Policy Watch
Quick-hitting policy analysis, polling, and updates on the key issues facing the country.
2025 Medicare Advantage Plan Choices are Stable, Following Years of Steady Growth
A review of the 2025 Medicare Advantage plans available for individual enrollment shows that the total number of plans declined by 7% (from 3,959 to 3,699). The average Medicare beneficiary will have the option of 34 Medicare Advantage prescription drug (MA-PD) plans in 2025, just 2 fewer than the 36 options available in 2024. Since 2018, the number of plans available to the average beneficiary has doubled.
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Medicare Part D Premiums Are Increasing for Many But Not All Stand-Alone Plans in 2025, Reflecting Effects of New Premium Stabilization Demonstration
This policy watch examines monthly premiums for Medicare Part D stand-alone drug plans in 2025, as changes to the Part D benefit are being implemented in 2025, including a new $2,000 cap on out-of-pocket drug spending.
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Top 5 Things to Know about Women and Medicaid Ahead of the Election
Changes related to Medicaid could have major consequences for health coverage of women with low incomes as well as pregnancy, postpartum and other reproductive health care for women. Here are the top five things to know about women and Medicaid ahead of the election.
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North Carolina’s Effort to Relieve Medical Debt
This policy watch examines the burden of medical debt in North Carolina and the state’s new plan to leverage the Medicaid program to provide debt relief and support access to care for low- and middle-income North Carolinians.
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How Did Medicaid Renewal Outcomes Change During the Unwinding?
This policy watch uses unwinding data collected through KFF’s Medicaid Enrollment and Unwinding Tracker to examine how national-level renewal outcomes changed over the course of unwinding, including changes in the share of people who had their coverage renewed or were disenrolled from Medicaid each month.
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A Closer Look at Rape and Incest Exceptions in States with Abortion Bans and Early Gestational Restrictions
Ten of the 21 states with abortion bans or gestational limits do not have an exception for pregnancies resulting from sexual assault. In the 11 states with rape and incest exceptions, the details and fine print make can make access to abortion care unattainable for pregnant survivors of sexual assault. Law enforcement reporting requirements, early pregnancy gestational limits, and the lack of provider availability present major barriers to abortion access, even when the state has an exception.
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