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.

View the Chapter →


Filter

161-170 of 294 results

  • COVID-19 Quiz

    COVID-19 Quiz

    Feature

    This 10-question quiz tests your knowledge about the coronavirus and COVID-19, including issues around symptoms, testing, number of cases and deaths, and cost sharing for treatment.

  • Poll: About Half of Public Supports a Ban on Both Flavored and All E-Cigarettes, Though Most Young Adults Are Opposed 

    News Release

    With more than 1,000 lung injuries and two dozen deaths nationally associated with vaping and e-cigarettes, a new KFF poll finds a narrow majority (52%) of the public supports a ban on the sale of fruit- and other flavored e-cigarettes, while 44% oppose it. When asked whether all e-cigarettes should be banned, including those that aren’t flavored, the public is almost evenly divided, with 49% favoring such a step and 47% opposing it. Majorities of…

  • Poll Examines the Impact of Coronavirus on Life in America

    Policy Watch

    With coronavirus cases rising and businesses shutting down, four in 10 (39%) U.S. residents say they already have lost a job or income due to the crisis, the latest KFF Health Tracking Poll finds. This includes most part-time workers (54%), as well as nearly half of parents with children under age 18 (47%) and those paid hourly or by the job (45%). A large majority (82%) also report that they are sheltering-in-place and not leaving…

  • Partying Spring Breakers Don’t Represent Most of America’s Young Adults

    Policy Watch

    While news stories accurately depict the actions of some young people on spring break, our latest national poll show they are not representative of young adults more broadly who largely say they are engaging in social distancing practices in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

  • U.S. Virgin Islands: Fast Facts

    Fact Sheet

    This fact sheet presents demographic, economic, and health indicators of the U.S. Virgin Islands and briefly discusses some of the territory's short and long-term challenges facing the territory after Hurricanes Irma and Maria struck the island in September 2017.

  • What Does the Public Know and Think About Zika?

    Feature

    This slideshow provides an aggregated summary of Kaiser Family Foundation’s latest poll findings on the Zika virus. Results include how much Americans know about the virus, how worried they are about it, and what role they believe the government should be playing to fight its spread.

  • Poll: Nearly Half of Adults Expect to Get the New COVID-19 Vaccine, But Most Parents Don’t Expect to Get It for Their Children; More Eligible Adults Expect to Get a Flu Shot and the New RSV Vaccine

    News Release

    Nearly half of adults say that they will “definitely” or “probably” get the newly recommended COVID-19 vaccine, though most parents are not planning to get the shot for their children, according to the latest KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor poll. Among all adults, 23% say they will definitely get the new vaccine, 23% say they will probably get it, while 19% say they will probably not get it and 33% say they definitely not get it.…

  • New KFF Health News Podcast Explores How the Eradication of Smallpox in India Informs Public Health Ambitions and Challenges in 2023

    News Release

    KFF Health News today launched a new limited-series podcast, "Epidemic: Eradicating Smallpox," with host Dr. Céline Gounder, senior fellow and editor-at-large for public health at KFF Health News. The eight-episode podcast takes listeners on a journey to South Asia, the site of the last days of variola major smallpox. There, public health workers from India, Bangladesh, and around the world did what many thought was impossible: eradicate smallpox. "Eradicating smallpox was one of humanity’s greatest…

  • Most Black and Hispanic Adults Expect to Get the New COVID-19 Vaccine, Though Most White Adults Don’t

    News Release

    The latest KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor survey reveals that half (51%) of all adults nationally say they “definitely” or “probably” will not get the latest COVID-19 vaccine, with many saying that they aren’t worried about catching the virus. One in five (20%) say that they’ve already gotten the new vaccine that became available in September, with an additional 28% saying they “definitely” or “probably” will get the new shot. The rest say they “definitely” or…

  • The Cost of Inpatient and Outpatient Care Drives High Health Spending in the U.S. Relative to Other Countries, New Analysis Finds

    News Release

    A new KFF issue brief compares the main drivers of health spending in the United States and other large, wealthy countries, and finds that the cost of inpatient and outpatient care – much more so than prescription drugs or administrative costs – drives high per capita health spending in the U.S. In 2018, the U.S. spent $10,637 on health per person – nearly twice as much as other comparably large and wealthy countries. The analysis finds…