Coronavirus (COVID-19)

A current impasse in Congress threatens continued funding for COVID-19 testing, treatment, and vaccines. The lack of additional federal COVID-19 funding has broad implications for access to these services, particularly for the uninsured, and could undermine efforts to ensure equitable access to these resources.

This Vaccine Monitor survey shows the public is largely supportive of the U.S. role in distributing COVID-19 vaccines globally, as well as other response efforts including the distribution of masks and COVID-19 rapid tests.

With funding for additional COVID-19 support at a stalemate in Congress, a new KFF analysis looks at potential scenarios that United States might face if a 4th COVID-19 vaccine dose is recommended to the public. The analysis finds that the U.S. government does not have enough funding to purchase vaccine…

This Data Note estimates how far the current U.S. supply of COVID-19 vaccines could stretch under different vaccination and booster scenarios. While estimated U.S. COVID-19 vaccine supply needs vary widely depending on assumptions and how many people choose to get vaccinated, this analysis indicates that under a plausible set of scenarios where 4th doses are recommended, the federal government is unlikely to have enough doses already purchased to cover the U.S. population.

Throughout the pandemic, states have worked with managed care plans to respond to changing public health conditions and new developments. After the PHE ends, state Medicaid agencies will need to complete a large number of eligibility and enrollment tasks and actions, including processing renewals, redeterminations (based on changes in circumstance), and post-enrollment verifications. Medicaid managed care plans can assist state Medicaid agencies in communicating with enrollees, conducting outreach and assistance, and ultimately, in improving coverage retention (including facilitating transitions to the Marketplace where appropriate).

Once states resume redeterminations and disenrollments at the end of the public health emergency (PHE), Medicaid enrollees who moved within a state during the pandemic but are still eligible for coverage are at increased risk of being disenrolled if their contact information is out of date. We analyzed federal survey data for 2020 and found that roughly 1 in 10 Medicaid non-elderly enrollees (9%) moved in-state in 2020. A much smaller share, just 1%, moved to a different state in the U.S. Individuals that move within state may continue to be eligible for Medicaid, while a move out of state would make them no longer eligible for Medicaid coverage in their previous residence. States can take a number of actions to update enrollees’ addresses and other contact information to minimize coverage gaps and losses for eligible individuals after the end of the PHE, particularly for individuals who may have moved within a state.

The COVID-19 pandemic has coincided with worsening mental health across the country, and California is no exception. This data note find that in California in 2020, many nonelderly adults experienced poor mental health and did not receive needed care.

A new analysis from KFF and Epic Research finds that telehealth visits for outpatient mental health and substance use services went from virtually zero percent in 2019 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic to a peak of 40% in mid-2020 – and continued to account for more than a third (36%)…

This analysis from KFF and Epic Research finds that telehealth visits for outpatient mental health and substance use services went from virtually zero percent in 2019 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic to a peak of 40% in mid-2020 – and continued to account for more than a third of such visits in the six months ending in August 2021.

The Vaccine Monitor report examines how families and workers fared financially during the omicron surge. Large shares of workers missed work due to being sick from coronavirus, having to quarantine, or their workplace being closed due to the pandemic. Many, particularly those with lower incomes, report impacts on their family’s finances and stress level.