As Policymakers Debate Medicare-for-All, Analysis Finds the Medicare Advantage, Individual and Group Health Insurance Markets Appear to Be Profitable, Especially Medicare Advantage August 5, 2019 News Release Three key private health insurance markets — Medicare Advantage, the individual market and the fully-insured group market — appear to be financially healthy and attractive to insurers, according to a new KFF analysis. The private Medicare Advantage market generates significantly larger gross margins per person than the individual market or…
What Steps Are Washington Policymakers Pursuing to Control Medicare Prescription Drug Spending? August 1, 2019 News Release As policymakers in Washington discuss ways to curb the rising cost of prescription drugs, KFF has released a summary and analysis of proposals and recently finalized initiatives that affect Medicare prescription drug spending. Medicare, the federal health program that covers more than 60 million seniors and younger people with disabilities,…
Poll: Strong Initial Support for a Public Option, But Arguments Can Significantly Shift Views July 30, 2019 News Release Health Care Remains a Top Issue for Democrats Heading into Next Debates; At This Stage, More Want to Hear About Candidates’ Difference than Contrasts with President Trump The 2020 presidential election may be shaping up to be another election cycle focused on health care, with Democratic candidates offering competing proposals…
As the Ebola outbreak in the DRC continues, new KFF explainer examines the status of the response and the limited U.S. role to date July 29, 2019 News Release The ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), recently declared a “public health emergency of international concern” by the WHO Director-General, is now second only to the West Africa outbreak of 2014-2015 in terms of number of cases and deaths. A new KFF explainer reviews the history…
Explainer Video Breaks Down Prescription Drug Rebates and Why They Matter in the Debate About Prescription Drug Costs July 26, 2019 News Release A new KFF animation explains how rebates for prescription drugs work, including how they are determined, who benefits from them, how they affect spending by insurers and consumers and the role of pharmacy benefit managers in the process. The Trump Administration had proposed banning such rebates in Medicare Part D,…
Among People with Employer Coverage, Those with Persistently High Spending for Several Years Averaged Almost $88,000 in Health Spending in 2017 July 24, 2019 News Release Among people with three consecutive years of coverage from a large employer, just 1.3 percent of enrollees accounted for 19.5 percent of overall health spending in 2017, finds a new KFF analysis. These “people with persistently high spending” – people in the top five percent of spending in each of…
New Online Resource Tracks Legislation Affecting Global Health July 22, 2019 News Release A new KFF online resource tracks more than 30 bills introduced in the current Congress that would affect global health policy. The U.S. Global Health Legislation Tracker covers current legislation on an array of topics, from implementing a strategy to help end preventable maternal and child deaths to creating an…
Kaiser/UNAIDS Analysis Finds Donor Governments Spent US$8 Billion for HIV in 2018, Similar to a Decade Ago July 16, 2019 News Release Donor government disbursements to combat HIV in low- and middle-income countries totaled US$8 billion in 2018, little changed from the US$8.1 billion total in 2017 and from the levels of a decade ago, finds a new report from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) and the Joint United Nations Programme on…
Analysis: ‘Cadillac Tax’ on High-Cost Health Plans Could Affect 1 in 5 Employers in 2022 July 12, 2019 News Release A new KFF analysis estimates that the Affordable Care Act’s tax on high-cost health plans would affect one in five (21%) employers offering health benefits when it takes effect in 2022 unless employers change their health plans. An even larger share (31%) could be affected when workers’ voluntary contributions to…
Explaining Texas v. U.S.: A Guide to the 5th Circuit Appeal in the Lawsuit Challenging the Affordable Care Act July 3, 2019 News Release The outcome of the Texas v. U.S. legal challenge to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) could have far-reaching consequences for the nation’s health system, from rolling back the expansion of Medicaid to removing protections for people with pre-existing conditions and revoking the ability of adult children to stay on their…