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A new brief analyzes the Trump Administration’s proposed changes to federal anti-discrimination regulations that would eliminate existing protections in health care related to gender identity and access to abortion, and narrow protections for non-English speakers.
While most Americans believe that antibiotic resistance poses a public health problem, new KFF polling finds nearly half (45%) say they personally have not taken antibiotics as prescribed – one factor contributing to the rise of “superbugs” that are resistant to existing treatment. Those misusing antibiotics includes people who say they took antibiotics without talking to a doctor or other provider (16%) and, more commonly, those who say that they did not finish a course…
In roughly 1 of every 6 emergency room visits and inpatient hospital stays in 2017, patients came home with at least one out-of-network medical bill, a new KFF analysis finds. More specifically, 18 percent of all emergency visits and 16 percent of in-network hospital stays had at least one out-of-network charge, leaving patients at risk for surprise medical bills, according to the analysis of claims data from large employer plans. The analysis also finds the…
As Congress and the Democratic presidential candidates continue to discuss Medicare-for-all and other proposals to expand public health coverage, most Americans know little about how the leading Medicare-for-all proposals would reshape the way all Americans get and pay for health care. This month’s KFF Health Tracking Poll probes the public’s awareness of key elements of proposals to create a national health plan, including the leading Medicare-for-all bills introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Pramila…
DEERFIELD, Ill.& San Francisco, Calif., June 17, 2019 – Walgreens and Greater Than AIDS are working with health departments, HIV/AIDS service organizations, and other community organizations to provide free HIV testing and information at select Walgreens stores in more than 260 cities on National HIV Testing Day (NHTD), Thursday, June 27 between 10 am – 7 pm (local time). Click here for a map of all participating locations. HIV testing is recommended as part of…
This Visualizing Health Policy infographic looks at barriers to care experienced by women in the United States. Women incur greater health care costs than men, particularly during the reproductive years. Despite a lower uninsured rate than men (11% vs 14%), women are more likely to skip a recommended medical test or treatment due to cost. However, cost barriers to contraception have decreased for insured women since the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA’s) coverage requirement took effect.…
Twenty-nine percent of new beneficiaries chose to enroll in Medicare Advantage during their first year in Medicare in 2016, finds a new KFF analysis. That level generally matches the overall share of beneficiaries who opted for Medicare Advantage that year, but does not support the view that the aging Baby Boom generation, having had more experience with HMOs and PPOs during their working years, would select the private plans over traditional Medicare at relatively high…
KFF and Public Road Productions announce that Season 2 of An Arm and A Leg podcast will be co-produced in partnership with Kaiser Health News (KHN), KFF’s editorially independent national health and health policy newsroom.
As policymakers debate how to address the high cost of prescription drugs, a new KFF analysis compares data on prescription drug spending and use across large employer plans, Medicare Part D and Medicaid, and provides context for policy discussions about different approaches to curb rising drug costs that would affect people covered by each of the three major payers. The data show that private insurers, Medicare and Medicaid account for 82 percent of retail prescription…
Deductible Relief Day is May 19. That’s the date by which average spending for people with employer-sponsored health insurance is sufficient to satisfy the average deductible, the amount they must pay out-of-pocket for most health care services before their insurance plan kicks in to help pay the bills, KFF analysts explain in a new analysis. If you have not heard of Deductible Relief Day before, that is because we just invented it. But the issue…
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