Forward or Backward on the Uninsured? April 25, 2024 From Drew Altman In this column, KFF President and CEO Drew Altman looks back at the remarkable progress made in expanding coverage for the uninsured and what it could mean politically for today’s remaining uninsured—a population that has had little clout historically and will command even less attention now.
Policy Tracker: Exceptions to State Abortion Bans and Early Gestational Limits April 24, 2024 Dashboard This policy tracker documents exceptions in each state’s most restrictive gestational limit or total ban.
Donor Government Funding for Global Family Planning Declines to Lowest Level Since 2016 April 24, 2024 News Release A new KFF analysis finds donor government funding for family planning efforts in low- and middle-income countries totaled US$1.35 billion in 2022, a decline of 9% (US$129 million) compared to 2021 ($1.48 billion). This figure marks the lowest level of funding since 2016 ($1.31 billion). While some of the decline…
An Estimated 1 in 4 Medicare Beneficiaries With Obesity or Overweight Could Be Eligible for Medicare Coverage of Wegovy, an Anti-Obesity Drug, to Reduce Heart Risk April 24, 2024 News Release In a new analysis, KFF finds that 3.6 million people with Medicare could be eligible for coverage of Wegovy (semaglutide) now that the Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of the anti-obesity drug to reduce the risk of heart attacks and stroke in certain patients. This change potentially…
What are the Implications of the Dobbs Ruling for Racial Disparities? April 24, 2024 Issue Brief This analysis examines the implications of the Dobbs decision and state restrictions on abortion coverage for racial disparities in access to care and health outcomes.
Donor Government Funding for Family Planning in 2022 April 24, 2024 Report This report provides an analysis of donor government funding to address family planning in low- and middle-income countries in 2022, which totaled US$1.35 billion and was a decline of 9% (US$129 million) compared to the 2021 amount (US$1.48 billion). While the decline was due to decreases in funding by most donor governments, a significant share can be attributed to exchange rate fluctuations resulting from the rise in value of the U.S. dollar against most currencies during 2022.
A New Use for Wegovy Opens the Door to Medicare Coverage for Millions of People with Obesity April 24, 2024 Issue Brief The FDA recently approved a new use for Wegovy, the blockbuster anti-obesity drug, to reduce the risk of heart attacks and stroke in people with cardiovascular disease who are overweight or obese – a decision that opens the door to Medicare coverage of Wegovy, which is prohibited by law from covering drugs used for obesity. This brief analyses how many Medicare beneficiaries could be eligible for the new use of Wegovy and the potential impact on Medicare spending.
Examining New Medicaid Resources to Expand School-Based Behavioral Health Services April 23, 2024 Issue Brief In light of worsening mental health among youth, strategies have been implemented to improve access to behavioral health services in recent years, including expanding school-based care for students. Leveraging Medicaid to improve and address gaps in school-based behavioral health services has been a key strategy in recent years as youth mental health concerns have grown. Provisions from the Safer Communities Act of 2022 utilize Medicaid to expand both school-based health care and other mechanisms of youth behavioral health care. This issue brief explores the implementation of these provisions from the Safer Communities Act thus far, with a focus on the guidance issued from CMS.
The Vast Majority of Nursing Facilities Will Need to Hire More Staff to Comply with the Final Federal Rule When Fully Implemented, Unless They Qualify for an Exemption April 22, 2024 News Release Based on a new KFF analysis, fewer than 1 in 5 (19%) nursing facilities currently meet the minimum staffing standards set out in the final requirements of the federal rule released today by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). CMS adopted staffing standards that are similar to the…
With Current Staffing Levels, About 1 in 5 Nursing Facilities Would Meet Fully-Implemented Minimum Staffing Standards in the Final Rule April 22, 2024 Blog This analysis uses the most recently-available data to examine the percentage of nursing facilities that currently meet the minimum staffing requirements in the final rule.