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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 examines disparities in access to air condition and their implications. It shows Asian-, Black-, and Hispanic-led households are more likely to report not having an air conditioning unit in their home compared to White households. Lower income households also are more likely than higher-income households to report this and other challenges.
Among the 167 million people with employer-sponsored insurance in 2022, 3.4 million used at least one of the first 10 drugs identified for Medicare price negotiations, according to a new analysis. The most used drug for people with employer-sponsored health insurance was Jardiance, a drug used to treat diabetes and heart failure, which was taken by more than 911,000 enrollees. The analysis uses the Merative MarketScan 2022 commercial claims to estimate the number of enrollees…
Health care debt is a widespread problem in the United States. Medicare offers coverage for a range of health care services, including hospitalizations, physician visits, prescription drugs, and post-acute care, but Medicare beneficiaries generally pay out-of-pocket for their monthly premiums and deductibles, cost-sharing for Medicare-covered services, and the cost of services not covered by Medicare. This data note examines findings from the KFF Health Care Debt Survey to assess the prevalence, sources and consequences of…
Enhanced premium subsidies were first made available under the American Rescue Plan Act and extended until the end of 2025 under the Inflation Reduction Act. This analysis shows the impact that enhanced subsidies have had on enrollment and premium payments, and the potential implications if the enhanced subsidies expire.
Without the enhanced subsidies in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace enrollees in 12 of the states that use HealthCare.gov would see their annual premium payments at least double on average, according to a new KFF analysis. Enrollees in three states would see the steepest annual increases: Wyoming (195% or $1,872), Alaska (125% or $1,836), and West Virginia (133% or $1,404), and premiums would rise by an average of 93% or…
In his latest column, KFF President and CEO Drew Altman unravels the differences between Trump and Biden on Medicare, abortion, drug costs and other health-related issues that KFF's new side-by-side candidate analysis examines. From the bird’s eye view, these differences amount to a fork in the road in direction on the role of the federal government in health and federal health spending.
This brief examines key facts around proposals to align Medicare payments for outpatient services across care settings, otherwise known as “site-neutral payment reforms.”
Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace plans rarely cover GLP-1 drugs approved solely for obesity treatment, according to a an analysis of 2024 federal plan data. Wegovy, a drug that is approved for weight loss, is covered by just 1% of Marketplace prescription drug plans, compared to 82% of Marketplace prescription drug plans for Ozempic, which contains the same active ingredient as Wegovy (semaglutide) but is approved only for diabetes. This analysis examines publicly available formularies…
This analysis examines the share of new mothers who have significant medical debt (in excess of $250), compared to other young women who did not recently give birth, using data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP).
This analysis highlights key findings about the health care experiences of older adults (ages 65 and older) based on KFF’s 2023 Survey on Racism, Discrimination, and Health, including variations by race and ethnicity.
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