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KFF designs, conducts and analyzes original public opinion and survey research on Americans’ attitudes, knowledge, and experiences with the health care system to help amplify the public’s voice in major national debates.
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To help inform the ongoing debate, KFF conducted four focus groups in July and August 2021 with direct care workers and unpaid caregivers who provide HCBS, assisting seniors and people with disabilities with daily self-care and household activities. These focus groups are not necessarily generalizable to all caregivers, but can provide insight into their experiences to help inform current policy debates.
This policy watch examines recent state and federal efforts to extend postpartum Medicaid coverage beyond 60 days.
This data note describes trends in health coverage prior to and during the pandemic and examines the characteristics of the uninsured population in 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing economic disruption have drawn more attention to longstanding issues related to housing and internet access and how these issues can impact health. As the primary source of health insurance for low-income populations, Medicaid covers a considerable share of people living in homes that are unaffordable, inadequate, or have limited access to the internet. This brief examines housing adequacy, affordability, and internet access within the homes of Medicaid enrollees using data from the 2019 American Community Survey (prior to the COVID-19 pandemic) and assesses the limited role that Medicaid can play in helping to address these challenges.
The health and economic effects of the pandemic have significant implications for state Medicaid programs, as more people become eligible and enroll in Medicaid at the same time that states may face declines in revenues. This brief presents current data for key economic indicators to help understand how they could affect Medicaid enrollment and spending.
The U.S territories – American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) – have faced an array of longstanding fiscal and health challenges that were exacerbated by recent natural disasters and most recently by the COVID-19 pandemic. Differences in Medicaid financing, including a statutory cap and match rate, have contributed to broader fiscal and health systems challenges for the territories. Congress is currently debating legislation to address the looming Medicaid funding cliff. This brief builds on data in an earlier brief released in May 2021 examining the effects of the pandemic and the implications of the fiscal cliff and incorporates findings from a questionnaire sent to Medicaid Directors in territories in the summer of 2021.
Our review of recent literature on premiums and cost-sharing is based on studies and reports published between 2017 and 2021. Our analysis of premiums in post-Affordable Care Act (ACA) Section 1115 waivers (approved under the Obama and Trump administrations) is based on available interim and final waiver evaluations as well as annual and quarterly state data reports posted on Medicaid.gov.
This brief summarizes how states have used Medicaid emergency authorities related to the COVID-19 PHE, providing potential lessons for future public health and economic crises.
As millions of children across the nation prepare to go back to school this fall, many will face challenges due to ongoing health, economic, and social consequences of the pandemic. This brief examines how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the health and well-being of children, explores recent policy responses, and considers what the findings means for the back-to-school season amidst new challenges due to the recent increase in cases and deaths.
Drug overdose deaths rose during the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic, with some of the biggest jumps occurring among people of color. This analysis breaks out drug overdose deaths by race and ethnicity for the first nine months of 2020, to the same period in each of the two prior years. It also looks at access to care issues and recent and pending legislation aimed at addressing the nation’s substance use and mental health challenges.
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