Filling the need for trusted information on national health issues…
Filling the need for trusted information on national health issues…
Premiums for ACA Marketplace benchmark silver plans are decreasing on average across the U.S. in 2019. However, premium changes vary widely by location and by metal level, including premium increases in a number of counties and plans.
This brief describes health insurance subsidies available through the Affordable Care Act’s marketplaces, including premium subsidies that would be provided in the form of tax credits, as well as other subsidies that would lower cost sharing to eligible Americans. It provides details on who is eligible for the assistance, the maximum repayment limits for the credits, and out-of-pocket spending limits.
Arkansas is the first state to implement a Section 1115 waiver that conditions Medicaid eligibility on meeting a work requirement. This brief looks at data related to the work requirement released by the state for October 2018.
This brief explains the contraceptive coverage rule under the ACA, the impact it has had on coverage, and how the new regulations issued by the Trump administration have changed the contraceptive coverage requirement for employers with religious and moral objections to contraception and the women who receive coverage through their plans.
A new Kaiser Family Foundation brief and interactive map provide the latest national and state-level estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau of the share and number of people ages 65 and older who are living in poverty. The resources examine poverty among seniors under the official poverty threshold ($11,756 in…
This interactive graphic illustrates how poverty rates among seniors in each of the 50 states change under two different Census Bureau measures of poverty: the official poverty measure and an alternative supplemental poverty measure, which takes into account health care and housing costs among other factors.
This issue brief presents estimates of poverty under the Census Bureau’s official poverty measure and the Supplemental Poverty Measure for adults ages 65 and older, based on data for 2017 and three-year averages (2015 to 2017). Unlike the official poverty measure, the SPM poverty thresholds vary by geographic area and homeownership status, and the SPM reflects financial resources and liabilities, including taxes, the value of in-kind benefits (e.g., food stamps), and out-of-pocket medical spending. Estimates of poverty based on the SPM indicate that the number and share of older adults who are struggling financially are larger than when based on the official poverty measure.
A new brief from KFF (the Kaiser Family Foundation) examines potential changes to “spousal impoverishment” rules in Medicaid that allow married couples to protect a portion of their income and assets should one spouse seek Medicaid coverage for long-term care. A provision of the Affordable Care Act that requires state Medicaid…
In this October 2018 New England Journal of Medicine article, KFF’s Tricia Neuman and Gretchen Jacobson examine the extent to which Medicare Advantage plans are achieving goals with respect to benefits, out-of-pocket costs, plan choice, federal spending and quality.
Congress created the Medicaid spousal impoverishment rules to protect a portion of a married couple’s income and assets to provide for the “community spouse’s” living expenses when determining nursing home financial eligibility. Originally, states had the option to also apply the rules to home and community-based services (HCBS) waivers. Section 2404 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which is set to expire on December 31, 2018, changed the spousal impoverishment rules to treat Medicaid HCBS and institutional care equally. This issue brief answers key questions about the spousal impoverishment rules, presents selected 50-state data from a 2018 Kaiser Family Foundation survey about state policies and future plans in this area, and considers the implications if Congress does not extend Section 2404.
