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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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While [the Title X family planning services] funding freeze could be the Trump administration’s first major salvo in its efforts to weaken and defund Planned Parenthood, more actions...to limit access to abortion and contraception are expected in the coming years.
Medicare provides significant health and financial protections to more than 60 million Americans, but there are gaps in coverage and high cost-sharing requirements that can make health care difficult to afford. This report analyzes several policy options that could help make health care more affordable for people covered by Medicare, especially beneficiaries with relatively low incomes: adding an out-of-pocket limit to traditional Medicare, adding a hard out-of-pocket cap to Part D, expanding financial assistance through the Medicare Savings Programs, and expanding financial assistance through the Part D low-income subsidy program.
In his latest column, KFF President and CEO Drew Altman reviews an evaluation of a “guaranteed income” (GI) randomized trial in Cambridge, MA and writes about the potential of GI strategies to reduce poverty and its effects. When it comes to influencing the social determinants of health, he argues, “income strategies” deployed outside of health care, such as GI, deserve as much attention from health care people as “service strategies.”
Oral health is key to overall health and well-being, and the use of dental services helps prevent and treat dental disease and improves oral health. The prevalence of unmet oral health needs is higher among people with low incomes, including those with Medicaid. This issue brief describes Medicaid dental coverage, examines the use of dental services for children and adults in Medicaid, and discusses current challenges and policy changes that impact access to oral health care for Medicaid enrollees.
To provide context for understanding the financial needs and well-being of older adults, this brief analyzes the latest data on poverty rates among the 58 million non-institutionalized adults ages 65 and older in the U.S overall, based on both the official poverty measure and the Supplemental Poverty Measure.
While Medicaid did not receive a lot of attention during the campaign, if cuts to Social Security and Medicare are largely off the table, Medicaid is the likely source of funding to extend expiring tax cuts.
Medicare Part D is a voluntary outpatient prescription drug benefit for people with Medicare provided through private plans, including stand-alone prescription drug plans and Medicare Advantage plans that offer drug coverage. This analysis provides an overview of Medicare Part D plan availability, premiums, and cost sharing in 2025 and key trends over time.
The Southeast region of the U.S. is particularly vulnerable to severe tropical storms due to climate change, and its persistently high poverty rates inhibit residents’ ability to prepare for and recover from storms. Many of the states in the Southeast have not implemented the ACA Medicaid expansion, leaving lower income residents with more limited access to health care, which may lead to challenges addressing their health needs.
This brief provides an overview of the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit, including current data on plan availability, enrollment, and spending and financing, and highlights changes made under the Inflation Reduction Act.
This data note provides an overview of programs that help beneficiaries with modest incomes with their Medicare costs, including the Medicare Savings Programs and the Part D Low-Income Subsidy, and highlights findings from corresponding state-level profiles of eligibility and enrollment.
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