Policy Watch
Quick-hitting policy analysis, polling, and updates on the key issues facing the country.
Gaps in Mental Health Care for Asian and Pacific Islander People and Other People of Color
Response to the victims and communities affected by recent mass shootings has increased national attention to mental health care for Asian and NHOPI people, groups that too often remain overlooked in data and policy discussions related to health disparities. In this analysis, we explore mental illness and low utilization of mental health services among Asian and NHOPI people.
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Proposed Changes to Federal Standards for Collecting and Reporting Race/Ethnicity Data: What Are They and Why do they Matter?
This KFF analysis of U.S. Census data reporting by race and ethnicity comes as the Biden Administration issued proposals for the first potential changes to minimum standards for race and ethnicity data used in federal reporting in 25 years.
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Long COVID: What Do the Latest Data Show?
We examine the latest data on long COVID from the Household Pulse Survey, as reported by the CDC. Previous research has highlighted the implications of long COVID for employment and health coverage and it’s potential to exacerbate existing disparities in those areas.
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Millions of Uninsured People Can Get Free ACA Plans
The opportunity to enroll in Affordable Care Act (ACA) plans is soon ending for most people needing Marketplace coverage in 2023. People in need of private ACA health plans must sign up for coverage during the open enrollment season, which closes on January 15 in most states. After that, only limited circumstances, such as loss of coverage or very low income, will qualify potential enrollees for a special enrollment period.
Despite most uninsured people being eligible for some form of assistance, either through Medicaid or ACA subsidies, 28 million people remained uninsured in 2021. Many uninsured people do not even shop for health coverage, often because of perceptions of high costs.
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Why Do Vaccinated People Represent Most COVID-19 Deaths Right Now?
The share of COVID-19 deaths among those who are vaccinated has risen. In fall 2021, about 3 in 10 adults dying of COVID-19 were vaccinated or boosted. But by January 2022, as we showed in an analysis posted on the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker, about 4 in 10 deaths were vaccinated or boosted. By April 2022, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data show that about 6 in 10 adults dying of COVID-19 were vaccinated or boosted, and that’s remained true through at least August 2022 (the most recent month of data).
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Update on Children’s COVID-19 and Routine Vaccination Trends Heading into Winter and as Respiratory Viruses Surge
This policy watch describes recent trends in children’s COVID-19 and routine vaccinations and explores strategies to increase vaccination rates among children as we head into the winter season.
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