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Community Health Centers Are Taking Actions to Prepare for the Unwinding of the Public Health Emergency
Community health centers, a national network of safety-net primary care providers, are poised to be on the front lines of the unwinding of the Medicaid continuous enrollment requirement when the public health emergency (PHE) ends. Health centers can be effective in raising awareness about Medicaid renewal requirements and in providing the help needed for enrollees to maintain Medicaid or transition to other coverage.
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How Community Health Centers Are Serving Low-Income Communities During the COVID-19 Pandemic Amid New and Continuing Challenges
Community health centers are a national network of safety-net primary care providers serving low-income, medically underserved communities. Based on findings from a national survey of health centers, this brief examines how the pandemic has affected health center patients and services as well as the ongoing challenges health centers and their patients face.
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Overall inflation has not yet flowed through to the health sector
Prices for medical services typically rise more quickly than the broader economy, but the reverse has been true recently as general inflation rose rapidly. The recent trend reflects the unusually high inflation affecting other parts of the economy, which could bleed over to affect health care costs at some point.
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Traditional Medicare Spending Fell Almost 6% in 2020 as Service Use Declined Early in the COVID-19 Pandemic
Total spending among traditional Medicare beneficiaries fell in 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, corresponding to lower service use across most types of Medicare-covered health care services compared to 2019. The lower spending in traditional Medicare contributed to the relatively slower growth in Medicare spending overall in 2020.
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Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic, Medicare Spending on Skilled Nursing Facilities Increased More than 4% Despite an Overall Decline in Utilization
Medicare spending for skilled nursing facilities increased in 2020 despite an overall decrease in the number of Medicare beneficiaries using SNF services. The higher spending is explained by longer and more expensive SNF stays in 2020 compared to 2019, both of which increased more sharply for Medicare beneficiaries under the age of 65 than for older Medicare SNF users.
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Youth Access to Gender Affirming Care: The Federal and State Policy Landscape
This brief explores the current state and federal policy landscape regarding gender affirming services for youth and the implications of restrictive state laws.
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The Program on Patient and Consumer Protections
The Program on Patient and Consumer Protections provides information and policy analysis examining what consumers and patients face as they navigate the health care system, including financial barriers, administrative complexity, lack of transparency, and problems accessing providers. We focus on policies to protect consumers and patients, how effective those policies…
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Data Note: 2022 Medical Loss Ratio Rebates
We find that insurers estimate they will issue a total of about $1 billion in Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) rebates this year across all commercial markets under a provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that limits the share of premiums that insurers can keep for administration, marketing, and profits.
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Private Insurers Expect to Pay $1 Billion in Rebates to Consumers This Year for Setting Premiums Too High Relative to Medical Costs
Private insurance companies are expecting to pay out $1 billion in rebates to consumers this fall under an Affordable Care Act provision that requires insurers to spend the bulk of customers’ premium payments on care, a new KFF analysis finds. Rebates are based on insurers’ experiences over the previous three…
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Price Regulation, Global Budgets, and Spending Targets: A Road Map to Reduce Health Care Spending, and Improve Affordability
We review several policy options to constrain health care spending, primarily by putting downward pressure on provider prices, including price regulation, global budgets, and spending growth targets.
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