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The U.S. has 2.8 hospital beds for every 1,000 people, which is similar to bed capacity in Canada and the United Kingdom, but less than other similarly wealthy countries like Italy and Spain, countries that have already been overwhelmed by the coronavirus. Learn more in this Chart of the Week.
The $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act contains $100 billion for hospitals. This post examines key questions about how that money will be used.
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.
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.
The rapidly increasing number of national COVID-19 cases is raising alarm among experts and state and local officials about health systems’ capacity to treat patients effectively and revealing the uneven geographic distribution of the country’s health care resources.
This literature review summarizes findings from 404 studies of the impact of state Medicaid expansions under the ACA published between January 2014 (when the coverage provisions of the ACA went into effect) and January 2020. It includes studies, analyses, and reports published by government, research, and policy organizations using data from 2014 or later. This body of research suggests that the expansion presents an opportunity for gains in coverage, improvements in access and financial security, and economic benefits for states and providers.
This data note captures February 2020 poll findings on the public's worries about and experiences with unexpected and surprise medical bills.
When it comes to family budget concerns, unexpected medical bills top Americans’ list of worries, with two-thirds (65%) of the public saying they are at least somewhat worried, including 35% who say they are “very” worried, the latest KFF Health Tracking Poll finds.
More than half of U.S. health spending went toward hospital and physician services in 2018. Learn more about the breakdown of the nation's health spending in the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker.
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