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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.
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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 analysis updates the approaches states are taking to manage the limited initial supply of COVID-19 vaccines based on revised federal guidance and balance the desire to vaccinate those at greatest risk first with the need to ensure a fast and effective statewide vaccination effort. It includes a state data table.
When a COVID-19 vaccine becomes available, all or most people living in the country will need to get vaccinated in order to maximize its benefits and provide adequate immunity nationwide. That could present a daunting challenge for state and local health officials, as a new KFF analysis shows vaccination rates for the annual flu vaccine vary widely across states as well as by race and ethnicity, age, and other demographic characteristics. The flu vaccine provides…
As the nation continues to struggle to contain the spread of coronavirus, there is considerable debate about when and how to reopen schools. This analysis finds that one in four teachers (24%, or about 1.47 million people), have a condition that puts them at higher risk of serious illness from coronavirus.
Ebola virus has a unique set of characteristics that determine how and why its spreads, and how deadly it can be. To better understand Ebola, this infographic compares it to twelve other infectious diseases that continue to represent public health challenges today and asks and answers five key questions about the disease.
Based on current understanding of risk, forty-one percent of adults ages 18 and older in the U.S. have a higher risk of developing more serious illness if they become infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, because they are older or have serious underlying health conditions, or both, according to a new KFF analysis. Of the more than 105 million adults at higher risk if infected with coronavirus, most – 76.3 million, or 72 percent…
States and local governments, rather than the federal government, have authority over school vaccination requirements, and while all 50 states and DC require certain vaccines for school attendance, they vary substantially in how exemptions are granted and administered. As the Trump administration has moved away from longstanding federal childhood vaccine recommendations, an increasing number of states are delinking their vaccine policies from CDC/ACIP guidance, while recent state policy changes have generally made non-medical exemptions easier…
This issue brief provides an update on the latest trends in kindergarten children's routine vaccination and exemption rates. Over three-quarters of states had measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccination rates below the “target” rate of 95% for the 2025-2026 school year.
A comprehensive timeline of public health policy actions by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under the Trump administration from 2025-2026, with key dates, descriptions, and impacts.
This blog post takes a closer look at the Families First Coronavirus Response Act's new emergency paid leave benefits and how they could play out for workers at “essential” businesses in the current environment.
Most of the Public, including Most Swing Voters, Disapprove of President Trump’s Coronavirus Response and Overall Job Performance; President Earns Higher Ratings on the Economy Even as many states start to lift restrictions on businesses and social gatherings, most Americans are expecting the coronavirus pandemic to upend their summers, with few saying they expect to stay in a hotel (32%), fly (23%), or attend a concert or sporting event (19%) during the next three months,…
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