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.
People with disabilities are at risk in the health-care system because of their wide-ranging health-care needs, their relatively heavy use of prescription drugs, health-care and support services, and typically low incomes. A new survey of people with permanent mental and/or physical disabilities explores their health-care experiences and challenges in accessing and paying for care.
These summaries, prepared by Health Policy Alternatives, Inc., provide detailed information about the prescription drug provisions of the Medicare legislation (P.L. 108-173) signed by the President on December 8, 2003. Report (.
In recent years states have been trying to shift resources from institutional to home and community based long-term care services. This report examines "transition" and "diversion" policies and practices in eight states. It provides a sense of what state Medicaid programs are doing or could be doing to promote diversion. Report (.pdf) Executive Summary (.
The nation's primary payer for long-term services and supports, Medicaid finances 43 percent of all spending on long-term care services and covers a range of services and supports, including those needed by people to live independently in the community, as well as services provided in institutions.
This brief summarizes 15 states' preliminary proposals to better coordinate care for people who are in both the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
The ongoing debate over the federal budget and deficit reduction presents a balancing act for policymakers, as many compelling interests compete for scarce dollars. But for 10 million older adults and people with disabilities who need long-term services and supports, there is a "rebalancing act" in progress.
This brief profiles several Georgia residents who have participated in the state's Money Follows the Person demonstration program, which helps transition people from institutional long-term care back into their homes or the community. It is part of a larger package of resources examining the Money Follows the Person program. Profiles (.
Developed as part of a nonpartisan public education initiative of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and the League of Women Voters Education Fund, this guide provides basic facts about five key health policy topics candidates are discussing in the 2000 election.
This report illustrates through case examples the experiences and challenges of low- and modest-income people who rely on Medicaid to pay for nursing home expenses. These case examples were developed through in-person interviews with nursing home residents and their families in three states: Georgia, Kansas and Virginia.
Developing home and community-based service (HCBS) alternatives to institutional care has been a priority for many state Medicaid programs over the last two decades and the focus of Medicaid policy debates recently.
© 2026 KFF