worlds Insurance blog

A new KFF resource tracks dozens of state laws and policies that restrict access to gender-affirming care among young people. Gender-affirming care supports and affirms gender identity through social, psychological, behavioral, or medical interventions.   As state laws and policies restricting youth access to gender-affirming care proliferate, KFF’s new tracker assesses this landscape, describing the content … More from KFF https://ift.tt/CY3NOwy

Policy Tracker: Youth Access to Gender Affirming Care and State Policy Restrictions As state laws and policies restricting youth access to gender-affirming care proliferate, KFF’s new tracker assesses this landscape, describing the content of laws and policy, identifying groups of people (in addition to young people) who are impacted (e.g., providers, parents, and educators), the … More from KFF https://ift.tt/zGwoTyR

Ten months into the unwinding of the Medicaid continuous enrollment provision, KFF tracking shows that states have reported outcomes for roughly half of the people expected to undergo renewals during the unwinding period. This policy watch examines the latest data and key issues to watch during the next phase of the unwinding. from KFF https://ift.tt/m03Bsxt

Ahead of the 2024 general election, a new KFF brief examines abortion ballot initiatives in progress in 13 states. These 13 states could follow six other states that have voted on constitutional amendments to protect or restrict abortion since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022. In those six states, the … More from KFF https://ift.tt/EIvGrHU

This issue brief explains why constitutional amendment ballot measures have become so popular with advocates on both sides of the abortion issue, reviews the current initiatives that are in progress and may appear in on state ballots the next general election, and outlines the processes states have available to them to use to place initiatives on the ballot. from KFF https://ift.tt/7eRomS1

While issues of health care costs and affordability may not be at the forefront of this year’s election issues, they remain a major concern among the public. About a quarter of Americans say they or a family member struggled to pay their medical bills just in the past year, and in recent KFF polling, voters … More from KFF https://ift.tt/fx4dFak

Social determinants of health (SDOH) are the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age. While there are limits, states can use Medicaid – which, by design, serves a primarily low-income population with greater social needs – to address social determinants of health. This brief outlines the range of Medicaid authorities and flexibilities that can be used to add benefits and design programs to address the social determinants of health. from KFF https://ift.tt/r4EMHgT

In this column, KFF President and CEO Drew Altman explains the organization's role in providing independent, authoritative policy analysis, polling and journalism and provides an overview of the standards and practices in place to maintain credibility in an era of declining trust and rampant misinformation. from KFF https://ift.tt/Pv7ukgQ

This chart collection compares health care spending in the U.S. and other industrialized countries, including data on health spending per person and the growth rate in recent years and over time. from KFF https://ift.tt/931Bctz

Stay connected with KFF's latest research, polling and journalism. from KFF https://ift.tt/A4b18Rw

While issues of health care costs and affordability may not be at the forefront of this year’s election issues, they remain a major concern among the public. About a quarter of Americans say they or a family member struggled to pay their medical bills just in the past year, and in recent KFF polling, voters … More from KFF https://ift.tt/LV0XAmJ

State legislatures are currently gathering to develop new budgets for state fiscal year (FY) 2025. Heading into this budget cycle, state fiscal conditions are shifting, with state revenues starting to decline following steep revenue growth during the pandemic. This issue brief examines trends in state fiscal conditions and discusses how state budgets and macroeconomic conditions may affect individuals and state Medicaid programs. from KFF https://ift.tt/c53KNFC

Hispanic immigrants comprise the largest group of immigrants in the United States, and one in three Hispanic or Latino adults in the U.S. are immigrants. Most report a higher quality of life in the U.S. than in their countries of birth and believe their children’s lives will be better than their own. A large majority … More from KFF https://ift.tt/heXT6Qr

Hispanic immigrants represent the largest share of the immigrant population within the U.S.. They face unique challenges that vary across immigration status, educational attainment, and other socioeconomic factors, however, many remain optimistic about their quality of life in the U.S.. from KFF https://ift.tt/TiORKrc

In this column, KFF's President and CEO Drew Altman explores the nation's twin health cost crises of affordability, especially for people who are sick and need a lot of health care, and national health spending, and why the solutions often work at cross purposes. from KFF https://ift.tt/O908Tnw

This brief discusses state uptake of special waivers aimed to mitigate procedural disenrollments during the unwinding of the continuous enrollment provision. from KFF https://ift.tt/vzohKgT

Children’s Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) enrollment declined by 5.5%, or 2.3 million children, from March 2023, before the unwinding began, to September 2023, according to KFF’s latest analysis. Across all 50 states and DC, at least 14,377,000 people were disenrolled from Medicaid between April 1 and January 9, 2024. Medicaid eligibility levels … More from KFF https://ift.tt/IMtHzYr

This policy watch examines recent trends in children’s poverty rates and the impact of expiring federal aid, explores recent changes in Medicaid coverage for children, and discusses what to watch as families contend with these compounding changes. from KFF https://ift.tt/WYzZJIt

