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  • A Polling Surprise? Americans Rank Unexpected Medical Bills at the Top of Family Budget Worries

    News Release

    When it comes to family budget concerns, unexpected medical bills top Americans’ list of worries, with two-thirds (65%) of the public saying they are at least somewhat worried, including 35% who say they are “very” worried, the latest KFF Health Tracking Poll finds. Fewer Americans say they are at least somewhat worried about seven other potential family expenses, including their health insurance deductible, transportation costs including gas, prescription drug costs, their rent or mortgage, their…

  • Paying a Visit to the Doctor: Current Financial Protections for Medicare Patients When Receiving Physician Services

    Issue Brief

    This issue brief explains provisions in current law that shield beneficiaries from unexpected and confusing charges when they see physicians and practitioners—namely, the participating provider program, limitation on balance billing, and conditions on private contracting for doctors who opt out of Medicare or join “concierge” practices. It also analyzes the implications of modifying these provisions for beneficiaries, providers, and the Medicare program.

  • Do People Who Sign Up for Medicare Advantage Plans Have Lower Medicare Spending?

    Issue Brief

    The analysis finds that people who switched from traditional Medicare to Medicare Advantage in 2016 had health spending in 2015 that was $1,253 less, on average, than the average spending for beneficiaries who remained in traditional Medicare (after adjusting for health risk). The findings suggest that the current payment method may systematically overestimate expected costs of Medicare Advantage enrollees. Adjusting payments to reflect Medicare Advantage enrollees’ prior use of health services could potentially lower total…

  • 10 Things to Know About Medicare Part D Coverage and Costs in 2019

    Issue Brief

    The Medicare Part D program provides an outpatient prescription drug benefit to older adults and people with long-term disabilities in Medicare who enroll in private plans. This analysis provides the latest data about Medicare Part D coverage and costs in 2019 and trends over time, including enrollment, premiums, cost sharing, and participation in the low-income subsidy program.

  • How Many Medicare Part D Enrollees Had High Out-of-Pocket Drug Costs in 2017?

    Issue Brief

    The Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit has helped improve the affordability of medications for people with Medicare. Yet Part D enrollees can face relatively high out-of-pocket costs because the Part D benefit does not have a hard cap on out-of-pocket spending. This analysis presents the latest data on out-of-pocket drug spending among Medicare Part D enrollees without low-income subsidies who have costs above the catastrophic coverage threshold.

  • Initiative 18|11: What Can We Do About The Cost Of Health Care?

    Issue Brief

    This conference report summarizes discussions at a March 2018 conference in Washington with 30 leaders from the health care community to launch Initiative 18/11, a partnership between the Society of Actuaries and KFF to address the rising cost of health care in the United States. It also lays out the next steps for the initiative.

  • Paying a Visit to the Doctor: Current Financial Protections for Medicare Patients When Receiving Physician Services

    News Release

    As the Congress continues to work on reforming Medicare payments for physician services, a new Kaiser Family Foundation brief examines key provisions in current law that help provide safeguards and financial protections for beneficiaries when they visit their doctor, and explains how potential changes could affect beneficiaries, providers, and the Medicare program. These provisions include: The participating provider program encourages physicians and other practitioners to charge no more than Medicare fees for services provided to…

  • Medicare: The Essentials

    Feature

    Medicare: The Essentials (July 2013) Download Medicare Enrollment, 1966-2013 Download Source Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Medicare Enrollment: Hospital Insurance and/or Supplemental Medical Insurance Programs for Total, Fee-for-Service and Managed Care Enrollees as of July 1, 2011: Selected Calendar Years 1966-2011; 2012-2013, HHS Budget in Brief, FY2014. Medicare Beneficiaries as a Percent of State Populations, 2012 Download Source Calculation based on Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of the CMS State/County Market Penetration file, March 2012;…

  • Medicaid Managed Care in the Era of Health Reform – Briefing and Panel Discussion

    Event Date:
    Event

    Amid increasing state and national interest in using managed care delivery models for Medicaid beneficiaries, the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (KCMU) hosted a public briefing on Tuesday, June 25, 2013 to provide information on recent transitions from fee-for-service to managed care, and to discuss their implications for care access and delivery. Moderated by Diane Rowland, Executive Vice President of the Foundation and Executive Director of the KCMU, the briefing began…