People with Medical Debt are Much More Likely to Experience Other Forms of Financial Stress February 12, 2024 News Release People with medical debt are much more likely than those without such debt to show other signs of financial vulnerability, like having no “rainy day” fund, overdrawing a checking account, or relying on costly loans, according to a new KFF analysis of national survey data. Medical debt remains a significant…
New $2,000 Medicare Part D Cap Could Reduce Out-of-Pocket Drug Costs for Over One Million Beneficiaries Beginning Next Year, Including Tens of Thousands of Beneficiaries in Most States February 8, 2024 News Release A KFF analysis shows that a new out-of-pocket spending cap in Medicare Part D could translate into savings for well over 1 million beneficiaries when it takes effect next year, including more than 100,000 people each in California, Florida and Texas, based on analyses of drug spending in 2021. The…
3 Charts: Drug Prices in the United States February 7, 2024 News Release This post was updated to clarify that less than 10% of the nation’s total health spending is spent on retail prescription drugs and does not include spending on drugs administrated by physicians or in hospitals.Prescription drug costs are a top concern for the American public. While retail prescription drugs represent…
Roughly 1 in 5 Adolescents Report Experiencing Symptoms of Anxiety or Depression February 6, 2024 News Release About 1 in 5 adolescents report symptoms of anxiety or depression, according to a KFF analysis of a new federal survey of teen health. While some teens are getting mental health care, a significant share say they are not receiving the therapy they need due to costs, fear of what…
Low Incomes, Little Savings: Many Medicare Beneficiaries Have Modest Financial Resources to Draw Upon in Retirement February 5, 2024 News Release A new KFF analysis shows that most Medicare beneficiaries live on relatively low incomes and have modest financial resources for retirement – posing a risk to their economic well-being, particularly if they were to have a major, unanticipated expense, such as a need for long-term nursing home care. The financial…
3 Charts: Medicare Drug Price Negotiations January 31, 2024 News Release Under the Inflation Reduction Act, the federal government for the first time will negotiate directly with drug companies to determine the prices that Medicare will pay for certain high expenditure drugs covered under Medicare Part D (starting in 2026) and Part B (starting in 2028). Part D covers retail prescription…
New KFF Tracker Finds the Number of States with Restrictions on Youth Access to Gender Affirming Care Grew Five-fold Over the Last 18 Months January 31, 2024 News Release A new KFF resource tracks dozens of state laws and policies that restrict access to gender-affirming care among young people. Gender-affirming care supports and affirms gender identity through social, psychological, behavioral, or medical interventions. As state laws and policies restricting youth access to gender-affirming care proliferate, KFF’s new tracker assesses…
Halfway Through the Medicaid Unwinding, About 16 Million Enrollees Have Been Dropped January 30, 2024 News Release Ten months into the unwinding of the Medicaid continuous enrollment provision, states have reported renewal outcomes for half of all enrollees whose eligibility needs to be reviewed during the unwinding period, including 34% (32.1 million) who have had their coverage renewed, and 17% (16.2 million) who have been disenrolled, according…
New KFF Brief Examines Potential Abortion-Related Ballot Initiatives in 13 States January 30, 2024 News Release Ahead of the 2024 general election, a new KFF brief examines abortion ballot initiatives in progress in 13 states. These 13 states could follow six other states that have voted on constitutional amendments to protect or restrict abortion since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022.…
What to Watch in 2024: The Latest Health Cost and Affordability Issues and Trends January 24, 2024 News Release While issues of health care costs and affordability may not be at the forefront of this year’s election issues, they remain a major concern among the public. About a quarter of Americans say they or a family member struggled to pay their medical bills just in the past year, and…