worlds Insurance blog

This analysis documents average deductibles for Affordable Care Act Marketplace plans available on Healthcare.gov for all metal tiers, including silver plans after cost-sharing reductions are applied, for 2014 - 2024, as well as average out-of-pocket limits for silver-level Marketplace plans. from KFF https://ift.tt/R9vjawf

This fact sheet offers a look back at 10 issues that KFF tracked closely during 2023 in its polling, policy analysis and journalism, including summaries of major findings and news stories. from KFF https://ift.tt/sjhftb2

This chart collection presents analysis of data from recent Annual Economic and Social Supplements (ASEC) of the Current Population Survey (CPS) to examine who among non-elderly people has employer-sponsored insurance and which workers are offered and eligible for coverage at their current jobs. from KFF https://ift.tt/k4Wy35O

This slideshow examines trends in U.S. health spending over time, including the share of household budgets devoted to health expenses and comparisons of out-of-pocket expenditures to money spent on insurance through 2021. from KFF https://ift.tt/8d7lrTu

This data note reviews our recent polling data that finds that Americans struggle to afford many aspects of health care, including disproportionate shares of uninsured adults, Black and Hispanic adults and those with lower incomes. from KFF https://ift.tt/mFYwaL6

This fact sheet provides a snapshot of global malaria efforts and examines the U.S. government’s role in addressing malaria worldwide, including current programs, funding, and key issues. from KFF https://ift.tt/R1k7C5r

This issue brief describes recent national Medicaid prescription drug utilization and spending trends, examines how the pandemic may have impacted those trends, and explores what recent trends could mean as states unwind the continuous enrollment provision and continue to contend with new, high-cost drugs entering the market. from KFF https://ift.tt/kRaJNCK

Lower-income adults with employer coverage are more likely than their higher-income peers to report negative outcomes due to problems using their insurance, a new KFF analysis shows. Drawing on data from the KFF Survey of Consumer Experiences with Health Insurance, the analysis shows that similar shares of lower- and higher-income adults with employer coverage report having common … More from KFF https://ift.tt/kdTbBqL

This analysis examines the experiences of lower income adults with their employer sponsored insurance and finds they were more likely to self-report problems with affordability, enrollment, and network adequacy, and to experience negative health consequences as a result of insurance problems, compared to their higher income peers. from KFF https://ift.tt/W7qNOiI

This issue brief describes trends in health coverage in 2022, examines the characteristics of the nonelderly uninsured population, and summarizes the access and financial implications of not having coverage. from KFF https://ift.tt/FXGfKui

This policy watch examines the implications of North Carolina's Medicaid expansion as well as key issues to watch there and across other states. from KFF https://ift.tt/GgVz4tP

This analysis examines the extent to which large private and non-federal public employers that offer retiree health benefits are turning to Medicare Advantage and why they are making this shift, using data from the 2023 Employer Health Benefits Survey. We find that half (52%) of large employers offering retiree health benefits to Medicare-age retirees offer coverage to at least some retirees through a contract with a Medicare Advantage plan, double the share in 2017 (26%). from KFF https://ift.tt/wIdpXkN

The latest data on U.S. health spending are now available on the Health Spending Explorer, an interactive tool that allows users to explore trends in health spending by federal and local governments, insurers, nursing care, hospital, and other service providers, and consumers. The tool captures just-released 2022 data from the federal government, when national health … More from KFF https://ift.tt/n6XZfEe

A majority of the public agrees misinformation in the U.S. is a problem. Many are also uncertain about the accuracy of information they come across about current topics in the news. This poll finding examines this uncertainty for abortion, the 2024 presidential election, COVID-19, and the conflict in the Middle East. from KFF https://ift.tt/LlzseB4

Earlier this week, the Texas Supreme Court overturned a lower court order that would have allowed a Texas woman—who was more than 20 weeks pregnant carrying a fetus diagnosed with a fatal condition—to get an abortion in the state. The woman has reportedly travelled out of Texas to obtain an abortion. A new KFF brief … More from KFF https://ift.tt/MUIbS3g

