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From Drew Altman

Drew Altman is president and chief executive officer of KFF, a position he has held for more than 30 years since founding the modern-day KFF organization in the 1990s. He is a leading expert on national health policy issues and an innovator in health journalism and the nonprofit field.

View full bio | Read Dr. Altman's Beyond the Data columns

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President’s Message

“KFF is an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. We have four major program areas: KFF Policy; KFF Polling; KFF Health News (formerly Kaiser Health News); and KFF Social Impact Media, which conducts specialized public health information campaigns. Learn more about the organization. 

What’s unique about KFF, however, can’t be found in any description of our programs because we’re more than a sum of our parts. KFF is a one-of-a-kind information organization. Not a policy research organization. Not a polling organization. And not a news organization. But rather, a unique combination of all three. That’s the vision behind KFF, and it's this combination that allows us to leverage our combined expertise and assets to play our national role on health policy.” Read more

Beyond the Data

In his “Beyond the Data” columns, Drew Altman discusses what the data, polls, and journalism produced by KFF mean for policy and for people.

A Note on How the War in Iran May Affect Health Care in the Midterms

In a new column, Dr. Drew Altman, KFF’s President and CEO, discusses the impact of the war in Iran and rising gas prices on voter concerns about health care costs. He writes: “Recently, we saw health care costs rise to the top of the public’s list of economic worries, ahead of food, housing, utility costs and the cost of gas….Expect gas prices to rise and health care costs to fall on the list of affordability worries while the war in Iran lasts, but then to return to the top or near the top when President Trump decides to declare the major hostilities over, the Strait of Hormuz is open, and gas prices come down….health care costs have staying power as one of the top voter concerns.”

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  • The Front-line Workers Most at Risk from Coronavirus

    From Drew Altman

    As state and local governments ease social distancing orders, many employers and workers face decisions about a physical return to the workplace. Drew Altman’s latest Axios column analyzes the numbers and finds that, “An estimated 25-30 million people are caught in the middle of the coronavirus economy — they’re unable to work from home but also face a high risk of severe infection.”

  • Coronavirus’ Unequal Economic Toll

    From Drew Altman

    In this column by Drew Altman in Axios, he finds almost half of African Americans and Latinos are struggling to pay their bills because of coronavirus. "This pain would surely be worse without Washington’s relief efforts. Even so, the hardship is real, and that strengthens the case for more aid and better targeting to the families that need it most.”

  • Big Questions for the Health Policy Community Emerging From the Coronavirus Crisis

    From Drew Altman

    With so many Americans dying, and so many more suffering severe economic hardship, it’s hard to look over the horizon at the larger questions the COVID-19 crisis will bring. The current emergency requires everyone’s attention 24/7. But an emerging set of questions will fall right in the bailiwick of the health policy community.

  • Reopening is a Risk for Republican Governors

    From Drew Altman

    In an Axios column, Drew Altman analyzes recent data on COVID-19 cases and deaths and finds “The hardest-hit areas so far have mostly been in states with Democratic governors. But the number of coronavirus cases is now increasing more quickly in states with Republican governors.”

  • Most Americans are Practicing Social Distancing

    From Drew Altman

    Drew Altman analyzes data showing surprising numbers of Americans of all ages are sheltering in place and reporting social distancing, and discusses the implications in an Axios column.

  • Most Americans are Practicing Social Distancing

    From Drew Altman

    Drew Altman analyzes data showing surprising numbers of Americans of all ages are sheltering in place and reporting social distancing, and discusses the implications in an Axios column.