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This policy watch discusses a recent policy change by the Department of Health and Human Services that bars several groups of immigrants from accessing an updated list of "federal public benefits".
This Health Policy 101 chapter explores Medicare, a federal health insurance program covering more than 68 million people, established in 1965 for people age 65 or older and later expanded to cover people under age 65 with long-term disabilities. In addition to detailing Medicare eligibility, coverage, and spending, the chapter examines the increased role of private plans in providing benefits and the financing challenges posed by increasing health care costs and an aging population.
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 includes several provisions to lower prescription drug costs for people with Medicare and reduce drug spending by the federal government, including a number of changes to the Medicare Part D drug benefit. This brief provides an overview of the Part D benefit design and Part D enrollee cost-sharing requirements in 2023 and changes coming in 2024 and 2025.
In Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rules from recent years, the administration made changes to Medicare payment policies for certain dental services, in addition to other payment and policy changes. The 2023 rule clarified CMS’s interpretation of when medically necessary dental services can be covered and codified certain payment policies, and the 2023, 2024, and 2025 rules define new clinical scenarios for which Medicare payment can be made for dental services. This brief describes current…
This 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.
This brief provides information about Medicare Advantage plans in 2024, including premiums, out-of-pocket limits, supplemental benefits, and prior authorization, as well as trends over time.
States expect the number of people enrolled in Medicaid will increase an average of 13.2 percent across the country in state fiscal year 2015 (which runs through June in most states), showing the early effects of the first full year of Affordable Care Act implementation, according to the 14th annual 50-State Medicaid budget survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (KCMU).
For the first time in a decade, states are reporting no overall growth in Medicaid enrollment last year and expecting minimal growth this year amid a stronger economy, a new Kaiser Family Foundation survey finds. The 18th annual 50-state survey of Medicaid directors reveals that enrollment was flat in state fiscal year (FY) 2018 (down an average 0.6 percent), and states are budgeting for minimal increases during FY 2019 (up an average 0.9 percent). States…
This report provides an in-depth examination of the changes taking place in Medicaid programs across the country. Report findings are drawn from the annual budget survey of Medicaid officials in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. This report examines the reforms, policy changes, and initiatives that occurred in FY 2018 and those adopted for implementation for FY 2019 (which began for most states on July 1, 2018). Key areas covered include changes in…
Medicaid, the main health insurance program for low-income people and the single largest source of public coverage in the U.S., turns 50 this year. In that time, it has grown to cover nearly 70 million Americans and become a key source of financing for safety net hospitals and health centers, as well as the main source of coverage and financing of long-term care. The program continues to be a focus of policy debate and partisan…
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