Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Drawing on newly released KFF/Cook Political Report polling in key Sun Belt states, Drew Altman discusses how the 2020 election is more about President Trump but issues do matter. He says that swing voters in Florida, Arizona and North Carolina prefer Joe Biden over President Trump on more issues including health care and the coronavirus, but President Trump has the edge on their top issue, the economy. 

People of color were more likely to test positive for COVID-19 and to require a higher level of care at the time of diagnosis compared to White patients, according to a new analysis from Epic Health Research Network and KFF. They also were more likely to be hospitalized and die…

This analysis builds on a continually growing body of research on racial disparities in COVID-19 by examining testing, infection, hospitalization, and death by race and ethnicity among patients in the Epic health record system.

With planning beginning for an eventual COVID-19 vaccine, one important consideration is making sure that distribution processes and outreach and communication strategies reach people of color. Analysis of seasonal flu vaccination rates provides some insight into the potential barriers and issues to be addressed as part of COVID-19 vaccination efforts.

Since taking office in 2017, President Trump has laid down an extensive record on health care, including his response to the COVID-19 pandemic, his early and ongoing efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, his annual budget proposals to curb spending on Medicare and Medicaid, his executive orders…

This issue brief provides a detailed overview of the Trump Administration’s record on health care issues relating to: the Administration’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ACA and private insurance markets, Medicaid, Medicare, reducing prescription drug and other health care costs, sexual and reproductive health, mental health and substance use, immigration and health, long-term care, HIV/AIDS policy, and LGBTQ health.

For The BMJ, Drew Altman discusses two fundamental policy decisions made by the Trump administration that set the U.S. on the controversial and highly criticized course it has taken on COVID-19.

During the 34th week since the first coronavirus case appeared in the United States worldwide cases surpassed the 28 million mark and United States’ cases stand over 6 million and nearing 192,000 deaths.

Few issues are likely to matter as much to voters in November’s presidential election as President Trump’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic crisis, which have left almost 200,000 Americans dead and prompted job layoffs and furloughs affecting tens of millions of Americans. A new election brief compares…

Surprisingly, in comparison to the nearly 9% drop in employment from March to June, early data suggests that employers had kept coverage rates remarkably steady, at least through mid-summer. We find that enrollment in the fully-insured group market dropped by just 1.3% from the end of March through the end of June.