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  • Public Strongly Favors End-of-Life Conversations Between Doctors and Patients, With About Eight in 10 Saying Medicare and Other Insurers Should Cover These Visits

    News Release

    Six in 10 Oppose 'Cadillac Plan Tax' on High-Cost Health Plans Set to Take Effect in 2018, But Cost Savings Argument Can Change Some Opinions Views on the Affordable Care Act Remain Divided: 45% Unfavorable, 41% Favorable As the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services prepares to finalize a plan to pay physicians for discussing end-of-life treatment options with Medicare patients, the latest Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds an overwhelming majority supports such coverage. The…

  • Poll: Family Members of Older Adults with Serious Illness Are More Confident That They Know Their Medical Wishes When They Have Written Documents

    News Release

    Most Seriously Ill Seniors Struggle with Cognitive and Mental Health Challenges; Nearly Half Reportedly Have Problems Understanding Drug and Medical Instructions Seniors with serious illness and their families are more likely to feel their wishes for medical care are being followed when they have written them down, finds a new Kaiser Family Foundation survey on the public’s views and experiences with illness in late life. As America grows older and more people face serious illness…

  • Medicare Spending Peaks at Age 96

    From Drew Altman

    In this column for The Wall Street Journal's Think Tank, Drew Altman discusses the implications of a Kaiser finding: per capita Medicare spending peaks at age 96, and the main reason is not end-of-life care.

  • Serious Illness in Late Life: The Public’s Views and Experiences

    Report

    In context of the rapidly growing number of older adults in the U.S. and increasing challenges that this population faces, the Kaiser Family Foundation conducted a large scale, nationally representative telephone survey to better understand people’s expectations about later life and efforts they’ve taken to plan for if they become seriously ill. To learn more about the experiences of those with serious illness specifically, this survey also included interviews with adults who are either personally…

  • Kaiser/Economist Survey Highlights Americans’ Views and Experiences with End-of-Life Care, With Comparisons to Residents of Italy, Japan and Brazil

    News Release

    Half of Americans -- including nearly six in ten of those in fair or poor health – say people in the U.S. have too little control over their end-of-life medical decisions, finds a new Kaiser Family Foundation/Economist survey examining views and experiences with end-of-life care in the U.S. and three other nations. The cross-country survey and related journalism in The Economist’s April 29 issue highlight Americans’ experiences and opinions about aging and end-of-life care and…

  • Shifting Views on Same-Sex Marriage, Marijuana and End-of-Life Issues

    From Drew Altman

    In this column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman examines three areas of American life where public attitudes have been steadily changing – same sex marriage, marijuana, and end of life issues – and discusses the implications for policy and law.

  • Shifting Views on Same-Sex Marriage, Marijuana and End-of-Life Issues 

    News Release

    In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman examines three areas of American life where public attitudes have been steadily changing – same sex marriage, marijuana, and end of life issues - and discusses the implications for policy and law. All previous columns by Drew Altman are available online.

  • The Rising Cost of Living Longer: Analysis of Medicare Spending by Age for Beneficiaries in Traditional Medicare

    Report

    This analysis provides a detailed look at per person Medicare spending on the nearly 30 million beneficiaries over age 65 who are enrolled in the traditional Medicare program. Among the key findings of the report is that per person spending rises with age, peaking at age 96. But this rise is not entirely explained by Medicare spending on end of life care, which declines with age. What Medicare spends money on also changes as beneficiaries…

  • What is Medicare’s Role in End-of-Life Care?

    News Release

    Medicare plays an integral role in end-of-life care, an issue that is emotionally-charged and easily politicized.  About three-quarters of the 2.5 million Americans who die each year are ages 65 and older, and covered by Medicare at the time of their death, yet policy issues related to Medicare and end-of-life care are often poorly understood. As policymakers consider whether and how Medicare should pay physicians and other health care professionals for talking to Medicare beneficiaries…