Home Private Insurance Topics

Private Insurance

New and Noteworthy

How Employers Support Lower-Waged Workers’ Access to Health Insurance Options

Health insurance makes up 8% of total employee compensation on average, and while most employees take up health insurance when it is offered, lower-wage workers are far less likely to be able to access coverage, according to a new Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker analysis of survey data and focus groups with more than 100 U.S. employers with over a quarter of a million employees.

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

Subscribe to KFF Emails

Choose which emails are best for you.
Sign up here

View the Latest: Private Insurance

Filter

List Grid

641 - 650 of 896 Results

  • Consumer Appeal Rights in Private Health Coverage

    Issue Brief

    The Affordable Care Act (ACA) gives consumers the right to appeal private health plan claims denials and other adverse decisions, including the incorrect application of cost sharing, although limits apply. This issue brief describes consumer access to appeals and limits on appeal rights that have been adopted through federal regulations.

  • No Surprises Act Quiz

    Feature

    A new federal law provides new consumer protections against "surprise" medical bills beginning this year. Test your knowledge about its provisions with this 12-question quiz.

  • Half of Admissions in the Large Group Market Are Paid Above 150% of Medicare Rates, Excluding Maternity Admissions

    Issue Brief

    This analysis looks at in-network payment rates for inpatient hospital stays, other than maternity/newborn admissions, among large employer plans relative to Medicare payment rates. We find that a cap of 150% of Medicare rates would affect 52% of in-network admissions and 36% of in-network spending, while a cap of 300% of Medicare rates would affect 13% of in-network admissions and 13% of in-network spending, with variation across types of admissions.

  • Most private insurers are no longer waiving cost-sharing for COVID-19 treatment

    Issue Brief

    This analysis finds nearly three quarters of the largest health plans in each state are no longer waiving enrollees’ cost-sharing requirements for COVID-19 treatment as of August 2021. Insurers largely waived those costs early in the pandemic, before safe and effetive vaccines were available.

  • How Private Insurers Are Using Telehealth to Respond to the Pandemic

    Issue Brief

    Private insurance plans have taken a variety of steps to expand telemedicine uptake and access during the COVID-19 pandemic. A new issue brief on the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker examines four actions private insurers have taken to promote telehealth usage among plan enrollees.

  • Analysis: Many Private Insurers Offer Financial Relief for COVID-19 Treatment, but Cost-Sharing Waivers Are Expiring

    News Release

    A new analysis finds that most people with individual or fully-insured group market coverage are in plans that waived cost-sharing for COVID-19 treatment, though many of those waivers are set to expire in the coming months. About 88% - nearly nine in ten - enrollees in the individual and fully-insured group markets are covered by plans that have taken action to limit out-of-pocket costs for patients undergoing treatment for COVID-19 since the start of the…