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.
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
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. Income is adjusted for inflation (to 2009 dollars) and for household size. Pulling Apart, A State-by-State Analysis of Income Trends, November 15, 2012, http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3860
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. It provides updated enrollment and spending figures on the medically needy using data through federal fiscal year 2009, and explains how individuals become eligible for the program and key considerations for policy discussions. Brief (.pdf)
As part of broad deficit-reduction plans, policymakers are considering reforms to the nation's three major entitlement programs - Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security - that could significantly affect the economic security of seniors in their retirement years. This brief examines the role of these programs in ensuring seniors' financial security as well as the challenges facing current and future generations when it comes to economic and health security. Drawing from current research and data, the…
Most people with Medicare pay the standard monthly premium for Part B and Part D coverage, which is set to cover 25 percent of per capita program costs, but a relatively small share of beneficiaries with higher incomes are required to pay higher premiums. This issue brief describes the legislative history of Medicare's income-related premiums and changes to these premiums that will take effect in 2019, based on a provision in the Bipartisan Budget Act…
A new Kaiser Family Foundation brief and interactive map provide the latest national and state-level estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau of the share and number of people ages 65 and older who are living in poverty. The resources examine poverty among seniors under the official poverty threshold ($11,756 in income for an individual age 65 or older in 2017), and under an alternative measure of poverty known as the Supplemental Poverty Measure. That measure,…
This analysis examines the income, savings, and home equity of Medicare beneficiaries in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic. We look at the overall population, and variations by age, gender and race/ethnicity.
This analysis of per capita income and assets among older adults in 2019 shows that differences in median per capita income among White, Black, and Hispanic adults ages 65 and older are narrower when comparing people with similar levels of education, although among college graduates, the gap in income continues to be wide between Hispanic and White seniors. The gaps in savings and home equity remain wide, and are particularly striking among seniors with less…
© 2026 KFF