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.
Case Study: Michigan's Medicaid Prescription Drug Benefit This report describes the legislative process behind and content of Michigan's Pharmaceutical Product List (MPPL), a selection of preferred drugs available to be prescribed in the Medicaid program with little restriction. Providers would be required to obtain prior authorization from the state to prescribe any drug not included on the MPPL. Background Paper
The rapid increase in DTC advertising for prescription drugs has focused attention on its role in drug spending and prescribing. A new study by researchers at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology looks at the effect of direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising on spending for prescription drugs. The study found that, on average, a 10% increase in DTC advertising of drugs within a therapeutic drug class resulted in a 1% increase in sales of the…
This document includes the toplines from the joint USA Today/Kaiser/Harvard School of Public Health survey exploring Americans’ views on health care costs. Survey Toplines (.pdf)
This chartpack provides detailed information about Medicare beneficiaries’ enrollment in the many private drug plans available to them in 2007. The charts demonstrate that a relatively small number of companies which captured the most enrollees in 2006, the new benefit’s first year, continued to lead in market share in the current year. In addition, most enrollees in 2007 are in plans without gap coverage – with about 11.8 million people potentially at risk for reaching…
Selected Survey Findings on the New Medicare Rx Drug Law - Chartpack Seniors are confused about the Medicare prescription drug law. Below is a series of chart illustrating selected findings from the January/February 2004 Kaiser Health Poll Report survey. The findings show that while about two-thirds of seniors report following the debate closely, just 15% say they understand the new prescription drug law very well and seven in 10 don’t know that it passed and…
Chartpack: Selected Findings on Seniors' Views of the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit These charts highlight key data from the February 2006 tracking poll on seniors' views toward the new Medicare drug benefit. Chartpack (.pdf)
This document, prepared by Health Policy Alternatives, Inc., provides a side-by-side comparison of five major federal proposals under consideration to provide outpatient prescription drug coverage to Medicare beneficiaries. It includes both a summary and a detailed comparison of the following major proposals: S. 357, The Medicare Preservation and Improvement Act of 2001 (Breaux/Frist I), S. 358, The Medicare Prescription Drug and Modernization Act of 2001 (Breaux-Frist II), H.R. 4680, The Medicare Rx 2000 Act (passed…
Medicaid: Purchasing Prescription Drugs A policy brief explaining how Medicaid purchases outpatient drugs and outlining the policy tools available to states to limit the rate of growth in spending on prescription drugs. Policy Brief (28 pages)
Central to the current debate over Medicare prescription drug coverage is the role of private insurance plans in providing drug benefits to Medicare beneficiaries. This report offers views from health actuaries knowledgeable about the Medicare program and the prescription drug debate on key issues that emerge for potential plan sponsors, such as insurers and PBMs, in providing prescription drug benefits to Medicare beneficiaries through private, drug-only plans. The views of the actuaries were obtained through…
This chartpack provides key findings from the survey of the public's attitudes regarding the health care agenda for Bush's second term and the new Congress in 2005. It assesses the relative priority placed on health-care concerns by the American public and also provides insight into public opinion on key issues likely to face the new Congress, such as implementing the Medicare drug law, controlling health care costs, reducing the nation’s uninsured population and reforming the…
© 2026 KFF