This interactive map shows the status of all Section 1332 waivers requested by states. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) allows states to apply for innovation waivers to alter key ACA requirements in the individual and small group insurance markets and can…
Insurers in 2017 had their best financial year selling individual market health insurance since the Affordable Care Act began requiring guaranteed access to coverage for people with pre-existing conditions in 2014, though recent political and policy changes create new challenges for insurers trying to succeed in this market, new Kaiser Family Foundation analysis finds. This…More
In an Axios column, Drew Altman analyzes the narrowing gap between growth in health spending and GDP and discusses why it matters. The big question, he says, is will the narrowing have staying power?
The latest KFF Health Tracking Poll finds health care ranking among the top issues voters want to hear candidates talk about during their congressional campaigns, with health care cost ranking as the top health care issue for voters across partisanship. However, for many voters, including one-third of Republican voters, a candidate’ position on President Trump will make the biggest difference in how they vote in 2018. This month’s poll also takes an in-depth look at voters who say a candidate’s position on health care will be the “most important factor” in their 2018 congressional vote choice, otherwise known as “health care voters.”
Who are the “Health Care Voters”? Mostly Women, and Mostly Planning to Vote Democratic As primary season for the 2018 midterm elections heats up, the latest Kaiser Family Foundation poll suggests the elections are shaping up more as a referendum on President Trump than on health care or any other issue. When asked what will…More
Two new chart collections examine trends in healthcare prices and utilization and compare health spending in the United States with that of other wealthy countries.
This chart collection explores price increases in private insurance for common services over time and finds significant geographic variation in prices. For example, the average price of a full knee replacement for those in large employer plans increase…
This chart collection illustrates that higher prices – more so than utilization – explain the United States’ high health spending relative to other high-income countries. The U.S. has higher prices for most healthcare services and prescription drugs, according to available internationally comparable data. Meanwhile, utilization of several services, including physician consultations and hospital stays, is lower than in many comparable countries. Use of some services, such as C-sections and knee replacements, is higher in the U.S. than in similar countries.
An archived webcast of this forum is now available at www.healthsystemtracker.org . Nearly a fifth of the United States’ economy goes to healthcare spending – a far larger share than in any other large, wealthy country in the world. Research suggests that price, rather than the volume of services, is the main driver of this…More
In response to higher drug spending growth and heightened attention to drug prices, some policymakers have proposed allowing Medicare to negotiate the price of prescription drugs. This issue brief provides a short history of this proposal, describes va…
