The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
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.
This policy insight examines the unexpected drop in Medicare's per-beneficiary spending projections and its implications for beneficiaries and the program's future.
One year after Hurricanes Irma and Maria made landfall, recovery has progressed slowly and unevenly in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The territories’ health care systems continue to face capacity, infrastructure and financial challenges even as health needs have increased, especially in mental health, according to two new reports from the Kaiser Family Foundation. The reports, drawing upon interviews with government and health officials from both territories, public documents and data, and an…
A new resource from the Kaiser Family Foundation enables users to keep abreast of Section 1115 Medicaid waivers that are pending or have been approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. KFF’s Medicaid waiver tracker includes interactive maps that allow users to view states’ approved and pending waivers according to category, including Medicaid expansion; work requirements; benefit restrictions, copays and healthy behaviors; enrollment and eligibility restrictions; managed long-term services and supports; and more.…
On August 3, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) hosted a briefing to assess the major outcomes of the 2016 International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2016), held from July 18-22 in Durban, South Africa. The discussion touched on the latest scientific advancements, the current funding climate for HIV response, and other developments and contributions to the field emerging from the conference. Panelists included Chris Beyrer, Immediate Past President of the International AIDS Society;…
This background paper examines various aspects of the Medicaid program that can expand access to home and community-based services (HCBS) and rebalance long-term care spending in favor of HCBS. As a result of the long-standing requirement that states cover facility-based care, the majority of Medicaid long-term care (LTC) expenditures historically have been for institutional, rather than home and community-based, services. Over the past two decades, major efforts have been undertaken by states and the Centers…
The Alliance for Health Reform and Eli Lilly co-sponsored this briefing to have an expanded panel of prominent experts answer questions about the current health reform efforts.Questions addressed include: What is the status of major reform bills? How do they differ from each other, and from the plan that may emerge from the Senate Finance Committee? What are some of the outstanding issues that will need to be decided to get a bill to the…
A number of states have used the flexibility of the Medicaid program to develop innovative payment and delivery systems designed to coordinate and improve quality of care. This brief, based on site visits from November 2009 through March 2010, highlights care coordination and related efforts in five states: Alabama, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington state. Such efforts by states to realign the provider payment and delivery systems are key to improving Medicaid and to successfully…
The nine million dually eligible beneficiaries are generally poorer and sicker than other Medicare beneficiaries, tend to use more health care services, and thus account for a disproportionate share of Medicare and Medicaid spending. Because they often have complex medical and long-term care needs, and must navigate both Medicaid and Medicare benefits and financing, they present a special challenge for those seeking a more efficient and coordinated care delivery system. The panel will address such…
This brief provides an overview of how Medicaid managed care organization (MCO) capitation rates are developed by states and approved by CMS, highlights options available to states to adjust current rates and/or risk sharing mechanisms, describes how MCOs pay providers, and outlines state options to direct MCO payments to providers in response to conditions created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
On August 7, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) held a briefing to assess the major outcomes of the 2014 International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2014), held from July 20-25 in Melbourne, Australia. The discussion touched on the latest scientific developments; the current funding climate for the AIDS response; the impact of anti-LGBT laws on efforts to address HIV/AIDS around the world; and other major contributions to the field emerging from…
© 2026 KFF