Search

During Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s nomination hearing with the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee, Sen. Angela Alsobrooks questioned him about earlier statements he has made suggesting that Black people should not adhere to the same vaccine schedule as White people because “their immune system is better than ours.” In response, Kennedy cited research, such as this study, suggesting racial differences in immunity response to certain vaccines…Race is a poor proxy for genetic ancestry and large genetic studies have demonstrated more variation within defined racial groups (intra-racially) than there are between different racial groups (inter-racially).

In a new column, KFF President and CEO Drew Altman discusses what President Trump’s decision to pull back the broad freeze in federal grant funding might portend for his response to future policies in health that prove controversial or unpopular.

Jessica Mathers is a senior policy analyst with KFF’s Program on Medicaid and the Uninsured. Prior to joining KFF, she worked on federal Medicaid policy and financing at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Mathers holds a bachelor’s in biochemistry and microbiology from the University of Maine, and…

This volume shares findings from the latest KFF Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust, along with updates from Robert Kennedy Jr’s senate hearings. It also examines distrust in public health messaging about bird flu, motivations for sharing information online, and how fraudulent research can sometimes inform AI chatbot models.

Medicaid represents $1 out of every $5 spent on health care in the U.S. and is the major source of financing for states to provide health coverage and long-term services and supports for low-income residents. This brief examines key questions about Medicaid financing and how it works.

Nearly 50 million prior authorization requests were submitted to Medicare Advantage insurers on behalf of Medicare Advantage enrollees in 2023, of which 3.2 million (6.4%) were denied. Just 11.7% of denied requests were appealed, though 81.7% of appeals overturned the initial denial in Medicare Advantage. Substantially fewer prior authorization requests were made in traditional Medicare, reflecting the small number of services subject to prior authorization requirements.