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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  • KFF Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust: January 2025

    Feature

    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.…

  • 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…

  • CDC’s Funding for State and Local Public Health: How Much and Where Does it Go?

    Issue Brief

    Funding from CDC has been a major source of support for public health programs across the U.S., but CDC is now being targeted for budget cuts by the Trump administration. To better understand how much CDC funding is provided to state and local jurisdictions, we analyzed FY 2023 funding data from CDC and present findings about much funding was provided to state and local jurisdictions, what types of public health activities were supported with this…

  • Where Americans Saw Information About Tax and Budget Legislation on Social Media, and False Measles Narratives Target Immigrants — The Monitor

    Feature

    This volume shares findings from KFF’s latest poll on how the public encountered information about the recently passed tax and budget legislation; misleading narratives blaming undocumented immigrants for the current measles outbreak; misrepresentations of vaccine safety systems; claims that climate change isn’t real following deadly Texas flooding; and confusion around statins for preventing heart disease.

  • Key Questions About the New Increase in Federal Medicaid Matching Funds for COVID-19

    Issue Brief

    Recent federal legislation, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, amended by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, authorizes a 6.2 percentage point increase in federal Medicaid matching funds to help states respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. This issue brief answers key questions about the new federal funds, drawing on two sets of frequently asked questions about the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and CARES Act issued by the Centers for Medicare and…

  • New Online Resource Tracks Donor Funding for Coronavirus Response

    News Release

    While donors have begun providing support to China and other low- and middle-income countries, there is currently no other centralized repository for this information. This tracker provides an accounting of publicly available information on donor funding to date.

  • KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor: March 2021

    Poll Finding

    This Vaccine Monitor finds a growing share of U.S. adults say they have already gotten at least one dose of the vaccine or want to get vaccinated as soon as possible. It explores vaccine intentions, information gaps, vaccine brand preferences, and tests a variety of potential incentives, messages, and pieces of information that might be used to increase vaccination uptake.

  • KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor: July 2021

    Poll Finding

    This Vaccine Monitor report finds little change since June in the share of adults who either received a COVID-19 vaccine or say they will as soon as they can. A quarter of unvaccinated adults say they likely will get a shot by the end of the year. Unvaccinated adults are much less worried than vaccinated ones about the Delta variant.