KFF

In his latest column, KFF President and CEO Drew Altman discusses the difficulties of navigating the misinformation minefield, including the ways in which the news media can amplify misinformation or confront it by addressing deficits in public knowledge.

Read the full column: https://bit.ly/3y1QZR3

Our latest Health Misinformation Monitor focuses on intentionally false or misleading information online and its potential impact on public trust in health care.

Read on to learn about the U.S. Military’s covert anti-vaccine disinformation campaign in the Philippines, false claims about sunscreen on TikTok that discourage people from using it, the rise of counterfeit diabetes and weight-loss drugs like Ozempic, and more.

KFF Health Misinformation Monitor Volume 3 | KFF This edition focuses on intentionally false or misleading information online and its potential impact on public trust in health care. We share a recent report that exposed a covert U.S. military social media disinformation campaign in the Philippines that may have undermined public confidence in vac...

Stay informed about emerging issues in health misinformation and trust with KFF’s new Health Misinformation Monitor.

Twice a month, we’ll send reports tracking the evolution and spread of health misinformation in the U.S. Our goal is to help counter it and build trust in sources of reliable health information.

Subscribe now to receive the monitor in your inbox! https://bit.ly/45k0JT7

In his latest column, KFF President and CEO Drew Altman reviews an evaluation of a “guaranteed income” randomized trial in Cambridge, MA, and writes about the potential of such strategies to reduce poverty and its effects.

When it comes to influencing the social determinants of health, he argues, “income strategies” deployed outside of health care, such as “guaranteed income,” deserve as much attention from health care people as “service strategies.”

Read the full column: https://bit.ly/3KJdRHC

Introducing Health Policy 101: A KFF resource for faculty, students, and anyone else interested in learning more about U.S. health policy.

Health Policy 101 | KFF Health Policy 101 is a comprehensive guide covering fundamental aspects of U.S. health policy and programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, employer-sponsored insurance, the uninsured population, health care costs and affordability, women's health issues, and health care polit...

During last week’s , KFF’s Larry Levitt moderated a discussion on the current state of primary care.

“Almost every healthcare issue I’ve worked on starts and ends with payment,” he said. “It is the story of healthcare, and it is what drives the incentives in the system, and we get the outcome we pay for.”

🎧 Watch the recap or listen to it as a podcast: https://bit.ly/3vHqmQg

It's been 14 years since the Affordable Care Act or “Obamacare” became law. Since then, public views about the ACA have become more favorable, growing from 46% of U.S. adults holding a favorable opinion in April of 2010 to 59% in February of 2024.

Views of the ACA are still largely driven by partisanship; nearly nine in ten Democrats (87%) along with over half of independents (55%) view the law favorably, while about two thirds of Republicans (67%) hold unfavorable views.

More on public opinions about the ACA in five charts: https://bit.ly/3PnwZhp

If you’re privately insured and receive a surprise bill but think you shouldn’t have, here’s what to do:

1. Call your health plan about the bill.

2. Determine if the surprise bill is subject to the No Surprises Act or contact your state’s consumer assistance program or the national No Surprises Help Desk to see if the bill is valid.

3. If the bill is incorrect, appeal it through your health plan’s internal claims and appeals procedure or, if needed, an independent external appeal. (Note: A provider can still bill you the full charge while an appeal is underway.)

4. If you win the appeal, the health plan will need to reprocess the claim and refund any excess payments.

To learn more about surprise billing protections and related resources, check out KFF’s new explainer: https://bit.ly/3TqVfA7

Fewer than 1 in 5 medical email messaging claims required enrollee out-of-pocket cost sharing. For those with some cost sharing, the median enrollee out-of-pocket payment amount was $25, with half of the claims cost sharing falling between $14 and $40:

Charges for emails with doctors and other healthcare providers - Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker The widespread adoption of electronic health records has improved the ability for patients and providers to send secure electronic messages (emails) to each other through online portals. The typical cost for an email messaging claim was $39 in 2021, including both the portion paid by insurance and t...

About 1 in 5 adolescents report symptoms of anxiety or depression, according to a KFF analysis of a new federal survey of teen health.

This , read more from the survey, which represents direct responses from teens themselves:

Recent Trends in Mental Health and Substance Use Concerns Among Adolescents | KFF About 1 in 5 adolescents report symptoms of anxiety or depression, according to a KFF analysis of a new federal survey of teen health. The data comes at a time of heightened concern about adolescent mental health and substance use, particularly in light of gun violence and rising drug overdose death...

What are your other questions about women’s health in the U.S.?

Use our interactive dashboard to explore the latest state-specific data and policies that affect women: https://bit.ly/49KoAwc

Our updated interactive dashboard shares state-specific data and policies that affect women’s health in the U.S.

Find out the status of women’s health in your state:

State Profiles for Women's Health | KFF The KFF State Profiles for Women’s Health database offers the latest national and state data and policies on a broad range of state-level statistics and policies of importance to women including health status, insurance and Medicaid coverage, use of preventive services, contraceptive coverage, s*x...

In his latest column, KFF’s Drew Altman explores the “universal” concern voters have about out-of-pocket health care costs.

Why Affordability Is the Big Tent | KFF In this column, KFF President and CEO Drew Altman explores why the public's concerns about out-of-pocket health costs make health care affordability the health policy issue most likely to resonate with voters across the political spectrum.

