Analysis Examines the Affordable Care Act’s Impact on Nearly All Americans September 23, 2020 News Release A week after the 2020 elections, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments on a legal challenge, supported by the Trump administration, that seeks to overturn the Affordable Care Act, an outcome that would have major effects throughout the health care system as the law’s provisions have affected nearly…
Election 2020 September 16, 2020 Topic Landing Page Our collection of health policy resources, news, polls, and data related to the 2020 Presidential Election.
This Week in Coronavirus: August 28 to September 3 September 4, 2020 Blog During the 33rd week since the first coronavirus case appeared in the United States worldwide cases surpassed the 26 million mark and United States’ cases breached 6 million with over 186,000 deaths.
Medicare’s Finances Have Gotten Much Worse in Recent Years, Foreshadowing Tough Choices for November’s Winners September 3, 2020 Blog This policy watch post discusses the latest Medicare Hospital Insurance trust fund solvency projections from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), which show the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic has hurt Medicare’s financial outlook, and foreshadow the tough choices facing the next President and Congress.
Most People Are Unlikely to See Drug Cost Savings From President Trump’s “Most Favored Nation” Proposal August 27, 2020 Blog This policy watch examines the likely impact of an executive order signed by President Trump in July 2020 related to prescription drugs, which would use lower international drug prices to set prices for a limited set of drugs in the U.S.
Analysis Finds 14 Million Medicare Part D and Large Employer Plan Enrollees Used Mail-Order Pharmacies Pre-Pandemic, Top Drugs Filled Were to Treat Chronic Conditions August 20, 2020 News Release With questions being raised about potential delays in U.S. Postal Service delivery, a new KFF data note estimates 14 million enrollees in Medicare Part D and large employer plans relied on mail-order pharmacies for at least one prescription in 2018, with a total of over 170 million prescriptions fulfilled. The…
Health Affairs Article: Medicare Part D Plans Rarely Cover Brand-Name Drugs When Generics Are Available August 10, 2020 Issue Brief In an article in Health Affairs, KFF’s Juliette Cubanski, Sarah True and Tricia Neuman, and several other co-authors, explore how often brand-name drugs receive favorable formulary inclusion relative to generics in the Medicare Part D program’s prescription drug plans.
This Week in Coronavirus: July 10 to July 16 July 17, 2020 Blog The United States continues to see a spike in COVID-19 cases this week, and yesterday crossed another disturbing threshold: over 77,000 new cases were confirmed on Thursday. With many schools scheduled to begin the new academic year next month, parents, school staff and government officials have been heavily engaged this week in the debate around the safety and feasibility of in-person teaching.
How Could the Price of Remdesivir Impact Medicare Spending for COVID-19 Patients? July 14, 2020 Issue Brief This brief discusses how drugs provided in inpatient hospital settings are covered and reimbursed for beneficiaries in traditional Medicare under current law. This is relevant for Medicare spending on COVID-19 patients who receive Gilead’s new antiviral drug remdesivir. We discuss the implications for hospitals and the Medicare program of spending on remdesivir.
Options to Support Medicaid Providers in Response to COVID-19 June 17, 2020 Issue Brief This brief provides an overview of how states currently reimburse providers and the challenges for Medicaid providers that have emerged from the pandemic and state budget issues. It presents new data on state actions to date to help bolster Medicaid providers dealing with the effects of COVID-19 and discusses support available for Medicaid providers from the federal provider relief fund.
