Medicaid: What to Watch in 2024 January 30, 2024 Issue Brief As the start of 2024, many issues are at play that will affect Medicaid coverage, financing, and access. This issue brief provides context for these Medicaid issues and highlights key issues to watch in the year ahead.
The Two Health Care Cost Crises January 18, 2024 Perspective In this column, KFF’s President and CEO Drew Altman explores the nation’s twin health cost crises of affordability, especially for people who are sick and need a lot of health care, and national health spending, and why the solutions often work at cross purposes.
States Obtain Special Waivers to Help Unwinding Efforts January 16, 2024 Blog This brief discusses state uptake of special waivers aimed to mitigate procedural disenrollments during the unwinding of the continuous enrollment provision.
Recent Trends in Children’s Poverty and Health Insurance as Pandemic-Era Programs Expire January 16, 2024 Issue Brief This policy watch examines recent trends in children’s poverty rates and the impact of expiring federal aid, explores recent changes in Medicaid coverage for children, and discusses what to watch as families contend with these compounding changes.
What Are the Implications of the Recent Elimination of the Medicaid Prescription Drug Rebate Cap? January 16, 2024 Blog This policy watch explains the Medicaid prescription drug rebate cap, examines how many drugs might be impacted, and explores the implications of recent manufacturer responses for Medicaid programs and enrollees.
What to Know About the FDA’s Recent Decision to Allow Florida to Import Prescription Drugs from Canada January 12, 2024 Blog Florida’s plan to import certain prescription drugs from Canada represents the first time the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted authority for a state to safely import prescription drugs from another country. This policy watch analysis unpacks some frequently asked questions related to state of Florida’s importation plan, including potential obstacles to implementation, who will benefit from any savings, and what types of drugs will (and will not) qualify for importation.
How History Has Shaped Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities: A Timeline of Policies and Events January 11, 2024 Page This timeline offers a historical view of significant U.S. federal policies and events spanning the early 1800s to today that have influenced present-day health disparities. It covers policies that directly impacted health coverage and access to care, relevant events in medicine, social and economic policies and developments that influence health, and efforts to tackle inequalities.
Most Nonprofit Hospitals and Health Systems Had “Strong” Days of Cash on Hand in 2022, Though About One-in-10 Were “Vulnerable” January 9, 2024 News Release Most nonprofit hospitals and hospital systems had enough cash on hand in 2022 to cover operating expenses for an extended period of time, though about one-in-10 had relatively low levels to cover their expenses, which potentially could leave them vulnerable in a financial crisis, a new KFF analysis finds.The analysis…
Most Nonprofit Hospitals and Health Systems Analyzed Had “Adequate” or “Strong” Days of Cash on Hand in 2022, Though About One in Ten Did Not January 9, 2024 Issue Brief This data note examines recent trends in “days cash on hand” to understand how well nonprofit hospitals and health systems may be able to weather financial challenges, such as low operating margins.
A Look at Nursing Facility Characteristics Between 2015 and 2023 January 5, 2024 Issue Brief This data note examines the characteristics of nursing facilities and the people living in them with data from Nursing Home Compare, a publicly available dataset that provides a snapshot of information on quality of care in each nursing facility, and CASPER (Certification and Survey Provider Enhanced Reports), a dataset that includes detailed metrics collected by surveyors during nursing facility inspections.