Home Private Insurance Topics

Private Insurance

New and Noteworthy

Hospital Prices Have Risen Much Faster for Private Insurance Than Medicare Since 2019

Hospitals account for nearly one-third of US health spending and 40% of spending growth from 2022-2024. Analysis shows hospital prices paid by private insurers have risen faster than Medicare rates since 2019, a trend with implications for affordability.

Hospital prices paid by private insurers rose 30% from 2019-2026, compared to a 21% increase in Medicare payment rates. The disparate growth widened an existing gap between what Medicare and private plans pay for hospital services.

What Are the Recent Trends in Employer-Based Health Coverage?

Policy Changes Bring Renewed Focus on High-Deductible Health Plans

Health Insurer Financial Performance in 2024

Examining Short-Term Limited-Duration Health Plans

Health Care Affordability

BTD Health Policy in 2026

Health Policy in 2026

President and CEO Dr. Drew Altman forecasts eight things to look for in health policy in 2026. “First and foremost,” he writes, “is the role health care affordability will play in the midterms.” And, he notes: “The average cost of a family policy for employers could approach $30,000 and cost sharing and deductibles will rise again after plateauing for several years.”

View all of Drew’s Beyond the Data Columns

Latest News

More KFF Health News

Stay informed.

Get KFF's latest on Private Insurance

Stay informed.

Get KFF's latest on Private Insurance

View the Latest: Private Insurance

Filter

List Grid

231 - 240 of 900 Results

  • Gaps in Coverage Among People With Pre-Existing Conditions

    Issue Brief

    The American Health Care Act (AHCA), which has passed the House of Representatives, contains a controversial provision that would allow states to waive community rating in the individual insurance market. In this brief we estimate the number of people with pre-existing conditions who might be affected by such a policy.

  • Analysis: 6.3 Million People with Pre-Existing Conditions Would Be at Risk for Higher Premiums under the House’s Health Bill

    News Release

    A new Kaiser Family Foundation analysis estimates that 6.3 million people -- 23 percent of 27.4 million non-elderly adults with a gap of several months in insurance coverage in 2015 – could potentially face higher premiums under the House’s American Health Care Act (AHCA), due to pre-existing health conditions. The bill, which passed the House earlier this month, allows states to waive community rating in the individual insurance market. Insurers in states with such waivers…

  • Changing Rules for Workplace Wellness Programs: Implications for Sensitive Health Conditions

    Issue Brief

    With legislation pending in Congress that would substantially change federal rules governing workplace wellness programs, this brief reviews relevant data about employers' use of wellness programs and financial incentives and the incidence of certain sensitive or potentially stigmatized health conditions among adults covered under employer-sponsored health plans.

  • Out-of-pocket spending on insulin among people with private insurance

    Issue Brief

    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.

  • Most Office-Based Physicians Accept New Patients, Including Patients With Medicare and Private Insurance

    Issue Brief

    This brief examines the share of non-pediatric office-based physicians accepting new patients with Medicare or private insurance and how these rates have changed over time and vary by physician specialties, geographic areas, and physician and practice characteristics across Medicare and private insurance. This analysis further examines the extent to which non-pediatric physicians are opting out of Medicare, by specialty and state.

  • New Analysis Provides Early Look At Increase in Individual Market Enrollees 

    News Release

    A new Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of health insurer reports to state regulators provides a first glimpse of enrollment in the individual, or non-group, insurance market under the Affordable Care Act.  These initial filings reflect enrollment both through the new state insurance marketplaces created under the Affordable Care Act as well as through off-exchange plans. The analysis suggests a net increase from the end of 2013 of about 3 million to 3.5 million people with…

  • Premiums Set to Decline Slightly for Benchmark ACA Marketplace Insurance Plans in 2015

    News Release

    Analysis of 15 States and D.C. Also Finds Changes Vary Across States and Insurers Results Suggest Consumers Should Shop Carefully When Open Enrollment Begins November 15 MENLO PARK, Calif. -- An early look at the cost of health insurance in 16 major cities finds that average premiums for the benchmark silver plan – the one upon which federal financial help under the Affordable Care Act to consumers is based – will decrease slightly in 2015. …

  • At Tax Time, No Public Backlash Over Obamacare’s Individual Mandate

    News Release

    As tax season closes, Drew Altman looks at why the ACA’s individual mandate and tax credit reconciliation process “passed their first major hurdles this tax season with no significant public backlash,” in his latest column for The Wall Street Journal's Think Tank.

  • Potential Supreme Court Decision: Who Will Bear the Coverage “Burdens?”

    Issue Brief

    The Supreme Court is expected to reach a decision by the end of June, 2014 on the cases brought forth by Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties, two for profit corporations challenging the ACA’s contraceptive coverage requirement. The plaintiffs contend that the requirement that they include coverage for certain contraceptive services (emergency contraceptive pills and intrauterine devices) in the insurance plans “substantially burdens” both the corporation’s and the owners’ religious rights. During the arguments, several…