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About one in eight adults say that they are currently taking a GLP-1 drug either to lose weight or treat a chronic condition, an increase from 18 months ago, though the high costs of the medications remain a concern. Few adults think it is likely their prescription costs will go down as a result of recently announced Trump administration policies.
Federal policies governing substance use disorder treatment have undergone rapid changes during the pandemic; however, the extent to which these changes can address the surge in opioid overdose deaths is unclear. Some of these policy adjustments are permanent, while others could revert to pre-pandemic regulations. In this brief, we examine the following 5 key federal policies and implications for access and treatment for OUD.
This brief examines opioid use disorder diagnoses and medication treatment for opioid use disorders in the prenatal and postpartum period among people with a Medicaid-covered delivery in 2017-2018.
This issue brief merged beneficiary-level Medicare and Medicaid data from 2021 to document sources of coverage for dual-eligible individuals nationwide and by state.
A new KFF analysis finds that 24 percent more buprenorphine, a medication to treat opioid use disorder, was dispensed in 2022 than in 2019, the year before the pandemic brought a surge of opioid overdose deaths – and a focus on how to expand access and treatment. This upward trend in buprenorphine distribution, already in motion before the pandemic, continued throughout the COVID public health crisis, suggesting continued improvements in access to treatment even as…
As states unwind the Medicaid continuous enrollment provision, they must comply with federal renewal requirements, including the requirement to conduct ex parte, or automated renewals. This policy watch explains what ex parte renewals are, examines variation in ex parte renewal rates across states, and discusses current issues as well as actions states are taking to increase ex parte rates.
As Opill—the first over-the-counter daily oral contraceptive pill in the United States—is expected to be available for purchase in early 2024, new research conducted by KFF examines barriers to its accessibility for consumers and challenges in providing insurance coverage for it. Based on interviews with nearly 80 representatives from private insurance plans, state Medicaid programs, chain pharmacies, and other key groups, the report provides a deeper view into the operational challenges in expanding access to…
Virtually all (98.9%) of the 2.6 million Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan that terminated coverage at the end of 2025 have at least one MA-PD available in 2026, including more than two-thirds (68.7%) who have the option of enrolling in a plan sponsored by the same insurer.
The data is good enough, the technology is getting better, the computing is becoming more available, and the use cases are getting clearer—but is AI truly a revolutionary technological advancement yet for health care? With a 30-year perspective on what digital technology has done and failed to do in health care, Dr. John Halamka, President of the Mayo Clinic Platform, joins Chip in discussing whether AI is actually disruptive or another wave of incremental change.
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