US Improving in Health Care Quality, But Still Lagging Behind Other Countries, New Analysis Finds September 10, 2015 News Release A new brief on the Peterson-Kaiser Health System Tracker finds that the quality of the U.S. health system is improving in many areas, but comparable countries continue to outperform the United States on key measures. Analysts from the Kaiser Family Foundation compiled an overall picture of health care quality in…
New Tracker Monitors Affordable Care Act Preventive Services Coverage September 9, 2015 News Release The Affordable Care Act requires private insurance plans to cover recommended preventive services with no out-of-pocket charges for patients. This slate of covered services can change when the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and other authorized groups add or modify recommendations; the federal government also periodically issues clarifications to guide…
Why Higher Drug Costs Are Consumers’ Biggest Cost Worry September 8, 2015 News Release In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman discusses why public concern over drug prices is the “tip of the iceberg” representing broader concerns about out-of-pocket health care costs. All previous columns by Drew Altman are available online.
The ‘Private Option’ Medicaid Expansion in Arkansas Has Helped Reduce the Uninsured Rate and Uncompensated Care Costs While Boosting the State’s ACA Marketplace August 26, 2015 News Release A new issue brief from the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that Arkansas’ “private option” Medicaid expansion has helped reduce the number of uninsured and bring down uncompensated care costs while strengthening the state’s ACA marketplace. A Look at the Private Option in Arkansas draws upon early data as well as…
Will GOP Candidates’ Positions on Obamacare Matter in Crowded Field? August 25, 2015 News Release In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman analyzes the politics of Republican Affordable Care Act replacement plans and the challenges all Republican candidates will face distinguishing themselves from others on the ACA in a crowded primary field. All previous columns by Drew Altman are…
Analysis Estimates 1 in 4 Employers Offering Health Benefits Could Be Affected by the ‘Cadillac Tax’ in 2018 if Current Trends Continue August 25, 2015 News Release Share of Potentially-Affected Employers Could Grow to 30% in 2023, 42% in 2028, Analysis Finds New projections from the Kaiser Family Foundation estimate that one in four employers (26%) offering health benefits could be subject to the Affordable Care Act’s tax on high-cost health plans, also known as the “Cadillac…
Most Say They Can Afford Their Prescription Drugs, But One in Four Say Paying is Difficult, Including More Than Four in Ten People Who are Sick August 20, 2015 News Release Large Bipartisan Majorities Support Range of Policy Changes They Believe Would Curb Drug Costs Opinion on the Affordable Care Act Remains Largely Unchanged In August About half of Americans (54%) report currently taking a prescription drug, and a large majority of them (72%) say their prescriptions are very or somewhat…
What Post-Katrina New Orleans Shows About Urban and Race Issues August 19, 2015 News Release Drawing on the latest Kaiser Family Foundation comprehensive survey of New Orleans, Drew Altman discusses a growing racial divide in the city about perceptions of economic opportunity for blacks and whites and what progress and challenges in New Orleans may mean for urban America in his latest column for The Wall…
At CMS, the Mission Is Broader Than Medicare and Medicaid August 10, 2015 News Release In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman discusses whether the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ broad new responsibilities implementing the Affordable Care Act and a more proactive approach to Medicare payment signals that it’s time for (another) name change. All previous columns by Drew Altman are…
10 Years After the Storm: A Kaiser Family Foundation/NPR Survey of New Orleans Residents on Life After Hurricane Katrina August 10, 2015 News Release A decade after Hurricane Katrina battered the Gulf Coast and flood waters breached levees to cause unprecedented destruction in New Orleans, the Kaiser Family Foundation has teamed with NPR to survey current residents on the city’s recovery efforts and lingering challenges. The new survey adds to findings from a series of…