Health Costs

Medicare Spending and Use of Medical Services for Beneficiaries in Nursing Homes and Other Long‐Term Care Facilities: A Potential for Achieving Medicare Savings and Improving the Quality of Care This report documents the relatively high rates of hospital stays, emergency room visits and skilled nursing facility admissions among long-term care…

In an Axios column, Drew Altman discusses how the public “scores” major health proposals like Graham-Cassidy or single payer, and proposes a “Medical Bills Score” for health.

As the Trump administration begins implementing Thursday’s executive order aimed at providing alternatives to the Affordable Care Act’s marketplace plans, a new Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds a large majority of the public (71%) want President Trump and his administration to do what they can to make the current law…

The latest KFF Health Tracking Poll finds health care ranking among the top issues voters want to hear candidates talk about during their congressional campaigns, with health care cost ranking as the top health care issue for voters across partisanship. However, for many voters, including one-third of Republican voters, a candidate’ position on President Trump will make the biggest difference in how they vote in 2018. This month’s poll also takes an in-depth look at voters who say a candidate’s position on health care will be the “most important factor” in their 2018 congressional vote choice, otherwise known as “health care voters.”

Who are the “Health Care Voters”? Mostly Women, and Mostly Planning to Vote Democratic As primary season for the 2018 midterm elections heats up, the latest Kaiser Family Foundation poll suggests the elections are shaping up more as a referendum on President Trump than on health care or any other…

Marketplace open enrollment, the period during which consumers can shop for health plans or renew existing coverage through the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplaces, begins on Nov. 1. Recent policy changes at the state and federal levels have the potential to impact individuals and families purchasing health insurance for…

In an Axios column, Drew Altman analyzes what the midterm election means for the health policy agenda between now and 2020–mostly political positioning and gridlock in Congress, with most of the action affecting people in the states. 

In this Axios column, Drew Altman wades in to the Medicare for All discussion focusing on the pros and cons of a critical but under-discussed feature of the proposals-they have no cost sharing.

In this Axios column, Drew Altman looks at total family spending for health including taxes and health benefits, and why people need to understand it to assess proposals like Medicare-for-All.