Obamacare and You: If You Have Medicare…
This short explainer highlights some of the key information for people with Medicare about how Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, may affect them.
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Implications of CMS’s New “Healthy Adult Opportunity” Demonstrations for Medicaid
Issue BriefOn January 30, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released guidance inviting states to apply for new Section 1115 demonstrations known as the “Healthy Adult Opportunity” (HAO). These demonstrations would permit states “extensive flexibility” to use Medicaid funds to cover Affordable Care Act (ACA) expansion adults and other nonelderly adults covered at state option who do not qualify on the basis of disability, without being bound by many federal standards related to…
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New England Journal of Medicine: Undermining Genetic Privacy? Employee Wellness Programs and the Law
PerspectiveIn this May 2017 post, Karen Pollitz and co-author Kathy L. Hudson discuss how H.R. 1313, the Preserving Employee Wellness Programs Act, could substantially change current legal protections for the collection and treatment of genetic information and other personal health information under workplace wellness programs. The post is now available from the New England Journal of Medicine.
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5 Questions About the Idea of Default Enrollment into Medicare Advantage Plans
Issue BriefThis brief considers how default enrollment into Medicare Advantage might work, potential challenges with this approach, and implications for beneficiaries, insurers, providers, agents and brokers, and the federal budget.
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Standard Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit, 2013
FeatureStandard Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit, 2013 Download Source Kaiser Family Foundation illustration based on CMS standard benefit parameter update for 2013. Amounts rounded to nearest dollar.
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Medicare Advantage Plan Switching: Exception or Norm?
Issue BriefThe Medicare open enrollment period allows enrollees to compare plans, stick with their current plan, switch to another plan, or shift to traditional Medicare. This analysis examines the extent to which Medicare Advantage enrollees change plans when given the opportunity. It also analyzes the variation in the rate of plan switching by enrollee and plan characteristics and whether people who voluntarily switch plans tend to move to plans with lower premiums, lower out-of-pocket limits, or…
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Understanding Short-Term Limited Duration Health Insurance
Issue BriefIn late 2017, President Trump issued an executive order directing the Secretary of Health and Human Services to take steps to expand the availability of short-term health insurance policies. This brief provides background information on short-term policies and how they differ from ACA-compliant health plans. It also analyzes the short-term plans available through two major online brokers to assess how often they include coverage for mental health, substance abuse, prescription drugs and maternity care.
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The Role of Medicaid and Impact of the Medicaid Expansion for Veterans Experiencing Homelessness
Issue BriefThis brief describes Medicaid’s role for veterans experiencing homelessness and provides insight into how the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Medicaid expansion has affected their coverage and access to care.
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New $2,000 Medicare Part D Cap Could Reduce Out-of-Pocket Drug Costs for Over One Million Beneficiaries Beginning Next Year, Including Tens of Thousands of Beneficiaries in Most States
News ReleaseA KFF analysis shows that a new out-of-pocket spending cap in Medicare Part D could translate into savings for well over 1 million beneficiaries when it takes effect next year, including more than 100,000 people each in California, Florida and Texas, based on analyses of drug spending in 2021. The $2,000 cap, part of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, will lead to thousands of dollars in savings for Medicare patients who take high-cost drugs…
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Options to Make Medicare More Affordable For Beneficiaries Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond
ReportMedicare provides significant health and financial protections to more than 60 million Americans, but there are gaps in coverage and high cost-sharing requirements that can make health care difficult to afford. This report analyzes several policy options that could help make health care more affordable for people covered by Medicare, especially beneficiaries with relatively low incomes: adding an out-of-pocket limit to traditional Medicare, adding a hard out-of-pocket cap to Part D, expanding financial assistance through…