What Has Caused the Growth in Medicaid Spending in Recent Years? January 1, 2005 Event A new study published in Health Affairs explains what caused Medicaid spending to rise from 2000-2003 and confirms the role Medicaid played in covering people during the recent economic downturn, and that Medicaid per enrollee spending grew at a slower rate than private insurance spending. The Kaiser Commission on Medicaid…
Portraits of Women on Medicare: The Women of Friendship Terrace June 29, 2002 Event This video features five older women who reside in an assisted living community in Washington, DC, as they share their experiences in the Medicare program and offer their insights on ways the program could be improved to better meet the health care needs of seniors. Please note: the video is…
The Future of Retiree Health Benefits: Challenges and Options October 30, 2001 Event Tricia Neuman, Vice President and Director of the Medicare Policy Project testified before the House Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations on retiree health coverage for older Americans. The statement describes the health needs of aging adults and the importance of health insurance coverage at a time in their lives when they…
Marketing Medicare – How Health Insurers and Brokers Use TV Ads to Attract Enrollees September 20, 2023 Event KFF held a web event on September 20, 2023 to discuss Medicare marketing practices in advance of the open enrollment period, which begins Oct. 15. As part of the event, KFF released a new analysis of television ads that aired during last year’s open enrollment season and share insights from…
The Health Wonk Shop: Probing the Legal Arguments in the Drug Industry’s Challenges to Medicare Drug Price Negotiations September 12, 2023 Event With the Biden administration’s announcement of the first 10 drugs to be negotiated for Medicare as part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), an array of legal challenges from the pharmaceutical industry is potentially the biggest obstacle to implementation. In court filings, individual drugmakers and the industry’s main lobbying group…
Thinking Big in Public Health, Inspired by the End of Smallpox September 14, 2023 Event Watch an online conversation led by Céline Gounder, a physician-epidemiologist and the host of “Eradicating Smallpox,” Season 2 of the “Epidemic” podcast. The docuseries explores the parallels between the campaign to end a centuries-old disease and the challenges public health faces today. On Sept. 14, Gounder and her guests came…
Will Insurance Cover Over-the-Counter Contraceptive Pills? A Discussion of Coverage Options and Challenges September 15, 2023 Event The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved Opill—the first over-the-counter daily oral contraceptive pill in the United States. Beginning in early 2024, people will be able to purchase Opill without a prescription, expanding options for contraceptive access across the country. While federal policy requires most private health insurance plans…
A Look at Medicaid Enrollment and Spending Trends and an Array of Policy Issues Amid Unwinding of the Continuous Enrollment Provision November 14, 2023 Event Hear from National Medicaid Experts about Trends in Medicaid Finances, Key Policies and Challenges Beyond the Unwinding As states continue to manage the unwinding of the pandemic-related continuous enrollment provision of Medicaid and phase out of the enhanced federal matching funds, there is considerable uncertainty about how Medicaid enrollment and…
The Health Wonk Shop: The Health Care Workforce Under Pressure – Strikes, Shortages, and Staffing Requirements November 16, 2023 Event Amid low unemployment and rising demand for services, today’s health care workforce is under pressure from several directions, including worker strikes; shortages of trained staff; and proposed new staffing standards for nurses and aides in nursing facilities. On November 16, a panel of three experts joined Larry Levitt, executive vice…
The Long-Term Care Crisis—Why Few Can Afford to Grow Old in America December 5, 2023 Event Hear from caregivers about the costs and complexity of long-term care On Dec. 5, KFF Health News hosted a virtual conversation about “Dying Broke,” our joint investigation with The New York Times into America’s long-term care crisis and what can be done to mitigate its growing financial and emotional…