We review several policy options to constrain health care spending, primarily by putting downward pressure on provider prices, including price regulation, global budgets, and spending growth targets.
Category: Kaiser Family Foundation
The Uncertain Future of Policies to Promote Access and Affordability Put in Place During the COVID-19 Pandemic
In this column for the JAMA Health Forum, Larry Levitt highlights four changes implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic that helped to make health care more accessible and affordable and the prospects for those changes to telehealth, COVID-19 coverage,…
For ACA Enrollees, How Much Premiums Rise Next Year is Mostly up to Congress
Most customers with coverage through Affordable Care Act’s marketplaces will face big premium increases next year if Congress doesn’t extend the temporary enhanced tax credits included in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021. If the outcome isn’…
May 23 Web Event: Executive Actions to Address Prescription Drug Affordability in the U.S.
U.S. prescription drug spending per person is about double what it is in peer countries and about 8 in 10 U.S. adults say the cost of prescription drugs is unreasonable. With the public ranking lowering out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs the to…
New Interactive Provides Essential Facts and Trends Related to Medicare Spending
A new KFF interactive provides essential facts and trends about spending on Medicare, the federal health insurance program that covers 65 million seniors and people with disabilities, or nearly 1 in 5 Americans. In 2020, Medicare spending accounted for…
Strategies To Lower Drug Costs Top the Public’s Health Priorities for Congress
Against the backdrop of public concern about inflation and rising gas prices, proposals to lower what people pay out-of-pocket for drugs tops the public’s list of health care priorities for Congress, a new KFF Health Tracking Poll finds. Most (55%) of …
KFF Health Tracking Poll – March 2022: Economic Concerns and Health Policy, The ACA, and Views of Long-term Care Facilities
This poll finds the public’s health care priorities for Congress focus on reducing out-of-pocket costs, and concerns over inflation and the economy are top of mind as voters begin to think about the November midterm elections. The poll also examines vi…
Out-of-pocket spending on insulin among people with private insurance
This analysis of insurance claims data finds that Congressional proposals to set a $35 per month cap on what people pay out of pocket for insulin would provide financial relief to at least 1 out of 5 insulin users with different types of private health…
Many Privately Insured People with Diabetes Could Save Money if Congress Caps Insulin Costs
Several legislative proposals in Congress propose a $35 per month cap on what people with health insurance would have to pay out of pocket for insulin, a life-saving hormone taken regularly by many people with diabetes to maintain their health. Such a …
No Surprises Act Quiz
A new federal law provides new consumer protections against “surprise” medical bills beginning this year. Test your knowledge about its provisions with this 12-question quiz.
