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.
Health Policy 101 is a comprehensive guide covering fundamental aspects of U.S. health policy and programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, employer-sponsored insurance, the uninsured population, health care costs and affordability, women's health issues, and health care politics. The Public Health chapter examines how public health is governed and delivered in the United States. It includes explanations of key public health frameworks, services, capabilities and characteristics, how the public health system works in state, local and territorial governments, and public health funding, workforce, and communication challenges in an era of declining trust.
This issue brief gives an overview of the main systems used by the federal government to track vaccine safety and adverse events following vaccinations. The brief reviews the history of federal vaccine safety systems, describes the key systems and their strengths and limitations, and also discusses how vaccine safety issues have become the subject of more scrutiny under the Trump administration.
As we mark three years since the WHO characterized COVID-19 as a pandemic, here are 10 key data points that illuminate the challenges, and progress, made to date.
Booster update remains modest; half of those already boosted are waiting for updated CDC guidelines to get another dose Nearly four in ten (38%) people say their households were affected by this winter's triple threat of viruses, with someone getting sick with the flu, COVID-19, or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and nearly half (46%) say…
This survey finds that nearly four-in-ten adults say their households were recently sick with COVID-19, the Flu, or RSV, and news of the viruses is making many more likely to wear masks and take other precautions. It also explores uptake of the new bivalent booster, why many vaccinated adults have not gotten it, and enthusiasm for another shot among those who have.
This analysis illustrates the potential total cost of Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, based on their publicly-announced expected prices, once they enter the U.S. commercial market. It compares the average price paid by the federal government for the COVID-19 bivalent boosters to the estimated average commercial prices across different scenarios.
This report examines in depth the vaccine-related views and experiences of rural residents and shows more than half of rural adults say they have already gotten at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine or will do so as soon as possible. Rural residents report fewer issues with both supply and access than those living in urban and suburban areas, and a large share of rural residents say they will “definitely not” get vaccinated.
As Senate hearings begin for President Trump’s health nominees, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the latest KFF Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust shows a decline in public trust for government health agencies like the CDC, FDA, and local public health officials. The poll reveals growing skepticism about vaccines and school vaccine requirements, especially among Republicans and parents, while misinformation about vaccine safety persists. Despite low concern about the H5N1 bird flu, the U.S. public is divided on how prepared they believe the government is for future health crises or pandemic.
This brief provides an explanation of Title 42 and its application in border regions, the impact of Title 42 on border expulsions and the health and well-being of migrants during COVID-19, and a discussion of the potential implications of reinvoking Title 42 restrictions for immigration and the health of migrants.
This Issue Brief reviews the federal role in setting U.S. water fluoridation policies, discusses current federal recommendations for water fluoridation, and summarizes the extent of water fluoridation across U.S. states.
This analysis uses data on “animal production workers” from the 2022 American Community Survey to examine characteristics of workers who may be at risk for exposure to H5N1 avian influenza, which has been found in dairy cattle herds in nine U.S. states as of May 14, 2024. The analysis compares characteristics of these workers to all U.S. workers, to all workers in the H5N1-affected states, and draws out some implications. Among the findings are that animal production workers are more likely than workers overall to be Hispanic and noncitizen immigrants, as well as to be uninsured.
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