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  • Already at Record High, ACA Marketplace Enrollment Could Increase Further

    News Release

    Enhanced Marketplace subsidies have continued to drive up enrollment in the individual market, and the loss of Medicaid coverage by millions of people could contribute to this trend, according to a new KFF analysis. Meanwhile, enrollment in non-ACA-compliant plans is at a record low. As of early 2023, an estimated 18.2 million people have individual market coverage, the highest since 2016. Individual market enrollment grew by about 29% between early 2020 and early 2023 —…

  • Poll: Most Americans Encounter Health Misinformation, and Most Aren’t Sure Whether It’s True or False 

    News Release

    A new KFF survey reveals the broad reach of health misinformation, with at least four in 10 people saying that they’ve heard each of 10 specific false claims about COVID-19, reproductive health, and gun violence. Relatively small shares say that each of those false claims are “definitely true”, ranging from as few as 3% who definitively believe that COVID-19 vaccines have been proven to cause infertility to as many as 18% who definitively believe armed…

  • Drugs Used for Weight Loss Could Cost Americans Much More Than People in Peer Countries

    News Release

    In addition to having the highest obesity rates, the U.S is currently facing significantly higher prices for several major drugs used for weight loss and other health needs, according to a new KFF analysis of the list prices for semaglutide and tirzepatide drugs. Ozempic, which has been approved in the U.S. for diabetes, is more than five times as expensive in the U.S. ($936) as in Japan ($169), which has the second highest list price.…

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

    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

    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

    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

    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 

    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

    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

    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…