Health Costs

A class of drugs initially approved for diabetes treatment has captured the public’s and policymakers’ attention as interest in their off-label use for weight loss rises. The weight-loss benefits of these drugs have led to their prescribed use for obesity or overweight treatment. A new analysis compares list prices for…

Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) are increasingly scrutinized intermediaries in the U.S. health care system, negotiating discounts on prescription medications for health insurers and employers while collecting rebates from drugmakers. Even as PBMs have taken on a larger role in drug coverage and pricing in recent decades, including through mergers with…

This brief explains the role and implications of cross-market mergers between hospitals and health systems that operate in different regions and describes the approaches that government antitrust agencies have taken in reviewing these types of transactions.

The U.S. Midwest and South regions have higher average obesity rates among adults. What does this mean for access and coverage of prescription drugs for weight loss?

The debate about the future of the Affordable Care Act and its individual insurance marketplaces may be taking the focus off the affordability challenges facing the broader population, most of whom get their health coverage through employers, Medicare or Medicaid. New survey findings from the Kaiser Family Foundation show that…

The latest Kaiser Health Tracking Poll examines the public’s early attitudes towards the House Republican plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act and finds that more expect the new plan will make things worse rather than better when it comes to the number of people with coverage and costs for those buying insurance on their own. The survey also measures public support for continuing current federal Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood, gauges the importance of various ACA provisions for women’s and children’s health, and revisits the public’s knowledge on key provisions included in the health care law.

Republicans More Likely to Expect Positive Changes Than Democrats or Independents Large Majority Favors Continued Medicaid Funding to Planned Parenthood Fielded March 6-12 as Americans were first learning about the American Health Care Act and before the Congressional Budget Office estimated its effects, the latest Kaiser Tracking Poll shows that…