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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  • States Set Different COVID-19 Vaccination Priorities for People with High-Risk Conditions

    News Release

    People with medical conditions that put them at higher risk of developing serious COVID-19 illness are next in line to get vaccinated in many states, though states are making very different choices about how to prioritize those within this large group, finds a KFF analysis of state policies. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that there are 81 million adults nationwide with conditions that it identifies as posing an increased risk…

  • Challenges for Rebuilding Trust in the CDC

    Quick Insights

    (Secretary Kennedy) has promised to restore public trust in the CDC, but our polling data suggests real challenges given how skeptical the public - and Republicans in particular - are about the agency.

  • From Margins to Mainstream: How Amplification May Be Giving Misinformation New Reach

    Policy Watch

    Efforts to correct misinformation can unintentionally amplify it by increasing engagement, repetition, and visibility. During times of low trust, even debunked claims can erode confidence in health institutions. Communicators can limit amplification by focusing on verified facts, using prebunking and strategic debunking, and strengthening trust with credible messengers.

  • 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- Rural America

    Poll Finding

    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.

  • Vaccine Monitor: What We’ve Learned

    News Release

    With nearly all states poised to allow anyone at least 16 years old to get a COVID-19 vaccine, this week’s announcement pausing the distribution of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to investigate a rare side effect is raising questions about whether and how it will affect the public’s eagerness to get vaccinated. A new report summarizes key insights about vaccine confidence, messages and messengers from the KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor project, which has interviewed more…

  • KFF’s Kaiser Health News and “This American Life” Team Up for a Chilling Account of the Threats and Menace Upending the Lives of Local Health Officials

    News Release

    In the course of the pandemic, health officers have become the face of local government authority. And, in turn, many have become targets for the rage and resentment of some of the same loose-knit militia and white nationalist groups that stormed the U.S. Capitol in January, smashing windows, bloodying officers and savagely chanting “Hang Mike Pence.” Kaiser Health News joined forces with the iconic public radio team at This American Life to chronicle this disturbing trend through the…

  • Distributing a COVID-19 Vaccine Across the U.S. – A Look at Key Issues

    News Release

    Government officials hope to identify one or more safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines over the next few months as part of a multi-agency effort known as Operation Warp Speed. If and when they succeed, their focus will shift to making sure people across the country can access the vaccine. A new issue brief lays out some of the key challenges with such a massive vaccination effort, which could require hundreds of millions of vaccine doses…