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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.
KFF has conducted this annual survey of private and non-federal public employers with three or more workers since 1999. The survey tracks trends in employer health insurance coverage, the cost of that coverage, and other topical health insurance issues. Findings are based on a nationally representative survey of public and private employers with three or more employees, including those who respond to the full survey and those who indicate only whether or not they provide health coverage. Browse the reports
Using health insurer financial data for 2023, we find that in 2023, per enrollee gross margins were highest in the Medicare Advantage market, and medical loss ratios were lowest in the individual insurance market. Across most markets, gross margins have been relatively stable in recent years.
Insurers estimate they will pay $1.1 billion in Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) rebates in 2024 to select individuals and employers that purchase their health coverage, according to a KFF analysis of preliminary data reported to state regulators. The estimated rebate for 2024 is larger than rebates issued in most prior years. Nearly $12 billion in rebates have been issued since 2012.
This data note analyzes five national surveys to assess trends in retiree health coverage among people ages 65 and older. These five surveys produce somewhat different estimates of retiree health coverage, but together paint a clear picture: the share of Medicare-age adults with employer- or union-sponsored retiree health coverage has been shrinking and appears to be on the way to extinction.
This brief discusses the longstanding legal doctrine, Chevron deference, being challenged in two cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and includes examples of what could be at stake for health care consumers should federal courts no longer use this doctrine to address litigation related to federal health regulations. The focus here is on patient and consumer protection regulation, but overturning the Chevron deference would have implications in all areas of health care.
The Affordable Care Act does not require businesses to provide health benefits to their workers, but applicable large employers may face penalties if they don’t make affordable coverage available. The employer shared responsibility provision of the Affordable Care Act penalizes employers who either do not offer coverage or do not offer coverage that meets minimum value and affordability standards. These penalties apply to firms with 50 or more full-time equivalent employees. This flowchart illustrates how those employer responsibilities work.
According to an analysis of responses to KFF’s Employer Health Benefits Survey in 2023, relatively few (8%) large firms (with 200 or more workers) offering health benefits report reducing or expanding coverage for abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade with the Dobbs v. Jackson ruling.
This brief presents findings from the 2023 KFF Employer Health Benefits Survey on coverage of abortion services in large employer-sponsored health plans, changes employers made to abortion coverage since the 2022 Supreme Court ruling, and employers’ provision of financial assistance for travel out of state to obtain an abortion.
This chart collection presents analysis of data from recent Annual Economic and Social Supplements (ASEC) of the Current Population Survey (CPS) to examine who among non-elderly people has employer-sponsored insurance and which workers are offered and eligible for coverage at their current jobs.
This post explores the prevalence of employer-sponsored health plans that use Center of Excellence (COE) programs as a way to provide enrollees with specialized care for behavioral health services. One in 10 large employers (with at least 1,000 workers) offer such programs now.
With federal regulators seeking public input on the potential benefits, costs, and implementation considerations of requiring private health insurance plans to cover over-the-counter preventive products without a prescription, a new KFF post explores the issues relevant to covering over-the-counter contraceptives.
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