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In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal's Think Tank, Drew Altman finds the public’s health-care priorities have more to do with drug costs and other real-world issues people deal with using the health-care system than the ongoing partisan wrangling over the Affordable Care Act. All previous columns by Drew Altman are available online.
A new analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that the nation's individual insurance market grew 46 percent to 15.5 million people in the first year plans could be purchased through the Affordable Care Act's marketplaces, which offer premium assistance to low- and moderate-income people. Four states -- California, Florida, Texas and Georgia -- accounted for almost half of the enrollment growth. In six states, the number of people covered in the individual market increased…
In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal's Think Tank, Drew Altman discusses new poll findings showing very small numbers of consumers are using provider quality and price information. All previous columns by Drew Altman are available online.
As tax season closes, Drew Altman looks at why the ACA’s individual mandate and tax credit reconciliation process “passed their first major hurdles this tax season with no significant public backlash,” in his latest column for The Wall Street Journal's Think Tank.
Few Report Seeing Comparative Information about Health Care Prices and Quality, and Less Than 10% Use It Pocketbook and Consumer Issues Top Public's List of Priorities for the President and Congress, Ahead of Several ACA-Related Issues This month's Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds public opinion on the health care law holding steady and closely divided. The share expressing a favorable view (43%) exceeds the share with an unfavorable view (42%) for the first time since…
In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal's Think Tank, Drew Altman analyzes whether public or private health insurance does a better job of controlling costs. All previous columns by Drew Altman are available online.
A new Kaiser Family Foundation report released today finds how health insurance carriers are interpreting and implementing the Affordable Care Act's contraceptive coverage requirement varies, limiting contraceptive options for some women. The ACA requires most private health insurance plans to cover a range of preventive services for women, including prescribed FDA-approved contraceptives and services without cost sharing. The report reviews how health carriers are applying medical management limitations to contraceptive coverage that affect women’s contraceptive…
The House-passed legislation to repeal the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) includes a provision that would prohibit Medicare supplemental insurance (Medigap) policies from covering the Part B deductible for people who become eligible for Medicare beginning in 2020. A new Kaiser Family Foundation Data Note explores the implications of this proposal and finds that about 10 percent of 65-year olds on Medicare would have been affected in 2010 (the most recent year for which data…
In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal's Think Tank, Drew Altman shows how rising deductibles have eclipsed growth in wages and discusses why that may be the main reason people think costs have been continuing to rise rapidly when instead, growth has slowed. All previous columns by Drew Altman are available online.
A new interactive tool on the Peterson-Kaiser Health System Tracker allows users to analyze the most up-to-date data on U.S. health spending, then build, display and share the charts they create. Developed by analysts at the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Health Spending Explorer helps users examine five decades worth of numbers documenting expenditures by federal and local governments, private insurers, and individuals on 15 categories of health services, including hospitals, physician & clinic care, and prescription drugs.…
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