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.
In the latest post in the Policy Insights series, Jen Kates and Josh Michaud outline eight questions that are likely to shape the U.S. global health response in the last two years of the current presidential term and beyond.
This brief provides an overview of Section 1115 waiver authority, describes major provisions of waivers that extend coverage to childless adults, and identifies key issues and implications of these waivers looking forward to the Affordable Care Act and beyond.
The Kaiser Family Foundation has launched a new interactive tool designed to provide the latest data on the U.S. government's global health budget in an easy-to-access form. The U.S. Global Health Budget Tracker lets users follow the budget from the President's budget request through the appropriations process in Congress, as well as see trends over time.
The Kaiser Family Foundation hosted a town hall forum with Ambassador Deborah L. Birx, M.D. the new U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, in which she shared her vision for the next phase of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in supporting efforts to achieve an AIDS-free generation.
With Medicare and Medicaid turning 50 this year, this updated video provides a brief history of both programs, including: an examination of the health care, social and political landscape that gave rise to them, the significant ways each program has evolved over five decades, and the important roles they play in the U.S. health care system. The video includes archival footage, as well as commentary and perspective from policymakers, government officials and experts.
The Kaiser Family Foundation’s Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (KCMU) released its 15th annual 50-state Medicaid budget survey for state fiscal years 2015 and 2016. Kaiser and the National Association of Medicaid Directors (NAMD) held a joint briefing to discuss key findings and highlight trends in enrollment and spending as well as policy changes in Medicaid programs around the country.
This brief provides an overview and status update of the Medicare accelerated and advance payment program, which provided $100 billion in loans to Medicare providers in the spring of 2020 to compensate for revenue shortfalls due to the coronavirus pandemic. The brief describes who got the funds, and how these loans are distinct from other funds that providers received, which do not have to be repaid.
The temporary boost in federal Medicaid funding enacted as part of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) will soften the economic blow of COVID-19 on states, but is unlikely to fully offset state revenue declines or forestall budget shortfalls stemming from the pandemic, finds a new KFF analysis. The 6.
The debate over filling the Supreme Court seat previously held by Ruth Bader Ginsburg has brought renewed attention to the possibility of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) being overturned under the court challenge in California v. Texas, currently scheduled to be heard shortly after the election this November. The expansion of Medicaid was a central component of the ACA, and 39 states have now adopted the ACA expansion into their Medicaid programs. Because Medicaid is administered by states, under federal guidelines, there may be some confusion about how overturning the federal law would affect state Medicaid programs.
This primer explains key elements of the Medicare program, which now provides health coverage to 55 million people -- including 46 million people age 65 and older and another 9 million younger adults with permanent disabilities. It looks at the characteristics of the Medicare population, what benefits are covered, how much people with Medicare pay for their benefits and the program’s overall costs and future financing challenges.
© 2026 KFF