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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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Health Policy 101 is a comprehensive guide covering fundamental aspects of U.S. health policy and programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, employer-sponsored insurance, the uninsured population, health care costs and affordability, women's health issues, and health care politics. The Health Care Costs and Affordability chapter explores trends in health care costs in the U.S. and the factors that contribute to this spending. It also examines how health care spending varies across the population, the impact of costs on care affordability and individuals' overall financial vulnerability.
This analysis provides the first national estimates of the expected impact of the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) coverage expansions on people with HIV. The brief finds that close to 70,000 uninsured people with HIV who are in care could gain new coverage, including 47,000 through Medicaid were all states to expand their Medicaid coverage.
This report examines the causes and contributors to medical debt, medical bankruptcy, and other difficulties with medical bills among people with insurance. Through in-depth interviews of nearly two-dozen people and quantitative analysis of national survey data, the authors of this report find that in-network and out-of-net-work cost sharing primarily contribute to medical debt among the insured.
A record 90 percent of children now have health coverage – more than a third of whom are covered by Medicaid and CHIP. Yet about 7.5 million children remain uninsured, including 5 million who are eligible for Medicaid and CHIP but not enrolled. Who are the at-risk kids? How are states faring with enrollment and retention? How will children and families be affected once major parts of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA)…
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) emerged as an 11th hour debate topic, but neither candidate addressed the health care issue voters want to hear about
The fact that health reform has not been a central issue in this campaign does not mean that the outcome of the election has no consequences for health care.
The debate over these enhanced tax credits can be seen as a proxy for the broader public’s concerns about health care affordability which may be why the public is largely in favor of extending these subsidies – even as overall views of the ACA are still very polarized.
While codifying most-favored-nation drug pricing could be helpful for bringing more transparency to these arrangements and guaranteeing that drug companies will deliver on what they’ve promised, policymakers would need substantially more information to turn these backroom voluntary deals into law.
CMS’s efforts to expand Medicare coverage of GLP-1s for obesity could provide substantial benefits to millions of Medicare beneficiaries, given the potential demand for these highly effective medications…There are potential drawbacks to the short-term program, however.
This brief presents key facts and analysis about affordability of health care costs among people with Medicare, including younger adults with long-term disabilities, drawing on data from various sources.
This analysis uses 2019 insurance claims data from large employer health plans to assess the total and out-of-pocket costs of emergency department visits, overall and by diagnosis and severity level. It also looks at which services contribute most to the costs of emergency department visits.
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