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.
While Medicare Advantage enrollment is highly concentrated among a small number of firms, UnitedHealthcare has seen the largest and fastest growing share of enrollees over the past decade. Learn more in this Chart of the Week.
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 issue brief merged beneficiary-level Medicare and Medicaid data from 2021 to document sources of coverage for dual-eligible individuals nationwide and by state.
In this JAMA Health Forum post, Executive Vice President Larry Levitt recalls the mid-1990s’ public backlash against Health Maintenance Organizations (commonly known as HMOs) – all of which preceded the recent outpouring of health insurance concerns – as well as how consumer protections against coverage restrictions have evolved and fallen short.
The increase translates into an additional $35 billion to Medicare Advantage plans in 2026 compared to this year….The increase in payments is larger than for 2025 (3.7%) or 2024 (3.3%), but below the increase for 2023 (8.5%), and comes at a time of increasing scrutiny over Medicare Advantage payments.
Number of Coronavirus Cases, Distribution of $30B in CARES Act funding and Medicare Advantage Penetration by StateStateNumber ofCOVID-19 Cases on April 21, 2020Percent of Total COVID-19 CasesFirst Distribution of CARES Act PaymentsPercent of Total Money DistributedPercent of Medicare Beneficiaries in Medicare Advantage, 2020New York253,400.0032.1%$1,859,574,4346.2%40%New Jersey88,806.0011.3%$919,426,8013.1%29%Massachusetts39,643.005.0%$841,425,1202.8%23%Pennsylvania34,005.004.3%$1,246,250,0764.2%41%California33,866.004.3%$2,920,960,7339.7%40%Michigan32,000.004.1%$936,700,1393.1%42%Illinois31,508.004.0%$1,204,103,1804.0%25%Florida27,058.003.4%$2,220,563,1377.4%43%Louisiana24,523.003.1%$474,891,7351.6%38%Connecticut19,815.002.5%$377,981,2571.3%41%Texas20,087.002.5%$2,089,066,4527.0%37%Georgia19,398.002.5%$792,069,1602.6%37%Maryland14,193.001.8%$742,225,3062.5%11%Ohio12,919.001.6%$989,773,4173.3%39%Washington12,486.001.6%$553,838,8061.8%33%Indiana11,688.001.5%$668,604,6142.2%32%Colorado10,112.001.3%$360,905,4821.2%38%Virginia9,097.001.2%$814,360,4672.7%21%Tennessee7,238.000.9%$739,723,3472.5%38%North Carolina6,979.000.9%$919,171,0873.1%36%Missouri5,963.000.8%$618,601,1672.1%35%Rhode Island5,090.000.6%$90,459,8340.3%39%Arizona5,068.000.6%$707,587,4822.4%39%Alabama5,092.000.6%$449,481,9451.5%41%Mississippi4,512.000.6%$374,847,7901.2%20%Wisconsin4,541.000.6%$471,681,0771.6%42%South Carolina4,439.000.6%$518,022,4631.7%28%Nevada3,830.000.5%$241,471,8410.8%36%Utah3,213.000.4%$185,292,4220.6%36%Iowa3,159.000.4%$297,929,1711.0%22%Kentucky3,050.000.4%$452,761,1711.5%34%District of Columbia3,098.000.4%$84,989,0990.3%20%Delaware2,745.000.3%$154,114,1180.5%17%Oklahoma2,680.000.3%$489,853,9981.6%22%Minnesota2,470.000.3%$472,206,1221.6%43%Kansas2,070.000.3%$325,135,9501.1%19%Oregon1,956.000.2%$291,029,0251.0%42%Arkansas1,990.000.3%$326,536,0431.1%26%New Mexico1,971.000.2%$169,486,1320.6%35%South Dakota1,685.000.2%$107,650,2010.4%19%Idaho1,736.000.2%$135,028,0560.5%33%Nebraska1,648.000.2%$225,027,9120.8%17%New Hampshire1,447.000.2%$164,580,3860.5%19%Puerto Rico1,298.000.2%$41,889,8220.1%70%West Virginia908.000.1%$246,574,8510.8%31%Maine875.000.1%$145,763,8120.5%36%Vermont816.000.1%$54,457,8700.2%12%North Dakota627.000.1%$91,064,5790.3%17%Hawaii584.000.1%$132,536,0760.4%44%Montana433.000.1%$111,503,2480.4%18%Alaska321.000.0%$71,248,1230.2%1%Wyoming429.000.1%$66,393,1630.2%3%NOTES: COVID-19 data as of 4/21/2020 at 10:38 AM.SOURCES: Johns Hopkins University, [Coronavirus COVID-19 Global Cases by the Center for…
This policy watch post discusses the latest Medicare Hospital Insurance trust fund solvency projections from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), which show the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic has hurt Medicare’s financial outlook, and foreshadow the tough choices facing the next President and Congress.
People 65 and older, who have been hardest hit by COVID-19 in terms of hospitalizations and deaths, are also at high risk of severe flu illness and are more likely to die of the flu than younger people. This analysis explores variation in the rate of flu vaccination among adults ages 65 and older covered by Medicare, and reasons cited for not getting vaccinated, based on data from the 2018 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey.
For 2021, the average Medicare beneficiary has access to 33 Medicare Advantage plans, the largest number of options available in the last decade, and can choose from plans offered by eight firms. Among the majority of Medicare Advantage plans that cover prescription drugs, 54 percent will charge no premium in addition to the monthly Medicare Part B premium. As in previous years, the vast majority of Medicare Advantage plans will offer supplemental fitness, dental, vision,…
As the coronavirus continues to spread, the number of people on Medicare admitted to the hospital for COVID-19 related illness is expected to rise. We analyze how much Medicare beneficiaries could pay out-of-pocket for an inpatient hospital admission under traditional Medicare (assuming no supplemental coverage) or Medicare Advantage plans.
© 2026 KFF
