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Examining Prior Authorization in Health Insurance
This post explains what’s known about how insurers use prior authorization as a tool to control costs and encourage cost-effective care, the state and federal laws that govern it, and ongoing policy debates over efforts to impose standards to limit or regulate its use.
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The Uncertain Future of Policies to Promote Access and Affordability Put in Place During the COVID-19 Pandemic
In this column for the JAMA Health Forum, Larry Levitt highlights four changes implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic that helped to make health care more accessible and affordable and the prospects for those changes to telehealth, COVID-19 coverage, Medicaid and marketplace premiums continuing beyond the pandemic’s end.
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For ACA Enrollees, How Much Premiums Rise Next Year is Mostly up to Congress
Most customers with coverage through Affordable Care Act’s marketplaces will face big premium increases next year if Congress doesn’t extend the temporary enhanced tax credits included in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021. If the outcome isn’t clear by summer, fall open enrollment could be a mess.
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Many Workers, Particularly at Small Firms, Face High Premiums to Enroll in Family Coverage, Leaving Many in the ‘Family Glitch’
Data from the KFF Employer Health Benefits Survey demonstrates that some workers face very high contribution amounts for family coverage, including 12% who would have pay at least $10,000 annually in premiums for a family of four. These are the workers most likely to benefit from a fix to the ‘family glitch’.
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Strategies To Lower Drug Costs Top the Public’s Health Priorities for Congress
Against the backdrop of public concern about inflation and rising gas prices, proposals to lower what people pay out-of-pocket for drugs tops the public’s list of health care priorities for Congress, a new KFF Health Tracking Poll finds. Most (55%) of the public say inflation is the biggest problem facing…
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KFF Health Tracking Poll – March 2022: Economic Concerns and Health Policy, The ACA, and Views of Long-term Care Facilities
This poll finds the public’s health care priorities for Congress focus on reducing out-of-pocket costs, and concerns over inflation and the economy are top of mind as voters begin to think about the November midterm elections. The poll also examines views of the ACA and nursing homes.
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How Does Use of Mental Health Care Vary by Demographics and Health Insurance Coverage?
This analysis finds that before the pandemic, millions of adults reporting moderate to severe symptoms of anxiety and/or depression were not receiving treatment. Receipt of mental health treatment was lowest among young adults, Black adults, men, and uninsured people.
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Out-of-pocket spending on insulin among people with private insurance
This analysis of insurance claims data finds that Congressional proposals to set a $35 per month cap on what people pay out of pocket for insulin would provide financial relief to at least 1 out of 5 insulin users with different types of private health insurance.
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Without Build Back Better, Will the End of the Public Health Emergency Leave Even More People Uninsured?
Continuous enrollment in Medicaid and enhanced premium assistance have helped millions afford and maintain coverage, but those gains could be reversed as the public emergency ends and if the provisions like those in the Build Back Better Act fail to pass.
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People With HIV in Non-Medicaid Expansion States: Who Could Gain Coverage Eligibility Through Build Back Better or Future Expansion?
In this analysis, we explore the implications of the Build Back Better Act’s current coverage provisions for people with HIV in select non-expansion states. We estimate the size of the population that could gain eligibility as well as their socio-demographic characteristics, examine their affordability barriers and assess the potential impact on the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program. We also explore what Medicaid expansion could mean in these non-expansion states for people with HIV.
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