Filling the need for trusted information on national health issues
In this column for the JAMA Health Forum, Larry Levitt explores why the Medicaid “coverage gap” still exists in 12 states that have not expanded their Medicaid programs under the Affordable Care Act, why it matters, and why eliminating it could prove challenging.
During the summer, the United States reported record extreme heat events across the country. While extreme heat and other hazardous weather events have implications for everyone, growing research shows that they disproportionately affect low-income people and people of color due to underlying social inequities and structural discrimination.
As policy makers debate whether and how to extend coverage to people in the gap, understanding the characteristics of who these people are can help inform policy decisions.
Disparities in health and health care for people of color and underserved groups are longstanding challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these disparities and heightened the importance of addressing them. Health disparities are driven by underlying social and economic inequities that are rooted in racism. Addressing disparities is important not only from a social justice standpoint but for improving our nation’s overall health and economic prosperity.
Using the most current data available, this analysis describes current sources of coverage among Medicare beneficiaries in 2018, including sources of supplemental coverage among traditional Medicare beneficiaries (Medicaid, employer-sponsored retiree health benefits, and Medigap) and enrollment in private Medicare Advantage plans.
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 than a high school education. The patterns are similar for men and women, as well as across different age groups of older adults.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic crisis, about 4 in 10 adults nationwide have reported symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorder – a four-fold increase from pre-pandemic levels. Drawing on the latest national survey data, KFF polling and other research, an updated brief explores what’s known about the pandemic’s…
This brief examines the implications of coronavirus-related social distancing practices and the current financial crisis on mental health, including challenges to accessing mental health or substance use services.
In states that do not implement the Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), many adults will fall into a “coverage gap” of earning too much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to qualify for Marketplace premium tax credits. Nationwide, 2.2 million poor uninsured adults are in this situation. This brief presents estimates of the number of people in non-expansion states who could have been reached by Medicaid but instead fall into the coverage gap and discusses the implications of them being left out of ACA coverage expansions.
As the U.S. prepares for nationwide distribution of vaccines to combat COVID-19, some are asking whether people who get the first of two doses will return to complete the series. This analysis draws on Medicare Part D prescription drug claims data for the herpes zoster vaccine Shingrix, which also requires two doses, to shed light on this potential challenge of the leading COVID-19 vaccine candidates.