More nursing facility residents and staff received the fall 2022 COVID-19 vaccine than the fall 2023 vaccine.

Our latest analysis looks at the data:

Few Nursing Facility Residents and Staff Have Received the Latest COVID-19 Vaccine | KFF KFF analysis found that over one-fifth of all U.S. COVID-19 deaths occurred in long-term care facilities despite but as of January 14th, 2024, only 38% of residents and 15% of staff were “up-to-date” with their COVID-19 vaccines, which the CDC defines as having received the updated Fall 2023 vac...

KFF research shows Black and Hispanic Medicare beneficiaries tend to have lower incomes, savings, and home equity than White beneficiaries.

Notably, the disparities in savings by race and ethnicity are substantial. More than one in five Black and Hispanic beneficiaries (22% and 21%) had no savings or were in debt, compared to 7% of White beneficiaries. https://bit.ly/3Ow7aew

Our survey shows that 60% of Black adults say they prepare for possible insults from health care providers and staff or feel they must be very careful about their appearance to be treated fairly during health care visits at least some of the time. https://bit.ly/3uO9Ddd

About 1 in 5 adolescents report symptoms of anxiety or depression, according to a KFF analysis of a new federal survey of teen health.

Our analysis also shows that many teenagers, about 20%, say they’re not receiving the therapy they need due to costs, fear of what others will think, and/or not knowing how to get help.

Read more from the survey, which represents direct responses from adolescents themselves: https://bit.ly/485bCYz

KFF’s new analysis shows that most Medicare beneficiaries live on relatively low incomes and have modest financial resources — posing a risk to their economic well-being, particularly if they were to have a major, unanticipated expense, such as a need for long-term nursing home care.

Get the full picture:

Income and Assets of Medicare Beneficiaries in 2023 | KFF This brief examines the income, assets, and home equity of Medicare beneficiaries, overall and by age, race and ethnicity, and gender, using data derived from the Dynamic Simulation of Income Model (DYNASIM) for 2023. The analysis highlights that most Medicare beneficiaries live on relatively low in...

Our latest analysis looks at state actions to limit youth access to gender-affirming care, particularly as state laws and policies restricting such care continue to increase.

Learn more about how we got here:

The Proliferation of State Actions Limiting Youth Access to Gender Affirming Care | KFF Over the past 18 months, there has been a rapid increase in the number of states that have enacted laws and other policies that prohibit or restrict minor access to gender affirming care. This policy watch summarizes state policy developments aimed at restricting minor access to gender affirming car...

The past few years have seen a rapid increase in the number of states enacting laws and other policies that restrict minors’ access to gender-affirming care.

And, in the last 18 months, there’s been a more than five-fold increase in the number of states restricting youth access to gender-affirming care. Just this week, Ohio lawmakers limited such care for trans minors.

Our new resource assesses this landscape and tracks dozens of state laws and policies that restrict access to gender-affirming care for young people.

Explore the tracker:

Policy Tracker: Youth Access to Gender Affirming Care and State Policy Restrictions | KFF This tracker provides an overview of state laws/policies restricting minor access to gender affirming care and any associated litigation by state, identifying which groups of people are impacted in addition to minors, the types of penalties providers face, the status of legal challenges, and other k...

Since the SCOTUS Dobbs decision in 2022, six states — California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Vermont, and Ohio — have voted on abortion-related constitutional amendments. The side favoring access to abortion prevailed in every state.

This election year, look out for 13 states with ballot initiatives in progress—Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and South Dakota.

To parse these initiatives and understand how constitutional amendments can be used as a powerful tool to shape abortion policy in a state, check out our 101 about 2024 abortion-related state ballot initiatives.

Addressing Abortion Access through State Ballot Initiatives | KFF 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....

As we reflect on Dr. King’s legacy, what racial and ethnic health disparities persist today?

We summarize 5 key questions and answers: https://bit.ly/3wDdLbE

As Dr. King wrote in his book Strength to Love, “We are not makers of history. We are made by history.”

This , learn how history has shaped the racial and ethnic health disparities we see today with our new interactive timeline: https://bit.ly/3TX6PFd

KFF’s new interactive timeline explores how history has shaped racial and ethnic health disparities and the lasting effects that persist to this day.

Dive into the 80 entries:

How History Has Shaped Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities: A Timeline of Policies and Events | KFF This timeline offers a historical view of significant U.S. federal policies and events spanning the early 1800s to today that have influenced present-day health disparities. It covers policies that directly impacted health coverage and access to care, relevant events in medicine, social and economic...

Our new report explores the varied experiences of Asian immigrants in the U.S., including their reasons for coming, employment and financial situations, experiences with discrimination and health care, and understanding of immigration policies.

Understanding the Diversity in the Asian Immigrant Experience in the U.S. 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 focus...

Our survey of immigrants shows Asian immigrants overwhelmingly say they emigrated for the opportunity to build a better life for themselves and their kids. Their experiences vary greatly once in the U.S., though. Explore more with our latest report:

Understanding the Diversity in the Asian Immigrant Experience in the U.S.: The 2023 KFF/LA Times Survey of Immigrants 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 focus...

KFF estimates net spending on Medicaid prescription drugs increased by 47% from 2017 to 2022, while the number of prescriptions declined and remained below 2017 levels – even with historic enrollment growth:

Recent Trends in Medicaid Outpatient Prescription Drug Utilization and Spending | KFF 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...