Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic, Medicare Spending on Skilled Nursing Facilities Increased More than 4% Despite an Overall Decline in Utilization June 1, 2022 Issue Brief Medicare spending for skilled nursing facilities increased in 2020 despite an overall decrease in the number of Medicare beneficiaries using SNF services. The higher spending is explained by longer and more expensive SNF stays in 2020 compared to 2019, both of which increased more sharply for Medicare beneficiaries under the age of 65 than for older Medicare SNF users.
COVID-19 Vaccination Rates Among Nursing Home Staff Have Risen by 25 Percentage Points Since the Biden Administration Announced a Vaccination Mandate for Health Care Workers Last Year May 16, 2022 News Release In a new analysis, KFF researchers find that COVID-19 vaccination rates among nursing home staff increased by 25 percentage points nationally (63% to 88%) from when the Biden administration announced the vaccine mandate for health care workers in August 2021 to after vaccination deadlines passed in March 2022. Researchers analyzed…
State Actions to Address Nursing Home Staffing During COVID-19 May 16, 2022 Issue Brief This issue brief summarizes federal and state standards related to nursing home staffing prior to COVID-19 and builds on existing information by identifying changes to state minimum staffing requirements adopted since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. We also examine state legislative and regulatory actions since the onset of the pandemic that directly affect worker wages and training requirements.
Nursing Facility Staff Vaccinations, Boosters, and Shortages After Vaccination Deadlines Passed May 16, 2022 Issue Brief This analysis uses nursing facility-level data reported by the federal government to track the increase in vaccination rates among nursing facility staff nationally and by state between August 2021 (when the vaccine mandate was first announced) and March 27th, 2022 (after the vaccine deadline for health workers had passed in all states). Additionally, this analysis provides state-level information on booster rates among nursing home staff and the prevalence of staffing shortages after all vaccination deadlines had passed.
2022 Changes to the Public Charge Inadmissibility Rule and the Implications for Health Care May 5, 2022 Issue Brief This brief provides background on public charge, describes the 2019 policy changes and their chilling effects, and reviews provisions of the 2022 public charge rule and its implications for immigrants’ access to health care.
Help with Medicare Premium and Cost-Sharing Assistance Varies by State April 20, 2022 Issue Brief This data note provides an overview of programs that help beneficiaries with modest incomes with their Medicare costs, including the Medicare Savings Programs and the Part D Low-Income Subsidy, and highlights findings from corresponding state-level profiles of eligibility and enrollment.
Nursing Facility Staffing Shortages During the COVID-19 Pandemic April 4, 2022 Issue Brief This data note presents the most recent national and state-level data on nursing facility-reported staff shortages and describes the Biden Administration’s new policy initiatives to address staffing and other quality issues in nursing facilities.
KFF Health Tracking Poll – March 2022: Economic Concerns and Health Policy, The ACA, and Views of Long-term Care Facilities March 31, 2022 Poll Finding 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 views of the ACA and nursing homes.
Strategies To Lower Drug Costs Top the Public’s Health Priorities for Congress March 31, 2022 News Release 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 the public say inflation is the biggest problem facing…
Feb. 23 Web Event: The Gift of Experience vs. the Stress of Isolation: Older People Share How They’ve Made It Through the Pandemic February 23, 2022 Event Older adults have suffered more illness and death from covid-19 than any other group. How are they faring as the pandemic enters its third year? KFF’s Kaiser Health News (KHN) and The John A. Hartford Foundation explored that question in depth in a 90-minute interactive web event on Feb. 23,…