of uninsurance, ranging from 15% to 51%. The steepest percentage decreases were experienced by Texans ages 50-64 (51% decrease) and Texans with incomes between 139% and 399% of the federal poverty level (42% decrease). The largest percentage point decreases were experienced by Hispanics (11.9 percentage points) and Texans ages 50-64 (10.8 percentage points). We conclude that the ACA has contributed significantly to reducing the rate of uninsured Texans ages 18-64.
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    Texas Residents’ Views on State and National Health Policy Priorities
    (Henry J Kaiser Family Foundation;Episcopal Health Foundation, 2018) Hamel, Liz; Wu, Bryan; Brodie, Mollyann; Sim, Shao-Chee; Marks, Elena M.; James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy