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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.”

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Beyond the Data

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

Drew Altman, KFF President and CEP is quoted on this card saying, "People are bewildered by a supercharged and polarized debate about vaccines and no longer know where to turn for scientific information they can rely on ... The vaccines are not the culprit—we and the state of our politics and the distrust in science and our scientific institutions they breed are."

The Problem Isn’t Trust in Vaccines, It’s That People Don’t Know Who to Trust

In a new “Beyond the Data” column, Dr. Altman analyzes years of KFF polling on vaccines in light of the current controversies about them. The real problem, he says, is not lack of public confidence in the safety of vaccines — few say they are unsafe — it’s that polarization and misinformation have eroded confidence in what’s true or not, and in scientific institutions people used to rely on for the facts.

View All Beyond the Data Columns

View the Latest: From Drew Altman

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  • Hotspot States See More COVID Cases in Nursing Homes

    From Drew Altman

    In his Axios column, Drew Altman discusses new data on the surge of new infections in long-term care facilities in COVID-19 hotspots. The dominant narrative about the Sunbelt surge in new cases is that the infected population is younger, but he says that’s not the whole story. There is also a spike in cases in long-term care facilities, especially in Florida and Texas.

  • 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.