A new chart collection summarizes what is known so far about how health costs and utilization have changed during the pandemic. This builds on a previous analysis exploring the potential cost of treating coronavirus hospitalizations, and a brief explaining the factors driving costs higher or lower and particular considerations for…

As the U.S. coronavirus outbreak spreads beyond densely populated metropolitan areas, a new KFF analysis finds that rural areas typically have fewer intensive care hospital resources than their urban counterparts, and populations at greater risk of developing serious illness and complications from COVID-19. While metro and non-metro areas have similar numbers of…

The coronavirus outbreak has hit densely populated urban areas of the United States first and hardest. Some health systems have experienced surges of patients, raising concerns that there are not enough hospital beds, staffing, and equipment. The novel coronavirus was slower to spread to rural areas in the U.S., but…

Number of Coronavirus Cases, Distribution of $30B in CARES Act funding and Medicare Advantage Penetration by State State Number of COVID-19 Cases on April 21, 2020 Percent of Total COVID-19 Cases First Distribution of CARES Act Payments Percent of Total Money Distributed Percent of Medicare Beneficiaries in Medicare Advantage, 2020…

This brief reviews findings from recent studies that compare Medicare and private health insurance payment rates for both hospital and physician services.

Patients Could Still Be on the Hook for Outpatient Costs, Costs If They Test Negative, and Cost Sharing A new KFF analysis estimates that between 670,000 and 2 million uninsured people around the country eventually could be hospitalized with COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Reimbursing hospitals…

This brief estimates the total amount that will be spent to reimburse hospitals for care for the uninsured with COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

Compared to most similarly large and wealthy countries, the U.S. has fewer practicing physicians per capita but has a similar number of licensed nurses per capita. Looking specifically at the hospital setting, the U.S. has more hospital-based employees per capita than most other comparable countries, but nearly half of these hospital workers are non-clinical staff.

A new analysis and chart collection finds that the U.S. has fewer hospital beds and practicing physicians per capita than many similarly large and wealthy countries with health care systems already strained by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Compared to Italy and Spain, two countries in which hospitals have already been…

As the coronavirus continues to spread, the number of people on Medicare admitted to the hospital for COVID-19 related illness is expected to rise. We analyze how much Medicare beneficiaries could pay out-of-pocket for an inpatient hospital admission under traditional Medicare (assuming no supplemental coverage) or Medicare Advantage plans.