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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.
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Many uninsured people do not obtain the treatments their health care providers recommend for them because of the cost of care. In 2018, uninsured nonelderly adults were more than three times as likely as adults with private coverage to say that they postponed or did not get a needed prescription drug due to cost.
In October 2023, the Departments of the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services issued a request for information to gather public input about the potential benefits, costs, and implementation considerations of requiring private health insurance plans to cover OTC preventive services and supplies without a prescription. This policy watch addresses key considerations for the implementation of insurance coverage for non-prescribed OTC contraceptives based on the lessons learned from KFF’s 2023 study of Insurance Coverage…
Proposals to allow the federal government to negotiate prescription drug prices, such as H.R. 3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, aim to lower out-of-pocket drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries and private plan enrollees and achieve savings for Medicare. This data note estimates average premium savings attributable to the negotiations provision of H.R. 3 on a per capita basis for Part D enrollees who pay premiums in dollar amounts and as a…
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.
Community health centers are a national network of safety-net primary care providers serving low-income, medically underserved communities. Based on findings from a national survey of health centers, this brief examines how the pandemic has affected health center patients and services as well as the ongoing challenges health centers and their patients face.
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.
This brief examines how leading federal and state policy options related to changes in Medicaid Drug Rebate Program (MDRP), drug pricing, and payment and management of the Medicaid prescription drug would affect state and federal governments as well as private industry (including drug manufacturers, managed care organizations, and pharmacies).
With federal regulators seeking public input on the potential benefits, costs, and implementation considerations of requiring private health insurance plans to cover over-the-counter preventive products without a prescription, a new KFF post explores the issues relevant to covering over-the-counter contraceptives. These contraceptives include Opill, the first daily oral contraceptive pill to receive FDA approval for over-the-counter availability. The analysis draws on the lessons learned from KFF staff interviews with more than 80 key players nationally…
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.
This infographic examines public opinion on prescription drug costs in the United States as part of the Visualizing Health Policy infographic series, produced in partnership with the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
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