Filling the need for trusted information on national health issues
Amid heightened public concern, the cost of prescription drugs is the focus of renewed attention by the Trump administration and lawmakers in Congress and state capitals. Proposed actions range from sweeping health care system changes to targeted initiatives that could affect Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance. See KFF’s research, analysis and public opinion data, as well as Kaiser Health News’ journalism, related to prescription drugs and their costs.
This poll examines health care issues in the Democratic presidential primary , government negotiation of prescription drug prices, party trust on health care, Medicare-for-all, and the pending Texas v. US lawsuit affecting the Affordable Care Act and pre-existing condition protections.
This quick primer explains the similarities and differences among major Medicare prescription drug proposals introduced by House Democrats, the Senate Finance Committee, and the Trump Administration. Updated October 2019.
This data note explores the attitudes and experiences of older adults, ages 65 and up, when it comes to prescription drugs and related policy proposals being discussed. Experiences across different demographic groups are explored, such as household income and health status.
As policymakers in Washington discuss ways to curb the rising cost of prescription drugs, KFF has released a summary and analysis of proposals and recently finalized initiatives that affect Medicare prescription drug spending. Medicare, the federal health program that covers more than 60 million seniors and younger people with disabilities,…
In response to higher drug spending growth and heightened attention to drug prices, policymakers have proposed a variety of policy initiatives to lower the cost of prescription drugs in Medicare. This brief examines in detail the range of proposals offered by the Trump Administration and members of Congress for lowering the cost of prescription drugs, their known effects on the federal budget, and their potential implications for beneficiaries and other stakeholders.
You have heard about the 5% of the population responsible for 50% of spending. Meet the 1.3%–persistent high spenders with very complex medical needs responsible for 20%. Drew Altman discusses this and possible ways to help them, read the Axios column.
A new KFF animation explains how rebates for prescription drugs work, including how they are determined, who benefits from them, how they affect spending by insurers and consumers and the role of pharmacy benefit managers in the process. The Trump Administration had proposed banning such rebates in Medicare Part D,…
This animation explains how rebates for prescription drugs work and why they matter in the debate about lowering drug costs. The video breaks down how prescription drug rebates are determined, who benefits from them, how they affect spending by insurers and consumers and the role of pharmacy benefit managers in…
The Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit has helped improve the affordability of medications for people with Medicare. Yet Part D enrollees can face relatively high out-of-pocket costs because the Part D benefit does not have a hard cap on out-of-pocket spending. This analysis presents the latest data on out-of-pocket drug spending among Medicare Part D enrollees without low-income subsidies who have costs above the catastrophic coverage threshold.
This data note summarizes our most recent polling on the public’s experiences with and worries about health care costs, and it highlights where Americans place costs on their list of health care issues for the government to address and for political candidates to discuss.
The Medicare Part D program provides an outpatient prescription drug benefit to older adults and people with long-term disabilities in Medicare who enroll in private plans. This analysis provides the latest data about Medicare Part D coverage and costs in 2019 and trends over time, including enrollment, premiums, cost sharing, and participation in the low-income subsidy program.
Oral contraceptives are the most widely used form of contraception. This factsheet provides an overview of oral contraception, discusses private insurance and Medicaid coverage, and reviews emerging strategies to promote and expand women’s access to oral contraceptives.