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This analysis highlights key findings about the health care experiences of older adults (ages 65 and older) based on KFF’s 2023 Survey on Racism, Discrimination, and Health, including variations by race and ethnicity.
In a new analysis, KFF finds that 3.6 million people with Medicare could be eligible for coverage of Wegovy (semaglutide) now that the Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of the anti-obesity drug to reduce the risk of heart attacks and stroke in certain patients. This change potentially allows access to Wegovy for just over 1 in 4 of the 13.7 million people on Medicare diagnosed with obesity or overweight, based on data…
The FDA recently approved a new use for Wegovy, the blockbuster anti-obesity drug, to reduce the risk of heart attacks and stroke in people with cardiovascular disease who are overweight or obese - a decision that opens the door to Medicare coverage of Wegovy, which is prohibited by law from covering drugs used for obesity. This brief analyses how many Medicare beneficiaries could be eligible for the new use of Wegovy and the potential impact…
This brief examines the financial burden of health care spending among households where all members are covered by Medicare compared to non-Medicare households.
These FAQs address questions related to prescription drug importation, including the current status of importation proposals, details of Florida’s importation program recently authorized by the FDA, and concerns and challenges with this approach.
Fewer nursing facility residents and staff are getting COVID-19 vaccines, according to a new KFF analysis of federal data. Only 38% of residents and 15% of staff have received the latest vaccine. In comparison, 50% of residents and 22% of staff received updated vaccines in 2022 and 87% of residents and 88% of staff completed the initial vaccination series. The percentage of residents who received the latest COVID-19 vaccine varies by state and type of…
KFF analysis found that over one-fifth of all U.S. COVID-19 deaths occurred in long-term care facilities despite but as of January 14th, 2024, only 38% of residents and 15% of staff were “up-to-date” with their COVID-19 vaccines, which the CDC defines as having received the updated Fall 2023 vaccine. Those rates are lower than uptake was for the 2022 vaccine.
A KFF analysis shows that a new out-of-pocket spending cap in Medicare Part D could translate into savings for well over 1 million beneficiaries when it takes effect next year, including more than 100,000 people each in California, Florida and Texas, based on analyses of drug spending in 2021. The $2,000 cap, part of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, will lead to thousands of dollars in savings for Medicare patients who take high-cost drugs…
In 2025, Medicare beneficiaries will pay no more than $2,000 out of pocket for prescription drugs covered under Part D, Medicare’s outpatient drug benefit, due to a provision in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. This analysis examines how many Medicare Part D enrollees spent $2,000 or more out of pocket in 2021 and over multiple years, both nationally and at the state level, to show how many people over time could benefit from the…
A new KFF analysis shows that most Medicare beneficiaries live on relatively low incomes and have modest financial resources for retirement – posing a risk to their economic well-being, particularly if they were to have a major, unanticipated expense, such as a need for long-term nursing home care. The financial picture is especially bleak among Black and Hispanic Medicare beneficiaries, who tend to have lower incomes, savings, and home equity than White beneficiaries, the analysis…
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