How Costly Are Common Health Services in the United States?

A new KFF analysis examines leading causes of death and mortality rates in the United States and comparable countries. The U.S. has a higher COVID-19 mortality rate than many of its peer countries, with COVID-19 ranking as the nation’s third-leading cause of death in 2020, behind only heart disease and…

A new KFF brief looks at where COVID-19 falls as a leading cause of death in the U.S. compared to similarly large and wealthy countries. The analysis finds that COVID-19 mortality rates are the third leading cause of death in the U.S., a ranking shared by only one peer country,…

This chart collection summarizes what is known so far about how health costs and utilization have changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Health spending is on track to be somewhat lower in 2020 than in 2019 – the first time that’s happened since the government started tracking it.

About 88% – nearly nine in ten – enrollees in the individual and fully-insured group markets are covered by plans that have taken action to limit out-of-pocket costs for patients undergoing treatment for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. However, after accounting for waivers that have already expired (20%) or are scheduled to expire by the end of September (16%), just over half of enrollees in these plans will still be eligible for waived cost-sharing in October and beyond.

An updated issue brief estimates the number of enrollees in individual and fully-insured group market plans that have waived cost-sharing – out-of-pocket costs including coinsurance, copayments, and deductibles – for COVID-19 treatment. The analysis also estimates the number of enrollees whose insurer is offering various forms of premium payment relief.…

A new analysis finds that most people with individual or fully-insured group market coverage are in plans that waived cost-sharing for COVID-19 treatment, though many of those waivers are set to expire in the coming months. About 88% – nearly nine in ten – enrollees in the individual and fully-insured…

Private insurance plans have taken a variety of steps to expand telemedicine uptake and access during the COVID-19 pandemic. A new issue brief on the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker examines four actions private insurers have taken to promote telehealth usage among plan enrollees.

As the coronavirus pandemic enters its eighth month, we are still facing uncertainty about what the long-term impact of the crisis will be for the health sector, and for patients. However, the extent to which costs grow, and how the burden is distributed across payers, programs, individuals, outcomes, and geography…