While all eyes were on Texas and the recent case of Kate Cox, a woman seeking a court order allowing her abortion under an exception to the Texas abortion ban, the conflict could have played out in many states. The risk to doctors is so high that many doctors are hesitant to provide life-saving abortion care unless the threat to life is imminent. from KFF https://ift.tt/18jf9Lw

This finding examines how vaccine attitudes and uptake differ between Republicans who support of the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement and those who don't, looking at uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine, the flu vaccine, and confidence in the safety of vaccines. from KFF https://ift.tt/JX20iVC

This brief analyzes the different types of coverage that people with Medicare have and the demographic characteristics of Medicare beneficiaries with these different coverage types. from KFF https://ift.tt/GorleBn

In January 2014, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published a final rule that created new requirements for Medicaid home- and community-based services (HCBS) programs. This issue brief describes the settings rule, implementation of the rule across states and HCBS waivers, and what to watch as implementation continues. from KFF https://ift.tt/sDrfB1K

This brief summarizes findings from 20 studies published between January 1, 2018 and April 1, 2023 that compare quality of care and beneficiary experiences between people of color in Medicare Advantage and White enrollees, or the total Medicare Advantage population. from KFF https://ift.tt/pjUhzD4

This fact sheet reviews major sources of coverage for women residing in the U.S. in 2022, discusses the impact of the Affordable Care Act on women’s coverage, and the coverage challenges that many women continue to face. from KFF https://ift.tt/MHq5paW

This policy watch highlights a change coming to the Medicare Part D drug benefit that will cap Part D enrollees' out-of-pocket drug costs, beginning in 2024, resulting in savings of thousands of dollars for high-cost drugs - a change that recent KFF tracking poll results show few older adults know about. from KFF https://ift.tt/54lkygQ

In this column, KFF President and CEO Drew Altman examines the threat posed by health misinformation and opportunities to combat it by relying on the messengers the public trusts most for health information, which includes doctors and local television news sources. from KFF https://ift.tt/Rtb5Q6m

This issue brief analyzes how the new CDC Public Health Infrastructure Grant (PHIG) workforce funding has been distributed across health departments in the U.S., and also jurisdictional plans for public health workforce hiring using funds from PHIG. from KFF https://ift.tt/Dz5Uh7T

This post explores the prevalence of employer-sponsored health plans that use Center of Excellence (COE) programs as a way to provide enrollees with specialized care for behavioral health services. One in 10 large employers (with at least 1,000 workers) offer such programs now. from KFF https://ift.tt/P7iHtGW

In a reflection of how pervasive racism and discrimination can be in daily life, a major new KFF survey shows that many Hispanic, Black, Asian, and American Indian and Alaska Native adults in the U.S. believe they must modify both their mindset and the way they look to stave off potential mistreatment during health care … More from KFF https://ift.tt/7oAqjIW

KFF's survey on Racism, Discrimination and Health examines the experiences and impacts of racism and discrimination in daily life and in health care settings with a focus on Black, Asian, and American Indian and Alaska Native adults in the U.S. from KFF https://ift.tt/bZpJcXl

This brief describes current law related to coverage and payment for dental services under Medicare and the rationale for changes to current policy, explains changes to dental payment and coverage included in the 2023 and 2024 final rules, and discusses the impact on Medicare and beneficiaries. These rules modestly expand the types of dental services that are covered under Medicare, but do not represent a broad expansion of Medicare coverage of dental services and will not substantially increase Medicare spending or covered dental services for a large number of Medicare beneficiaries. from KFF https://ift.tt/mdWFBj2

This page displays an interactive map of the current status of state decisions on the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion. Additional Medicaid expansion resources are listed (with links) below the map. from KFF https://ift.tt/Zcr8VSd

The future of the Affordable Care Act, once a key issue for Republican voters, is now of higher importance to Democratic voters. This KFF Health Tracking Poll also explores other important issues for candidates to discuss according to voters, Medicaid unwinding, Medicare drug-price provisions, and abortion as a voting issue. from KFF https://ift.tt/BRfzXZ0