321 - 330 of 632 Results

  • How Many Medicare Part D Enrollees Had High Out-of-Pocket Drug Costs in 2017?

    Issue Brief

    The Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit has helped improve the affordability of medications for people with Medicare. Yet Part D enrollees can face relatively high out-of-pocket costs because the Part D benefit does not have a hard cap on out-of-pocket spending. This analysis presents the latest data on out-of-pocket drug spending among Medicare Part D enrollees without low-income subsidies who have costs above the catastrophic coverage threshold.

  • Do People Who Sign Up for Medicare Advantage Plans Have Lower Medicare Spending?

    Issue Brief

    The analysis finds that people who switched from traditional Medicare to Medicare Advantage in 2016 had health spending in 2015 that was $1,253 less, on average, than the average spending for beneficiaries who remained in traditional Medicare (after adjusting for health risk). The findings suggest that the current payment method may systematically overestimate expected costs of Medicare Advantage enrollees. Adjusting payments to reflect Medicare Advantage enrollees’ prior use of health services could potentially lower total…

  • The Out-of-Pocket Cost Burden for Specialty Drugs in Medicare Part D in 2019

    Issue Brief

    Medicare Part D has helped to make prescription drugs more affordable for people with Medicare, yet many beneficiaries continue to face high out-of-pocket costs for their medications. Specialty tier drugs are a particular concern for Part D enrollees in this context. This analysis draws on data from Medicare’s Plan Finder website to calculate expected annual 2019 out-of-pocket costs for 30 specialty tier drugs used to treat four health conditions—cancer, hepatitis C, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid…

  • Abortion Knowledge and Attitudes: KFF Polling and Policy Insights

    Poll Finding

    This poll examines the public's knowledge and attitudes about abortion. This poll finds a majority of the public do not want to see the Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade, and think recent state-level abortion restrictions are designed to make abortion access more difficult, rather than protect women’s health and safety.

  • New KFF/Los Angeles Times Survey Highlights the Financial Challenges Facing People with Employer Health Benefits

    News Release

    A new KFF/Los Angeles Times survey of Americans with employer health benefits finds that although most are largely satisfied with their employer plan, many report financial challenges related to their health care costs, particularly among those facing high deductibles or suffering from chronic health conditions. The survey captures the experiences of the roughly 156 million Americans who get their health coverage through their employers, rather than through the individual market or government programs such as…

  • How Much Do Medicare Beneficiaries Spend Out of Pocket on Health Care?

    Issue Brief

    This analysis presents the most current data on out-of-pocket health care spending by Medicare beneficiaries, both overall and among different groups of beneficiaries. The analysis explores how much Medicare beneficiaries spend out of pocket in total on health care premiums and health-related services, on average; how much beneficiaries spend out of pocket on different types of health-related services; and what share of income beneficiaries spend on out-of-pocket health care costs.

  • A Look at Recent Proposals to Control Drug Spending by Medicare and its Beneficiaries

    Issue Brief

    In response to higher drug spending growth and heightened attention to drug prices, policymakers have proposed a variety of policy initiatives to lower the cost of prescription drugs in Medicare. This brief examines in detail the range of proposals offered by the Trump Administration and members of Congress for lowering the cost of prescription drugs, their known effects on the federal budget, and their potential implications for beneficiaries and other stakeholders.

  • Medicare Part D Enrollees with Serious Health Conditions Can Face Thousands of Dollars in Out-of-Pocket Costs Annually for Specialty Drugs

    News Release

    Despite Medicare’s protections, Part D enrollees with serious health conditions can face thousands of dollars in annual out-of-pocket costs for expensive specialty drugs, a new KFF anaylsis finds. The analysis draws on data from Medicare’s Plan Finder website to calculate expected annual 2019 costs for more than two dozen specialty tier drugs used to treat four health conditions -- cancer, hepatitis C, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis – based on coverage and costs in national and…