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As national attention turns to the federal deficit, some policymakers have proposed reforms to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security that could have significant implications for current and future generations of seniors and younger adults with disabilities.
This report examines the income, savings, and home equity of current and future Medicare beneficiaries, focusing on racial/ethnic disparities. The report finds that these differences in the financial well-being of white, black and Hispanic beneficiaries persist across age, education level, marital status, and other demographic factors.
This January 2014 briefing, co-sponsored by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Alliance for Health Reform, examines what is known about the health and economic security of Medicare beneficiaries today, as well as how current and future beneficiaries may be affected by the leading proposals that aim to achieve Medicare savings.
KFF’s Survey of Medicaid Financial Eligibility for Older Adults & People with Disabilities, conducted in March 2025 by KFF and Watts Health Policy Consulting, provides a baseline of Medicaid eligibility as states return to normal operations after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic and ahead of potential changes to the Medicaid program.
Characteristics of the Medicare Population Download Source Urban Institute and Kaiser Family Foundation analysis, 2012; Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Medicare Current Beneficiary 2009 Cost and Use file.
Median Income Among Medicare Beneficiaries, Overall and by Race/Ethnicity, Age, and Gender, 2012 Download Source Urban Institute analysis of DYNASIM for the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Multiple factors predispose women to needing long-term care Download Source Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey Access to Care File, 2006…
This brief examines Medicaid's medically needy program, which gives states the option to extend Medicaid eligibility to those with high medical expenses whose income exceeds the maximum threshold, but who would otherwise qualify.
Gaps Between Average Income of the Richest and Poorest Households in the United States Download Source Economic Policy Institute/Center on Budget and Policy Priorities analysis of U.S. Census Bureau Data. Income is post-federal. tax and includes the value of the EITC, food stamps, and housing subsidies.
Since 2007, seniors with incomes greater than $85,000 have had to pay higher premiums for Medicare than their counterparts with lower incomes. Six percent of Medicare Part B enrollees are expected to pay higher monthly premiums in 2015, ranging from $147 to $336, depending on their income.
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