Amid a Mental Health Crisis in the U.S., A New KFF Report Examines the Steps that State Medicaid Programs Are Taking to Help Shore Up the Availability of Crisis Services May 25, 2023 News Release As the U.S. tries to address rising rates of mental health issues, the impact of the new 988 national crisis hotline and other innovations will be limited if states don’t have the underlying crisis services available when people are directed to them. The core crisis services include crisis hotlines that…
About 1 in 20 People with Private Insurance Received Services that Could be Affected by a District Court Ruling Limiting the ACA’s Preventive Services Mandate May 25, 2023 News Release A new KFF analysis finds about 1 in 20 privately insured people (5.7%) received at least one ACA preventive service or drug that could be affected by a now-stayed U.S. District Court ruling in Braidwood Management v. Becerra, which found the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) preventive services mandate partially unconstitutional.…
The Title X Network Has Largely Returned Under the Biden Administration May 25, 2023 News Release A new KFF brief examines the return of grantees and clinic sites to the Title X network under the Biden Administration, which reversed Trump Administration regulations that prohibited Title X sites from providing abortion referrals and having co-located abortion services. For more than 50 years, the federal Title X program…
Survey Finds Many Medicaid Enrollees Unprepared for Eligibility Renewal Process, and Some Believe They Could Struggle to Find Coverage or End Up Uninsured if They Lose Medicaid May 24, 2023 News Release A KFF survey of Medicaid enrollees largely fielded prior to states resuming their efforts to redetermine Medicaid enrollees’ eligibility reveals many enrollees are unprepared for the renewal process that could result in some losing their coverage either due to eligibility changes or paperwork issues. During the COVID-19 pandemic, states suspended…
Recent Widening of Racial Disparities in U.S. Life Expectancy Was Largely Driven by COVID-19 Mortality May 23, 2023 News Release During the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. population experienced the most significant two-year decline in life expectancy in roughly a century, according to new research by KFF, with data showing that COVID-19 deaths disproportionately impacted people of color and exacerbating longstanding racial disparities in life expectancy. While overall U.S. life expectancy declined…
What Are the Exceptions to State Abortion Bans? May 18, 2023 News Release A new KFF analysis reviews exceptions to abortion bans and describes how the stated aim to provide life-saving and health-preserving abortion care may not be achieved in practice. Abortion is currently banned in 14 states and many other states have attempted to ban or severely restrict abortion access. Exceptions to…
What is the Potential Impact of New Drugs for Obesity and Alzheimer’s Disease on Medicare Costs, Coverage and Beneficiaries? May 18, 2023 News Release Two new KFF analyses examine the potential impact of Medicare coverage of new prescription drugs for obesity and Alzheimer’s disease on program spending and beneficiary out-of-pocket costs, as well as the role that the Inflation Reduction Act could play in mitigating these effects. Manufacturers of both types of drugs are…
Private Insurers Expect to Pay $1.1 Billion in Rebates This Year for Setting Premiums Too High Relative to Medical Costs May 17, 2023 News Release Private insurance companies are expecting to pay out about $1.1 billion in rebates this fall under an Affordable Care Act (ACA) provision that requires insurers to spend the bulk of customers’ premium payments on care, a new KFF analysis finds. Rebates are based on insurers’ experiences over the previous three…
After the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Ends on May 11, Some Consumers Could Face High Prices for COVID-19 Testing May 8, 2023 News Release After the public health emergency ends on May 11, private health plans will no longer be required to cover the full cost of COVID-19 tests ordered or administered by a clinician or to reimburse consumers for at-home rapid tests. To estimate what consumers might have to pay for tests, KFF’s…
Proposed Work Requirements Could End Federal Medicaid Coverage for 1.7 Million People May 5, 2023 News Release A new KFF analysis finds that an estimated 1.7 million Medicaid enrollees could become ineligible for federal Medicaid under proposed work requirements and presents state-by-state projections, based on estimates of coverage loss from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). States could continue to provide Medicaid to those enrollees but would not…