This brief answer key questions on affordability of COVID-19 testing and treatment for people who are uninsured and those insured through private coverage, Medicare, and Medicaid.
Category Archive: health costs
How Have Health Care Utilization and Spending Changed So Far During the Coronavirus Pandemic?
A new chart collection summarizes what is known so far about how health costs and utilization have changed during the pandemic. This builds on a previous analysis exploring the potential cost of treating coronavirus hospitalizations, and a brief explai…
Hospitals with More Private Insurance Revenue, Larger Operating Margins and Less Uncompensated Care Received More Federal Coronavirus Relief Funding Than Others
Hospitals that in normal times derive most of their revenue from patients with private insurance received more than twice as much federal coronavirus relief funding per bed than the hospitals that get the smallest share of private insurance money, find…
Distribution of CARES Act Funding Among Hospitals
This brief analyzes the distribution of $50 billion in CARES Act funding for providers and shows that the distribution formula selected by the Department of Health and Human Services favored hospitals with a relatively high share of revenue from privat…
COVID-19 Poses a Particular Threat to Low-Wage Workers’ Physical and Financial Health
The nation’s low-wage workers face a particular kind of bind. They tend to work in service industries — such as the restaurant, hospitality and retail sectors – that are especially at risk for loss of income during the COVID-19 pandemic, or in jo…
Double Jeopardy: Low Wage Workers at Risk for Health and Financial Implications of COVID-19
This brief analyzes data on low-wage workers in the context of COVID-19 and discusses the implications of the pandemic for their jobs, health, and financial security.
Interactive Maps Highlight Urban-Rural Differences in Hospital Bed Capacity
As the U.S. coronavirus outbreak spreads beyond densely populated metropolitan areas, a new KFF analysis finds that rural areas typically have fewer intensive care hospital resources than their urban counterparts, and populations at greater risk of dev…
Urban and Rural Differences in Coronavirus Pandemic Preparedness
The coronavirus outbreak has hit densely populated urban areas of the United States first and hardest. Some health systems have experienced surges of patients, raising concerns that there are not enough hospital beds, staffing, and equipment. The novel…
How Much More Than Medicare Do Private Insurers Pay? A Review of the Literature
This brief reviews findings from recent studies that compare Medicare and private health insurance payment rates for both hospital and physician services.
How Health Costs Might Change with COVID-19
As the coronavirus spreads rapidly across the United States, private health insurers and government health programs could potentially be burdened with higher health care costs. However, the extent to which costs grow, and how the burden is distributed …
