The No Surprises Act Begins January 2022: This is What You Can Expect December 10, 2021 News Release The “No Surprises Act,” which establishes new federal protections against most surprise out-of-network medical bills when a patient receives out-of-network services during an emergency visit or from a provider at an in-network hospital without advance notice, will take effect next month. A new KFF brief outlines what to expect in…
How the Use of Race in Clinical Care Can Contribute to Health Care Disparities December 9, 2021 News Release A new KFF brief examines the use of racial classification in medical care and teaching and identifies how these practices can contribute to ongoing racial disparities in health and health care. There are growing efforts within the medical community to examine and revise the use of race in medical care…
Half of Parents of Adolescents 12-17 Say Their Child Has Gotten a COVID-19 Vaccine, though Uptake Has Slowed; 16% of Parents of 5-11 Year-olds Say Their Child Has Gotten a Vaccine December 9, 2021 News Release COVID-19 vaccine uptake among adolescents ages 12-17 has slowed after an initial wave of enthusiasm over the summer, with half (49%) of parents saying their adolescent has received at least one dose, a new KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor report reveals. The share is little changed since earlier in the fall.…
Following an Early Period of High Demand, Vaccination for Children Ages 5-11 Has Significantly Slowed December 8, 2021 News Release As of December 5, 16.7% of 5-11 year-olds had received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose with 4.3% of children reaching full vaccination, according to a new KFF analysis. After a short period of high demand, the rate of new vaccinations slowed significantly leading into the Thanksgiving holiday and has…
KHN and Guardian US Win National Press Club Award for “Lost on the Frontline” December 8, 2021 News Release KFF’s Kaiser Health News (KHN) and Guardian US have won the National Press Club’s top award for online journalism for their “Lost on the Frontline” investigation. The year-long project documented the lives of more than 3,600 health care workers in the U.S. who died after contracting covid-19 on the job.…
KFF’s Kaiser Health News Wins NABJ Award for Excellence in Radio Journalism for a Story About Teaching Children to Cope with the Constant Threat of Gun Violence in Their Communities December 8, 2021 News Release The National Association of Black Journalists has recognized KFF’s Kaiser Health News and two of its editorial partners with a 2021 “Salute to Excellence” award for a radio story about how children are taught to cope and survive in communities beset by gun violence. The story, Teaching Kids To Hide…
County-Level Analysis Finds ACA Premiums are Falling in Many Areas of the Country, Though Changes Vary by County and Type of Plan December 7, 2021 News Release Premiums for the Affordable Care Act Marketplace benchmark silver plan are decreasing 3.1 percent on average across the country – the fourth year in a row that benchmark premiums have fallen – though the changes vary by county, a new KFF county-by-county analysis finds. The benchmark plan premiums are important…
Nearly a Quarter of Vaccinated Adults Received a COVID-19 Booster Shot, Up Sharply from October; Most Other Vaccinated Adults Expect to Get a Booster, Though About 1 in 5 Say They Likely Won’t December 2, 2021 News Release Public is Less Optimistic and More Frustrated with State of Vaccinations Now Than in January Nearly a quarter (23%) of fully vaccinated adults have already received a COVID-19 booster shot, more than double the share who had done so in October (10%), the latest KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor report reveals.…
Summary of Costs and Impact of the Prescription Drug Provisions in the Build Back Better Act November 23, 2021 News Release As the House-passed Build Back Better Act moves to the Senate, a new explainer from KFF summarizes the key prescription drug provisions within the broader budget reconciliation bill. These provisions would lower prescription drug costs paid by people with Medicare and private insurance and curb drug spending by the federal…
Analysis Examines How States Can Use Medicaid Programs to Facilitate Access to Vaccines for Low-Income Children November 19, 2021 News Release As states expand COVID-19 vaccination efforts to reach newly eligible children ages 5 to 11, a new KFF analysis highlights several tools state Medicaid programs have at their disposal to increase access to, and take up of, vaccines among lower-income children. Among the key findings: States can request Medicaid administrative…