This policy watch explains the Medicaid prescription drug rebate cap, examines how many drugs might be impacted, and explores the implications of recent manufacturer responses for Medicaid programs and enrollees. from KFF https://ift.tt/riqdQp3

This slideshow examines how cost and insurance affects people's access to care, including decisions to forgo or delay needed care and access to a usual source of care. from KFF https://ift.tt/onJYB6i

Florida’s plan to import certain prescription drugs from Canada represents the first time the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted authority for a state to safely import prescription drugs from another country. This policy watch analysis unpacks some frequently asked questions related to state of Florida’s importation plan, including potential obstacles to implementation, who will benefit from any savings, and what types of drugs will (and will not) qualify for importation. from KFF https://ift.tt/bxzykhR

This brief examines trends in health coverage by race/ethnicity between 2010 through 2022, shows how eligibility for coverage among the remaining uninsured varies by race/ethnicity, and highlights issues in addressing coverage disparities looking ahead. from KFF https://ift.tt/pc5mh1t

Open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplaces is about to wrap up with another record high number of people signing up for coverage. Factors that contribute to this increase include unwinding of the Medicaid continuous enrollment, increased subsidies from the American Rescue Plan and Inflation Reduction Act, and increased marketing, outreach, and enrollment assistance. from Marketplaces Archives | KFF https://ift.tt/hymU9aw

From early April to the end of September 2023, enrollment in the individual market grew by 5.7%. Enrollment in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplaces will hit another record high in 2024, with sign-ups to date topping 20 million—already 4 million above last year’s record high. The Medicaid unwinding, enhanced Marketplace subsidies that make coverage … More from KFF https://ift.tt/L9Iq31t

Open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplaces is about to wrap up with another record high number of people signing up for coverage. Factors that contribute to this increase include unwinding of the Medicaid continuous enrollment, increased subsidies from the American Rescue Plan and Inflation Reduction Act, and increased marketing, outreach, and enrollment assistance. from KFF https://ift.tt/hymU9aw

At the beginning of 2024, nine months into states’ efforts to unwind the Medicaid continuous enrollment provision and reverify enrollees’ eligibility, states have completed renewals for less than half of all enrollees. To gain a better understanding of what challenges states are facing and the effects of different unwinding strategies, KFF interviewed state Medicaid officials … More from Marketplaces Archives | KFF https://ift.tt/TQwvyWf

Data are important to help monitor how unwinding is going across states, but trackers and dashboards only tell part of the unwinding story. This brief examines the perspectives of state officials and others involved in the unwinding process. The brief provides information on outreach and engagement, renewal processes and coverage transitions, providing lessons for the ongoing unwinding process, as well as for how to conduct more effective Medicaid renewals generally in the future. from KFF https://ift.tt/GZoyfQW

This data note examines recent trends in “days cash on hand” to understand how well nonprofit hospitals and health systems may be able to weather financial challenges, such as low operating margins. from KFF https://ift.tt/X7D2Ozv

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post. from KFF https://ift.tt/bjMtLxH

This slideshow explores the variation in health spending across the population through an analysis of the 2019 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) data. It finds that 5% of the population with the highest health expenditures accounted for nearly half of total health spending in the United States. It also examines spending variation by age, gender, race, insurance status and presence of certain health conditions. from KFF https://ift.tt/foCbaPs

This data note examines the characteristics of nursing facilities and the people living in them with data from Nursing Home Compare, a publicly available dataset that provides a snapshot of information on quality of care in each nursing facility, and CASPER (Certification and Survey Provider Enhanced Reports), a dataset that includes detailed metrics collected by surveyors during nursing facility inspections. from KFF https://ift.tt/fKI9Jw1

As the 25th anniversary of Olmstead nears, more than one-in-10 working age adults have a disability and most do not receive public disability income.  Over one-in-10 working-age adults reported having a disability in 2022. A disability is defined as having difficulty with hearing, vision, cognition, ambulation, self-care, or independent living, according to KFF’s examination of … More from KFF https://ift.tt/zfU9Zrc

Asian immigrants represent an important significant and growing share of the U.S. population, as well as a diverse body of experiences. Increased data on Asian immigrant experiences is important for understanding their diversity of experiences and focusing initiatives, policies, and resources to address the challenges they face. from KFF https://ift.tt/3GtQN90

In his latest column, President and CEO Drew Altman discusses a recent Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimate that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI)'s payment and delivery demonstrations have cost Medicare money, and what it means for the future of value-based payment. from KFF https://ift.tt/DoWZnG8

In September 2023, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a new opportunity for states to leverage federal funding on health care: the Advancing All-Payer Health Equity Approaches and Development (AHEAD) model. With this model, CMS – under the auspices of the CMS Innovation Center, also known as CMMI -- aims to reduce the rate of growth in health care spending, improve people's health, and reduce disparities in health outcomes. This issue brief answers some key questions about the new model and explores considerations for potential state and private participants. from KFF https://ift.tt/Xt1EvGP