Cost Sharing

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.

Few employers offer retiree health benefits, and those that do increasingly are turning to Medicare Advantage plans to provide that coverage – a shift that has implications both for retirees and for federal spending, finds a new KFF analysis. Among the relatively small share of large firms (200 or more…

This analysis examines the extent to which large private and non-federal public employers that offer retiree health benefits are turning to Medicare Advantage and why they are making this shift, using data from the 2022 Employer Health Benefits Survey. We find that half (50%) of large employers offering retiree health benefits to Medicare-age retirees offer coverage to at least some retirees through a contract with a Medicare Advantage plan, nearly double the share in 2017 (26%).

This analysis examines the cost of COVID-19 treatment for inpatient care among people with health coverage through large employers. It finds that in 2020, COVID-19 hospitalizations cost an average of $41,611, including an average out-of-pocket payment of $1,280 for people with large employer coverage.

For 2023, the typical beneficiary has a choice of 43 Medicare Advantage plans as an alternative to traditional Medicare, a new KFF analysis finds. That’s an increase of 5 plans on average from 2022, adding even more choices to the Medicare Advantage marketplace, which is poised to become the dominant…

For 2023, the average Medicare beneficiary has access to 43 Medicare Advantage plans and can choose from plans offered by nine firms. Among the majority of Medicare Advantage plans that cover prescription drugs, 66 percent will charge no premium in addition to the monthly Medicare Part B premium. As in previous years, the vast majority of Medicare Advantage plans will offer supplemental benefits, including fitness, dental, vision, and hearing benefits. In addition, virtually all will also offer telehealth benefits in 2023.

This issue brief provides an overview of the Medicare Part D marketplace in 2023 and key trends over time, focusing primarily on stand-alone Medicare drug plans, including plan availability, premiums, and cost sharing. The brief also describes the prescription drug provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 that affect the Medicare Part D marketplace beginning in 2023

This brief presents data from the 2022 KFF Women’s Health Survey about reproductive age (18-49) females’ preferences for an over-the-counter contraceptive pill (N = 4,088).

This brief provides an overview of the financial assistance provided under the ACA for people purchasing coverage on their own through health insurance Marketplaces (also called exchanges).