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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.
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.
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.
In this article for the American Society of Aging’s Generations Today, KFF Senior Vice President Tricia Neuman examines what President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden are saying about key issues for Medicare beneficiaries, including drug prices and affordability, as well as what they aren’t saying about Medicare’s financing.
This Visualizing Health Policy infographic looks at the experience of unexpected or “surprise” medical bills in the United States. Out-of-network charges typically expose individuals to higher cost-sharing when they use services, and may lead to balance billing – in which providers bill patients directly, and often unexpectedly, at a higher rate.
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED. This planned March 18 public forum organized by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the National Academy for State Health Policy public forum has been postponed. Additional information will be posted as it becomes available.
Among Medicare Changes, Strongest and Broadest Support Is for Negotiating Drug Prices People With Medicare, Medicaid and Employer Plans Give Their Coverage Similar Ratings, But Some Report Affordability and Physician Access Problems Fifty years after President Lyndon Johnson signed the law creating the Medicare and Medicaid programs, a new Kaiser Family Foundation poll finds a…
Media-only web briefing that released a new survey tracking the experiences of California's previously uninsured residents under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). New survey provides a detailed assessment of how well the ACA is working for previously uninsured residents in a state that embraced the ACA's coverage expansion opportunities by establishing the Covered California insurance marketplace and expanding its Medi-Cal program.
This brief analyzes data from the 2014 Consumer Expenditure survey to measure the impact of insurance on the health care spending and budgets of low-income households.
Larry Levitt's February 2016 post explains how "surprise medical bills" -- unanticipated charges for out-of-network care - can happen. It describes some government approaches to the issue and outlines the challenges to protecting consumers. The post is now available at The JAMA Forum.
This analysis looks at how the premiums for the lowest-cost silver plans in Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplaces changed between 2015 and 2016. The analysis examines premiums of the 2015 lowest-cost silver plans (in states that used Healthcare.gov in both 2015 and 2016) for a single 40 year-old adult to see how much these premiums increase in 2016 and whether enrollees could obtain lower premiums by switching plans.
This Visualizing Health Policy infographic spotlights national spending on prescription drugs and the public’s views on pharmaceutical prices. Prescription drug spending rose sharply in 2014, driven by growth in expenditures on specialty drugs, including medications to treat cancer and hepatitis C.
Annual family premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance rose 5% to average $20,576 this year, according to the 2019 benchmark KFF Employer Health Benefits Survey released today. Workers’ wages rose 3.4% and inflation rose 2% over the same period. On average, workers this year are contributing $6,015 toward the cost of family coverage, with employers paying the rest.
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