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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.
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This policy watch highlights a change coming to the Medicare Part D drug benefit that will cap Part D enrollees' out-of-pocket drug costs, beginning in 2024, resulting in savings of thousands of dollars for high-cost drugs - a change that recent KFF tracking poll results show few older adults know about.
A new KFF policy watch explains some of the hurdles the state of Florida still must clear before it can implement its novel plan to make some prescription drugs more affordable by importing them from Canada. Florida’s plan represents the first time the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted authority for a state to safely import prescription drugs from another country. However, the state must take some additional steps to move forward with the…
A KFF analysis shows that gross total Medicare spending on Ozempic and other similar drugs has increased dramatically in recent years – even though Medicare is explicitly prohibited by law from covering the drugs for obesity. That’s because Medicare now covers the drugs, known as GLP-1s, for other medically accepted indications, including to treat diabetes. This week the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) informed Medicare drug plans that they can cover Wegovy, another…
This brief describes Medicare coverage of sexual and reproductive health services, including contraception, and compares that coverage with private insurance plans and Medicaid. These benefits are particularly relevant to nearly 1 million women of reproductive age (20-49) who are eligible for Medicare due to having a long-term disability.
This Health Policy 101 chapter explores the performance of the U.S. health system on a number of cost, outcomes, and quality measures by comparing it with those in similarly large and wealthy OECD nations. It highlights that despite significant spending, Americans have shorter life expectancies and encounter more barriers to health care, influenced by both the health system's structure and broader socioeconomic factors.
About one in eight adults (12%) say they have taken one of an increasingly popular class of prescription drugs known as GLP-1s that are used for weight loss and to treat diabetes and reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, a new KFF Health Tracking Poll finds. This includes 6% of adults who say they are currently taking one of these drugs, which include Ozempic, Wegovy and MounjaroThe shares of adults who report ever…
This policy watch discusses some of the potential implications of the new anti-obesity drugs for racial equity.
In addition to having the highest obesity rates, the U.S is currently facing significantly higher prices for several major drugs used for weight loss and other health needs, according to a new KFF analysis of the list prices for semaglutide and tirzepatide drugs. Ozempic, which has been approved in the U.S. for diabetes, is more than five times as expensive in the U.S. ($936) as in Japan ($169), which has the second highest list price.…
A class of drugs initially approved for diabetes treatment has captured the public’s and policymakers’ attention as interest in their off-label use for weight loss rises. The weight-loss benefits of these drugs have led to their prescribed use for obesity or overweight treatment. A new analysis compares list prices for semaglutide—including Ozempic, which has been approved in the U.S. for diabetes, and Wegovy, which has the same active ingredient and has been approved for weight…
The U.S. Midwest and South regions have higher average obesity rates among adults. What does this mean for access and coverage of prescription drugs for weight loss?
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