News Release Archives

KFF Poll: Three-in-Ten People Say They or Someone in Their Family Has Been Addicted to Opioids, with Rural Families Hit Hardest

Aug 15, 2023

News Release

A new KFF poll assessing the broad reach of the nation’s opioids crisis on families across the United States reveals that three-in-ten adults (29%) say they or someone in their family have ever been addicted to opioids, including prescription painkillers and illegal drugs like heroin. Rural residents (42%) and White adults (33%) are among the groups hardest hit. The poll also showed that the opioid crisis is part of a much larger picture of addiction…

Medicare Advantage Insurers Will Collect at Least $12.8 Billion in Federal Bonus Payments in 2023—a Nearly 30% Increase from 2022

Aug 9, 2023

News Release

Federal spending on bonus payments to insurance companies that offer Medicare Advantage plans will reach at least $12.8 billion in 2023, according to a new KFF analysis. That is a nearly 30% increase from 2022, and more than quadruple the spending in 2015. These data come from one of three analyses released today by KFF that examine various facets of the Medicare Advantage program, which provides health insurance coverage to nearly 31 million Americans. KFF…

New KFF Analysis Shows Number of Suicide Deaths at Record Levels, Driven by an Increase in Firearm-Related Suicides

Aug 4, 2023

News Release

More than 49,000 people died by suicide across the country in 2022, a record number driven largely by an increase in the number of firearm-related deaths, a new KFF analysis of provisional CDC data shows. Firearm-related suicide deaths have been increasing in recent years and are now the most common method of suicide, accounting for 55% of all suicide deaths in both 2021 and 2022. Deaths from other suicide methods have remained relatively steady. The…

Marketplace Insurers are Proposing a 6% Average Premium Hike for 2024 and Pointing to Inflation as a Key Driver of Costs

Aug 4, 2023

News Release

ACA Marketplace insurers are requesting a median premium increase of 6% for 2024, according to a new KFF analysis of the preliminary rate filings. Insurers’ proposed rate changes – most of which fall between 2% and 10% – may change during the review process. Although most Marketplace enrollees receive subsidies and are not expected to face these added costs, premium increases could result in higher federal spending on subsidies. Insurers cite price increases for medical…

Poll: Nearly Half of Adults Would Be Interested in Prescription Weight-Loss Drugs, But Enthusiasm Fades Based on Lack of Coverage and Risk of Regaining Weight

Aug 4, 2023

News Release

Nearly half (45%) of the public are at least somewhat interested in taking a prescription weight-loss drug, including many who say they only want to lose a little weight, though many people lose interest when presented with potential financial and medical drawbacks, the latest KFF Health Tracking Poll reveals.The poll gauges the public’s interest in using prescription drugs to lose weight as a relatively new class of drugs, initially approved to treat diabetes, is garnering…

New KFF Health News Podcast Explores How the Eradication of Smallpox in India Informs Public Health Ambitions and Challenges in 2023

Jul 18, 2023

News Release

KFF Health News today launched a new limited-series podcast, "Epidemic: Eradicating Smallpox," with host Dr. Céline Gounder, senior fellow and editor-at-large for public health at KFF Health News. The eight-episode podcast takes listeners on a journey to South Asia, the site of the last days of variola major smallpox. There, public health workers from India, Bangladesh, and around the world did what many thought was impossible: eradicate smallpox. "Eradicating smallpox was one of humanity’s greatest…

U.S. Has the Highest Rate of Gun Deaths for Children and Teens Among Peer Countries

Jul 18, 2023

News Release

Firearms were responsible for 20 percent of all child and teen deaths in the U.S. for both 2020 and 2021, compared to an average of less than 2 percent in similarly large and wealthy nations, according to a new KFF analysis. This puts the U.S. far ahead of peer nations in child and teen firearm deaths. Data show that U.S. firearm deaths for children and teens again surpassed motor vehicle deaths – the second leading…

One Year After the Launch of 988, the National Suicide and Crisis Hotline Has Received Nearly 5 Million Combined Calls, Texts, and Chats

Jul 14, 2023

News Release

Since its launch in July 2022, the 988 national suicide and crisis hotline has received about 4 million contacts, a 33 percent increase from the year before, according to a new KFF analysis of publicly available data through May 2023. The contacts include more than 2.6 million calls, over 740,000 chats, and more than 600,000 texts. The total number of contacts rises to almost 5 million when nearly 1 million additional contacts from the Veterans…

In 2022, Donor Governments Spent US$8.2 billion on Efforts to Fight HIV/AIDS Globally, Returning to 2020 Funding Levels and Still Below the High-water Mark of Almost a Decade Ago

Jul 13, 2023

News Release

A new report from KFF and The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) reveals that donor governments disbursed US$8.2 billion in 2022 to combat HIV in low- and middle-income countries, returning to 2020 funding levels and still below the high-water mark of $8.6 billion in 2014. The funding supports HIV care and treatment, prevention, and other services in low- and middle-income countries. Although total donor government funding for HIV increased in 2022 compared to…

10 Prescription Drugs Accounted for $48 Billion in Medicare Part D Spending in 2021, or More Than One-Fifth of Part D Spending That Year

Jul 12, 2023

News Release

A new KFF analysis finds that the 10 top-selling prescription drugs under Medicare Part D comprised less than 1 percent of all covered drugs in 2021, but accounted for 22 percent, or $48 billion, of gross Medicare Part D drug spending that year. The analysis provides context for understanding the federal government’s new authority under the Inflation Reduction Act to negotiate prices for some high-spending drugs covered by Part D, Medicare’s outpatient prescription drug benefit…

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