Program on Medicare Policy Archives | Page 21 of 53

Vaccination Rates Are Relatively High for Older Adults, But Lag in Counties in the South, in Counties with Higher Poverty Rates and in Counties that Voted for Trump

May 13, 2021

Issue Brief

This analysis uses CDC data to look at vaccination rates for adults 65 and older. The findings show that vaccination rates vary by county and that adults ages 65 and older are less likely to be fully vaccinated in counties in the South, in counties where a higher share of older adults live in poverty, and in counties that voted for Trump.

Health Spending for 60-64 Year Olds Would Be Lower Under Medicare Than Under Large Employer Plans

Apr 27, 2021

Issue Brief

During the presidential campaign, President Biden proposed to lower the age of Medicare eligibility from 65 to 60. This analysis uses claims data for covered medical services from both large employer plans and traditional Medicare to illustrate the potential spending effects of using Medicare payment rates in lieu of higher rates paid by employer plans for people 60-64 who shift from large employer plans to Medicare.

Moving the Needle on Prescription Drug Costs: Using the Innovation Center and Other Demonstration Authority

Mar 25, 2021

Issue Brief

This brief examines how the CMS Innovation Center (also known as CMMI) and Section 402 demonstration authority could become pathways for the Biden Administration to implement policy changes related to prescription drug costs.

Limiting Private Insurance Reimbursement to Medicare Rates Would Reduce Health Spending by About $350 Billion in 2021

Mar 1, 2021

Issue Brief

This analysis estimates the total annual reduction in health care spending by employers and privately insured individuals that would result from having private insurers reimburse hospitals and other health care providers at Medicare rates. In total, we estimate spending for the privately insured population would be an estimated $352 billion lower in 2021 if employers and other insurers reimbursed health care providers at Medicare rates.

Vaccinating Older Adults in the US Against COVID-19: A Work in Progress

Feb 25, 2021

Issue Brief

This analysis examines COVID-19 vaccination rates among older adults in states that report these data at the person-level. It also looks at the change in vaccination rates between February 4 and February 23 among a subset of these states.

Does Education Narrow the Gap in Wealth Among Older Adults, by Race and Ethnicity?

Feb 16, 2021

Issue Brief

This analysis of per capita income and assets among older adults in 2019 shows that differences in median per capita income among White, Black, and Hispanic adults ages 65 and older are narrower when comparing people with similar levels of education, although among college graduates, the gap in income continues to be wide between Hispanic and White seniors. The gaps in savings and home equity remain wide, and are particularly striking among seniors with less…

A Status Report on Prescription Drug Policies and Proposals at the Start of the Biden Administration

Feb 11, 2021

Issue Brief

This brief provides a status update on prescription drug final rules advanced by the Trump Administration in its final months related to Medicare, importation, and 340B pricing for insulin and epinephrine, and an overview of key drug pricing proposals related to Medicare and prescription drug prices generally that were voted on but not enacted in the previous Congress that may return to the forefront of health policy discussions in the coming years.

At This Early Stage of the COVID-19 Vaccine Roll-Out, Most Older Adults Have Not Yet Been Vaccinated As Supply Remains Limited

Feb 8, 2021

Issue Brief

This analysis looks at vaccination rates among older adults at the state level, and the share of all vaccines administered that have been given to older adults, among states reporting vaccination data by age.

Addressing the Risk of Medicare Trust Fund Insolvency

Jan 27, 2021

Perspective

In this Viewpoint for the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), KFF's Tricia Neuman and co-author Richard G. Frank of Harvard Medical School explain that the looming 2024 insolvency of the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund cannot be ignored for long.

Health Insurer Financial Performance Through September 2020

Dec 16, 2020

Issue Brief

In this brief, we analyze third quarter data from 2018 to 2020 to examine how insurance markets performed financially through the end of September. Average margins remained relatively high compared to the same point in recent years, suggesting many insurers remained profitable even as non-COVID-related care returned in the summer and fall.

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