Public Health


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.

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  • Poll: 8 in 10 Americans Favor Strict Shelter-in-Place Orders To Limit Coronavirus’ Spread, and Most Say They Could Continue to Obey Such Orders for Another Month or Longer

    News Release

    With President Trump and some Republican governors pushing to restart the nation’s economy, most of the public (80%) supports strict shelter-in-place policies to limit the coronavirus’ spread compared to just one in five (19%) who say these measures pose unnecessary burdens and cause more harm than good, the latest KFF Health Tracking Poll finds. Majorities of Republicans (61%), independents (84%) and Democrats (94%) support the shelter-in-place orders, though four in ten Republicans (38%) say such…

  • Fluoride Bans and Food Safety Doubts — The Monitor

    Feature

    This Monitor covers how fears about fluoride as a neurotoxin are impacting public health and how trust in food safety is eroding following the USDA's disbandment of two food safety panels. It also discusses approaches to addressing false information and the accuracy of AI chatbots compared to search engines.

  • Loneliness and Social Isolation in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan: An International Survey

    Report

    To understand more about how people view the issue of loneliness and social isolation, the Kaiser Family Foundation, in partnership with The Economist, conducted a cross-country survey of adults in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan. The survey included additional interviews with individuals who report always or often feeling lonely, left out, isolated or that they lack companionship to better understand the personal characteristics and life circumstances associated with these feelings, the reported…

  • Public Reporting of Quality Outcomes: What’s the Best Path Forward?

    Event Date:
    Event

    The Affordable Care Act aims to promote higher quality care in part by rewarding – and eventually requiring – the reporting of certain quality measures. Previous efforts suggest that public reporting can add significant value. Yet there are concerns about the best way to measure outcomes and quality, the possible unintended effects of public reporting, and whether purchasers and consumers actually use the information to make choices. Panelists at this April 27 briefing co-sponsored by…

  • Quality Care for Less Money: Can Regional Successes Go National?

    Event Date:
    Event

    On February 15, the Kaiser Family Foundation hosted an event featuring a PBS documentary with former Washington Post correspondent T.R. Reid – U.S. Health Care: The Good News – which explores efforts to provide low-cost, quality health care in the U.S. The film looks at variations in health spending across the country and showcases efficient health care delivery systems, like Grand Junction in Colorado and Group Health in Seattle, suggesting that these communities demonstrate that…

  • Flint Fallout: Water Supply Safety Now Near Top of Public’s National Health Concerns, Trailing Cancer

    News Release

    In the wake of the lead crisis affecting drinking water in Flint, Mich., the public now ranks contaminated drinking water among the most serious national health issues, trailing cancer, according to the April Kaiser Health Tracking Poll. When asked about a series of health issues facing the country, more than a third (35%) identify contaminated drinking water as “extremely serious,” behind cancer (43%) and similar to heroin abuse (35%)  and ahead of major diseases such…

  • Most Americans Say Federal and State Governments Are Not Doing Enough to Combat Prescription Painkiller and Heroin Abuse; Large Majorities Believe Wide Range of Strategies Would be Effective

    News Release

     As the White House and Congress continue to debate new funding and other actions to address the nation’s opioid epidemic, the latest Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds that most Americans believe the federal government is not doing enough to combat the recent increases in the number of people who are addicted to prescription painkillers (66%) or heroin (62%). State governments fare no better in the public’s view, with similarly large shares saying they aren’t doing…

  • Poll: Trust in Public Health Agencies and Vaccines Falls Amid Republican Skepticism

    News Release

    As President Trump begins his second term, the public’s trust in health information from key health agencies has fallen over the past 18 months, continuing a decline that began during the COVID-19 pandemic, finds the new KFF Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust.  Just over half (53%) of the public now says they trust the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to make the right recommendations on health issues at least “a fair amount,” down…