News Release Archives

Analysis Finds 14 Million Medicare Part D and Large Employer Plan Enrollees Used Mail-Order Pharmacies Pre-Pandemic, Top Drugs Filled Were to Treat Chronic Conditions

Aug 20, 2020

News Release

With questions being raised about potential delays in U.S. Postal Service delivery, a new KFF data note estimates 14 million enrollees in Medicare Part D and large employer plans relied on mail-order pharmacies for at least one prescription in 2018, with a total of over 170 million prescriptions fulfilled. The use of mail-order pharmacies has been rising in recent years as patients have often been incentivized or mandated to use mail service for convenience and…

Analysis: Many Private Insurers Offer Financial Relief for COVID-19 Treatment, but Cost-Sharing Waivers Are Expiring

Aug 20, 2020

News Release

A new analysis finds that most people with individual or fully-insured group market coverage are in plans that waived cost-sharing for COVID-19 treatment, though many of those waivers are set to expire in the coming months. About 88% - nearly nine in ten - enrollees in the individual and fully-insured group markets are covered by plans that have taken action to limit out-of-pocket costs for patients undergoing treatment for COVID-19 since the start of the…

A Review of Multiple Analyses Documents Persistent Racial Disparities in COVID-19

Aug 17, 2020

News Release

A KFF review of a wide range of studies finds a consistent pattern that people of color are bearing a disproportionate burden of COVID-19 cases, deaths, and hospitalizations, and that they may face increased barriers to access testing. These disparities, brought to the fore in the pandemic, mirror and compound longstanding underlying disparities in health and health care in the U.S. that stem from structural and systemic barriers across sectors, including racism and discrimination. Other…

New Interactive Database by KFF’s Kaiser Health News and Guardian US Reveals More Than 900 Health Care Workers Have Died in the Fight Against COVID-19 in the U.S.

Aug 11, 2020

News Release

A new interactive database from KFF’s Kaiser Health News (KHN) and Guardian US reveals that many of the more than 900 U.S. health care workers who have died in the fight against COVID-19 worked in facilities with shortages of protective equipment such as gowns, masks, gloves and face shields. People of color and nurses account for a disproportionate share of deaths among those profiled so far. The two news organizations have identified 922 workers who likely died…

New Survey Finds 1 in 5 Potential Marketplace and Medicaid Enrollees Used Consumer Assistance, But Many Others Report Trying and Failing to Obtain Help

Aug 7, 2020

News Release

A new KFF survey finds that nearly one in five potential marketplace and Medicaid enrollees – an estimated 7 million people - say that they got assistance applying for Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace plans or Medicaid in the past year, while one in eight – an estimated 5 million – tried and failed to obtain help. The survey suggests a shortage of consumer assistance prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disrupted job-based health…

Brief Examines What’s Known About Children and Coronavirus Transmission as Schools Prepare for Fall

Jul 29, 2020

News Release

With schools nationwide preparing for fall and the federal government encouraging in-person classes, key concerns for school officials, teachers and parents include the risks that coronavirus poses to children and their role in transmission of the disease. A new KFF brief examines the latest available data and evidence about the issues around COVID-19 and children and what they suggest about the risks posed for reopening classrooms. The review concludes that while children are much less likely…

8 in 10 People Who Have Died of COVID-19 Were Age 65 or Older – But the Share Varies By State

Jul 24, 2020

News Release

A new KFF analysis finds that 80 percent of people who have died of COVID-19 in the U.S. to date were age 65 or older, though the share varies considerably by state -- from a high of 94 percent in Idaho to a low of 70 percent in the District of Columbia. The analysis of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides clear evidence of the toll that the novel coronavirus has…

Updated Dashboard Features New Data on U.S. Health System Performance

Jul 23, 2020

News Release

Newly updated and expanded, the Peterson-KFF Health System Dashboard compiles data on the U.S. health system’s performance in four areas: access and affordability, health and well-being, health spending, and quality of care. Users can explore trends over time, as well as disparities and differences across demographic groups.

By Nearly a 2-1 Margin, Parents Prefer to Wait to Open Schools to Minimize COVID Risk, with Parents of Color Especially Worried Either Way

Jul 23, 2020

News Release

Most Say Things Will Get Worse Before They Get Better, and Just Over Half Now Say Their Mental Health is Worse Because of Coronavirus Worry and Stress As state and local officials prepare for the new school year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, parents with children who normally attend school overwhelmingly prefer that schools wait to restart in-person classes to reduce infection risk (60%) rather than open sooner so parents can work and students can return…

Temporary Enhanced Federal Medicaid Funding Can Soften the Economic Blow of the COVID-19 Pandemic on States, but is Unlikely to Fully Offset State Revenue Declines or Forestall Budget Shortfalls

Jul 22, 2020

News Release

The temporary boost in federal Medicaid funding enacted as part of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) will soften the economic blow of COVID-19 on states, but is unlikely to fully offset state revenue declines or forestall budget shortfalls stemming from the pandemic, finds a new KFF analysis. The 6.2 percentage point increase in the Medicaid FMAP -- designed to provide states with broad fiscal relief, not just help with Medicaid costs -- is…

Topics

Policy Research

Polling

Health News

Data & Features

For Media

About

View the Latest: News Release

Filter