Access to Care

Substance use disorders contribute to a growing number of deaths, yet they often go undiagnosed and untreated. While nearly three-quarters of Medicaid enrollees with a diagnosed substance use disorder utilized some type of treatment service in 2020, medication treatment rates varied widely, being much lower for alcohol use disorder than opioid use disorder, and lower among Black enrollees and youth compared to their counterparts. Treatment rates varied considerably across states and average Medicaid spending for people with a diagnosed substance use disorder is over twice as high compared to those without a substance use disorder.

This factsheet provides an overview of medication abortion, with a focus on federal and state regulations pertaining to its provision and coverage, and the role of the drug in self-managed abortions.

This brief provides an overview of oral contraception, discusses private insurance and Medicaid coverage, and reviews strategies to promote and expand women’s access to oral contraceptives.

This issue brief examines well-child visit rates overall and for selected characteristics before and after the pandemic began and discusses recent state and federal policy changes that could impact children’s preventive care. More than half of children under age 21 enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP received a well-child visit in 2019, but the share fell to 48% in 2020, the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This brief presents 5 key facts about immigrants with limited English proficiency, drawing from the KFF/ LA Times Survey of Immigrants.

KFF takes a new look at the continued impact of the Hyde Amendment, the federal ban on payment for abortion services, in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision. At a moment when all eyes are on states that have banned abortion, the Hyde Amendment remains a barrier to…

This brief details the federal programs that are affected by the Hyde Amendment and laws and regulations that have a similar goal, provides estimates on the share of women insured by Medicaid affected by the law, reviews the impact of the law on their access to abortion services, and discusses the potential effect if the law were to be repealed.

This policy watch examines Mississippi’s recent Medicaid expansion activity, what expansion could mean for residents and the economy, and key developments to watch.

Patient-provider email messaging accelerated early in the COVID-19 pandemic as more patients sought medical care remotely, and the addition of billing codes for digital health services and subsequent changes in insurers’ payment policies have enabled providers to bill insurers and patients for messaging. This analysis examines the typical cost of…

In November 2023, CMS finalized a 3.4% decrease in the physician fee schedule conversion factor, a key aspect of payment rates under the Medicare program, resulting in a 1.25% decrease in overall payments that is expected to vary by specialty. This issue brief answers key questions about how physicians are paid under the Medicare program, and reviews policy options under discussion for payment reform.