The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
KFF’s policy research provides facts and analysis on a wide range of policy issues and public programs.
KFF designs, conducts and analyzes original public opinion and survey research on Americans’ attitudes, knowledge, and experiences with the health care system to help amplify the public’s voice in major national debates.
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the organization’s core operating programs.
This volume highlights how new vaccine requirements and the spread of anti-mRNA sentiments are fueling confusion and distrust. It also examines reactions to a federal report on gender-affirming care for minors and investigates how TikTok is being used to promote false health claims through deepfake personas targeting young women.
About 1 in 5 adolescents report symptoms of anxiety or depression, according to a KFF analysis of a new federal survey of teen health. The data comes at a time of heightened concern about adolescent mental health and substance use, particularly in light of gun violence and rising drug overdose deaths among young people. This brief explores the state of adolescent mental health in recent years.
As policymakers in Washington discuss ways to curb the rising cost of prescription drugs, KFF has released a summary and analysis of proposals and recently finalized initiatives that affect Medicare prescription drug spending.
This Health Policy 101 chapter explores the federal government’s role in health policy for the fragmented U.S. health care system. It examines the impact of the three federal branches and goes into further detail about the Department of Health and Human Services structure and the major congressional committees dealing with health care. It also briefly outlines the federal budgetary and regulatory process.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved Opill—the first over-the-counter daily oral contraceptive pill in the United States. Beginning in early 2024, people will be able to purchase Opill without a prescription, expanding options for contraceptive access across the country. On September 15, 2023, a panel of experts joined Laurie Sobel, associate director for KFF’s Women’s Health Policy program, to explore approaches to covering over-the-counter oral contraception without a prescription. The panel discussed lessons learned from the implementation of private insurance or Medicaid coverage from the perspectives of various stakeholders.
These findings from the KFF/Washington Post Survey of Parents shed light on parents who support the Make America Healthy Again movement, including the issues they see as top concerns for their children's wellbeing and their attitudes when it comes to vaccines and government regulations on food.
State Medicaid programs are taking steps to address the opioid epidemic. State Medicaid efforts include improving access to OUD treatment medications, covering over the counter Narcan, and extending OUD treatment to soon-to-be-released inmates--a population at high risk of overdose death upon release.
This brief provides background on gender affirming care and state bans, explains the legal challenge to the Tennessee law, and explores the potential Supreme Court ruling and impact on access across the country.
The Survey of 1988 NFL players, conducted by KFF in partnership with ESPN, looks at the overall health and well-being of former professional football players who played in the 1988 NFL season. While many are grappling with the immense toll the sport has taken on their physical and neurological health, most say they would do it all over again.
This issue brief explains how misinformation about contraceptives and how pregnancy is defined in state abortion bans may impact contraceptive access, and outlines the legal protections some states have established to affirm the right to obtain contraceptives.
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