Filter

181 - 190 of 381 Results

  • Premiums and Cost-Sharing in Medicaid: A Review of Research Findings

    Issue Brief

    Medicaid covers nearly 60 million Americans. Because the population covered by the program is low-income, federal law limits the extent to which states can charge premiums and cost-sharing amounts, particularly for pregnant women, children and adults with incomes below poverty. Yet there is renewed interest in the use of premiums and cost-sharing in Medicaid given the continued focus on cost-containment due to ongoing state budget pressures as well as recently proposed changes to federal regulations…

  • What to Watch in Medicaid Section 1115 Waivers One Year into the Biden Administration

    Issue Brief

    Section 1115 demonstration waivers provide states an avenue to test new approaches in Medicaid and generally reflect changing priorities from one presidential administration to another. This issue brief summarizes waiver priorities and actions under the Biden Administration as well as pending waiver themes and other issues to watch. If the Build Back Better Act (BBBA) fails to pass or is narrowed significantly, Medicaid waivers and other administrative actions may be a key tool for the…

  • Medicare Part D Beneficiaries Who Reach the Catastrophic Coverage Limit Can Expect to Pay More Out-of-Pocket for Their Prescription Drugs Next Year

    News Release

    Medicare Part D enrollees with relatively high out-of-pocket expenses can expect see their costs rise in 2020, according to a new KFF analysis. This is mainly due to an increase in how much enrollees will pay out of pocket for their prescription drugs in the Part D benefit coverage gap phase before they qualify for catastrophic coverage. The analysis finds that out-of-pocket drug costs will increase by nearly $400 -- from $2,275 in 2019 to…

  • Medicare Advantage 2020 Spotlight: First Look

    Issue Brief

    In 2020, more than 22 million Medicare beneficiaries (34%) are enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans, which are mainly HMOs and PPOs offered by private insurers as an alternative to the traditional Medicare program. This data note provides an overview of the Medicare Advantage plans that will be available in 2020, including the variation in the number of plans available by county and plan type. The brief also examines the insurers entering the Medicare Advantage market…

  • State Profiles Highlight Variations in How Many Low-Income Medicare Beneficiaries Get Additional Help with Their Medicare Costs

    News Release

    Medicare beneficiaries with low incomes and modest assets can qualify for additional financial help with Medicare premiums and cost sharing through both the Medicare Savings Programs and Medicare’s Part D Low-Income Subsidy for prescription drug coverage. A new analysis and collection of interactive profiles highlight variations across states in the number and characteristics of beneficiaries who receive this additional financial assistance, including race and ethnicity, gender, and age. These findings reflect differences between states such…

  • Understanding the Impact of Medicaid Premiums & Cost-Sharing: Updated Evidence from the Literature and Section 1115 Waivers

    Issue Brief

    Our review of recent literature on premiums and cost-sharing is based on studies and reports published between 2017 and 2021. Our analysis of premiums in post-Affordable Care Act (ACA) Section 1115 waivers (approved under the Obama and Trump administrations) is based on available interim and final waiver evaluations as well as annual and quarterly state data reports posted on Medicaid.gov.

  • Medicare Advantage 2024 Spotlight: First Look

    Issue Brief

    For 2024, the average Medicare beneficiary has access to 43 Medicare Advantage plans and can choose from plans offered by 8 firms. Among the majority of Medicare Advantage plans that cover prescription drugs, 66 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 benefits, including fitness, dental, vision, and hearing benefits.

  • Cost-Sharing Waivers and Premium Relief by Private Plans in Response to COVID-19 (Nov. 2020 Update)

    Issue Brief

    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. The updated analysis finds that, as of November 2020, about half (49%) of fully-insured plan enrollees have coverage that waives cost-sharing for COVID-19 treatment through…

  • How do Premiums and Cost Sharing Affect Low-Income People in Medicaid?

    News Release

    A new issue brief from the Kaiser Family Foundation reviews what the research shows about the effects of premiums and cost sharing on low-income populations in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), drawing upon 65 peer-reviewed studies and government and research and policy organization reports and studies published between 2000 and March 2017. The review comes at a time when some state and federal policymakers have proposed allowing state Medicaid programs to charge…

  • Revisiting ‘Skin in the Game’ Among Medicare Beneficiaries: An Updated Analysis of the Increasing Financial Burden of Health Care Spending From 1997 to 2005

    Issue Brief

    This issue brief presents an analysis of the financial burden of out-of-pocket health care spending for Medicare beneficiaries between 1997 and 2005. The analysis shows median out-of-pocket spending as a share of Medicare beneficiaries' income increased between 1997 and 2005, from 11.9 percent to 16.1 percent. For some beneficiaries, the spending burden was even greater, with 25 percent of people on Medicare spending nearly one-third or more of their income on health care.