Filling the need for trusted information on national health issues
A new report from KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) and The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) finds that donor government disbursements to combat HIV in low- and middle-income countries increased by US$377 million in 2020, reaching US$8.2 billion in 2020 compared to US$7.8 billion in 2019. Donor government funding…
States are currently developing plans to access an increased federal matching rate (“FMAP”) for Medicaid HCBS spending established in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021. In the future, states may also be able to access increased HCBS funds proposed in the Biden Administration’s American Jobs Plan and the Better Care Better Jobs Act recently introduced in Congress. This brief highlights examples of Medicaid HCBS policy changes authorized through Section 1115 demonstration waivers in seven states (Arizona, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington). Where available, we discuss waiver evaluation findings and reports that assess the impact of these policy changes.
Donor government support for global family planning efforts totaled US$1.50 billion in 2018, up 19% from 2017 (US$1.26 billion) – and the highest level since tracking efforts began following the London Summit on Family Planning in 2012.
A new KFF analysis finds that only 1% of those in low-income countries have received at least one vaccine dose compared to 51% in high-income countries, highlighting the substantial vaccine inequities around the world. The analysis examines these inequities by country income level and by region, finding large differences for…
This brief uses data from the American Community Survey (ACS) to provide estimates of eligibility for and the amount of financial assistance to purchase Marketplace coverage under the ARPA among both current individual market purchasers, as well as Marketplace-eligible uninsured people.
Extensive research and the pandemic have elevated the importance of addressing social determinants of health (SDOH) to improve health and reduce longstanding disparities in health and health care. Social determinants of health include factors like socioeconomic status, education, neighborhood and physical environment, employment, and social support networks, as well as access to health care. This brief describes options and federal Medicaid authorities states may use to address enrollees’ social determinants of health and provides state examples, including initiatives launched in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The focus of this brief is on state-driven Medicaid efforts to address social determinants for nonelderly enrollees who do not meet functional status or health need criteria for home and community-based services (HCBS) programs.
This analysis compares trends in new COVID-19 cases and deaths among nursing facility residents with trends in all other new COVID-19 cases and deaths excluding nursing facility residents through February 7, 2021. This analysis shows a marked divergence in new cases and deaths per week between nursing facility residents and the rest of the US population since December 2020. This drop in new deaths and cases in nursing facility residents coincides with the start of vaccine administration in LTCFs, suggesting a link between the two, although the trends could also be influenced by other factors.
Drug overdose deaths rose during the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic, with some of the biggest jumps occurring among people of color, a new KFF analysis finds. The analysis breaks out drug overdose deaths by race and ethnicity for the first nine months of 2020, when the pandemic triggered…
This analysis finds that Medicare spending for Medicare Advantage enrollees was $321 higher per person in 2019 than if enrollees had instead been coverage by traditional Medicare, leading to an estimated $7 billion in additional spending in 2019. It also examines the implications of expected growth in Medicare Advantage enrollment and payments per enrollee from 2021 to 2029.
Four in Ten Parents Say Someone in Their Household Left a Job or Worked Fewer Hours to Care for Their Children, Including Higher Shares of Black, Hispanic, and Lower-income Parents As a result of the pandemic, about four in ten (39%) parents of school-aged children (ages 5-17) say at least…
