Medicare

This brief provides the most recent data on the extent to which non-pediatric physicians are opting out of Medicare, by specialty and by state.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced the drugs selected for the second round of negotiation for the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program, which was established by the Inflation Reduction Act. These FAQs address several questions related to Medicare’s drug price negotiation program and CMS’s implementation of the program, with a focus on the details that apply for 2027, the second year that negotiated prices will be available under the program.

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 on Medicare spending.

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…

Based on a new KFF analysis, fewer than 1 in 5 (19%) nursing facilities currently meet the minimum staffing standards set out in the final requirements of the federal rule released today by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). CMS adopted staffing standards that are similar to the…

This brief examines 10 key facts about women with Medicare and presents new statistics on the health, economic and functional status of women with Medicare.

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.

KFF’s latest Health Tracking Poll examines the public’s views and use of an an increasingly popular class of prescription drugs used for weight loss and to treat diabetes or prevent heart attacks or strokes. The poll finds 12% of adults report having taken one of these GLP-1 drugs, which include Ozempic, Webovy and Mounjaro. This includes 6% who say they are currently taking one of the drugs.