Category: Private Insurance

Health Spending for 60-64 Year Olds Would Be Lower Under Medicare Than Under Large Employer Plans

During the presidential campaign, President Biden proposed to lower the age of Medicare eligibility from 65 to 60. This analysis uses claims data for covered medical services from both large employer plans and traditional Medicare to illustrate the pot…

How Lowering the Medicare Eligibility Age Might Affect Employer-Sponsored Insurance Costs

This analysis for the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker illustrates the potential for employer savings if the age of Medicare eligibility were lowered to 60, as proposed by President Biden during the 2020 campaign.

Surprise Medical Bills: New Protections for Consumers Take Effect in 2022

This summarizes key provisions of the No Surprises Act, enacted in December 2020 to address the problem of unexpected medical bills, and issues that could arise during implementation ahead of its Jan. 1, 2022 effective date.

Surprise Medical Bills: New Protections for Consumers Take Effect in 2022

This summarizes key provisions of the No Surprises Act, enacted in December 2020 to address the problem of unexpected medical bills, and issues that could arise during implementation ahead of its Jan. 1, 2022 effective date.

The Language of Health Care Reform

Published in the Jan. 19 edition of JAMA, this article from KFF Executive Vice President for Health Policy Larry Levitt lays out the major health policy challenges that will confront President-elect Biden and potential approaches to major reform. While…

Get Ready for a Lot of Biden Executive Orders on Health Care

In this column for the JAMA Health Forum, Larry Levitt explores what President-elect Biden might do to advance his health care vision both through legislation and through executive orders and waivers and demonstrations.

Health Insurer Financial Performance Through September 2020

In this brief, we analyze third quarter data from 2018 to 2020 to examine how insurance markets performed financially through the end of September. Average margins remained relatively high compared to the same point in recent years, suggesting many ins…

Think Your Health Care Is Covered? Beware of the ‘Junk’ Insurance Plan

Millions of people are looking for coverage on the federal and state marketplaces right now. Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference between a comprehensive plan and a “junk” plan with limited benefits and coverage restrictions.

Did Trump Confuse the Public Option With ‘Medicare for All’?

President Donald Trump was off the mark when he said Vice President Joe Biden’s health plan — which includes a public options — will terminate the private insurance of 180 million people.

In Tamer Debate, Trump and Biden Clash (Again) on President’s Pandemic Response

Trump claims the U.S. is “rounding the corner” on COVID, while Biden predicts a “dark winter.” On another front, Trump warns Biden’s health care plan will lead to socialized medicine; Biden promises private insurance isn’t going anywhere.