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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.
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Health Policy 101 is a comprehensive guide covering fundamental aspects of U.S. health policy and programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, employer-sponsored insurance, the uninsured population, health care costs and affordability, women's health issues, and health care politics. The International Comparison of Health Systems chapter explores the performance of the U.S. health system on a number of cost, outcomes, and quality measures by comparing it with those in similarly large and wealthy OECD nations. It highlights that despite significant spending, Americans have shorter life expectancies and encounter more barriers to health care, influenced by both the health system's structure and broader socioeconomic factors. View the Chapter →
This conference report summarizes discussions at a March 2018 conference in Washington with 30 leaders from the health care community to launch Initiative 18/11, a partnership between the Society of Actuaries and KFF to address the rising cost of health care in the United States. It also lays out the next steps for the initiative.
A new KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) analysis finds that donor government support for global family planning efforts totaled US$1.27 billion in 2017, up 6 percent from 2016 but still below its 2014 peak. Funding from the United States, the world’s largest donor, declined from US$532.7 in 2016 to US$488.7 million in 2017, largely due to a delay in the disbursement of funds. U.S. appropriations have been holding steady in recent years. Increases in other countries…
One in five Americans (22%) say they always or often feel lonely or socially isolated, frequently with serious consequences, finds a new Kaiser Family Foundation/Economist three-country survey examining loneliness and social isolation. Americans who feel lonely or socially isolated often report negative impacts on their mental (58%) and physical (55%) health, their personal relationships (49%) and ability to do their job (33%). Some also say it has led them to think about harming themselves (31%) or committing…
Donor government disbursements to combat HIV in low- and middle-income countries increased 16 percent from US$7 billion in 2016 to US$8.1 billion in 2017 – though the higher total stems largely from the timing of U.S. funding and is not expected to last, a new report from the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) finds. The increase follows two years of declines in donor support for HIV and results largely…
A new Kaiser Family Foundation report finds that donor government funding for family planning declined in 2016 for the second year in a row, decreasing to US$1.19 billion compared to US$1.34 billion in 2015. While the declines over this two-year period were largely due to exchange rate fluctuations and the timing of donor disbursements which accounted for 78 percent of the overall decrease, there were actual cuts in funding from some donor countries which accounted…
A new Kaiser Family Foundation report finds that donor government funding for family planning declined in 2016 for the second year in a row, decreasing to US$1.19 billion compared to US$1.34 billion in 2015. While the declines over this two-year period were largely due to exchange rate fluctuations and the timing of donor disbursements which accounted for 78 percent of the overall decrease, there were actual cuts in funding from some donor countries which accounted for 22…
Social determinants, such as individual and community behaviors, economic circumstances, and environmental factors, can influence health costs and outcomes, despite being outside the control of the health system in some respects. This slideshow explores social determinants and health outcomes in the United States and similar countries. The collection looks at income inequality, obesity, educational attainment, and rates of insurance, as well as behaviors such as cigarette and alcohol consumption. Health outcomes, such as disease burden…
This Visualizing Health Policy infographic looks at costs and outcomes of mental health and substance use disorders in the United States (US).
This Visualizing Health Policy infographic looks at costs and outcomes of mental health and substance use disorders in the United States (US). Nearly 18% of adults reported having a mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder in 2015, including more than 1 in 5 women. Furthermore, nearly 3% of people aged 12 years or older reported addiction to or misuse of an illicit drug in 2015, including more than 7% of people aged 18 to 25 years.…
This slideshow looks at costs and outcomes of mental health and substance use disorders in the United States.
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