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Beyond the Data: Are the Tradeoffs from Prior Authorization Worth It? 

In his latest column, President and CEO Dr. Drew Altman asks if prior authorization review could be eliminated entirely, discussing how it might be done and the tradeoffs. He writes “Nothing makes American health care consumers more frustrated using the health system than prior authorization review. I know because they told us that, ranking prior authorization review far ahead of any other problems they have getting care and navigating the health care system, including getting appointments and understanding their bills.”

Affordable care act

Poll: Health Care Costs, Expiring ACA Tax Credits, and the 2026 Midterms

Heading into this midterm election year, the cost of health care tops the public’s economic anxieties, and more than 4 in 10 voters say the issue will have a major impact on their vote, a new KFF Health Tracking poll finds. Two thirds of public say Congress "did the wrong thing" by not extending ACA enhanced tax credits, but Republicans largely say Congress “did the right thing.”

Health System Tracker

How Does Health Spending in the U.S. Compare to Other Countries? While the U.S. still spends the most in total dollars, eight OECD nations had a higher percentage increase in per-person health spending in 2024.

 

How Does Cost Affect Access to Health Care? In 2024, about 1 in 6 adults reported delaying or not getting healthcare due to cost, including medical or mental health care.

 

How Do Health Expenditures Vary Across the Population? Five percent of the population made up nearly half of all health spendings, pending an average of $72,918 annually in 2023.

NHE explorer

National Health Spending Explorer: Get up-to-date information on U.S. health spending by federal and local governments, private companies, and individuals.

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  • Pulling It Together: Predicting the Future

    Perspective

    A fair amount of attention was given recently to projections made by the Chief Actuary of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) about the new health reform law, and how they compare to previous estimates by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

  • Prescription Drug Trends Fact Sheet – May 2010 Update

    Fact Sheet

    This updated fact sheet provides trend information about prescription drug expenditures and coverage, key factors that contribute to rising prescription spending, and efforts to contain rising drug costs. May 2010 Fact Sheet (.

  • What’s in There? The New Health Reform Law and Private Insurance

    Event Date:
    Event

    This briefing focuses on how the reform law affects access to private coverage, including the new federal high-risk pools, tax credits for small businesses, health insurance exchanges, the individual mandate and employer obligations. This briefing, cosponsored by the Alliance for Health Reform and the Kaiser Family Foundation, explored these and other issues.

  • Health Care Reform and the CLASS Act

    Issue Brief

    This issue brief examines the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) program, a component of the health reform law that establishes a national, voluntary insurance program for purchasing community living services and supports that is designed to expand options for people who become functionally disabled and require long-term help.

  • Pulling It Together: Implementation Is Forever

    Perspective

    Now that historic health reform legislation is law, everyone is rightfully focused on implementation. There are two very different ways to look at implementation. One is the more legalistic worm's eye view, which sees implementation largely as the process of putting into effect what was written in the law.

  • Pulling it Together: When Premiums Go Up 39%

    Perspective

    Our group that works on health care cost issues just updated an analysis that sheds light on what’s really happening to people in the individual health insurance market, the issue Secretary Sebelius, a former Kansas insurance commissioner, and others have put in the spotlight by calling on Anthem and other insurance companies to account for…