Telehealth Continues to Account for More Than a Third of Outpatient Visits for Mental Health and Substance Use Services Well into the COVID-19 Pandemic March 15, 2022 News Release 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%)…
Telehealth Has Played an Outsized Role Meeting Mental Health Needs During the COVID-19 Pandemic March 15, 2022 Issue Brief 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.
1 in 10 Adults Owe Medical Debt, With Millions Owing More Than $10,000 March 10, 2022 News Release Americans Likely Owe Hundreds of Billions of Dollars in Total Medical Debt A new KFF analysis of government data estimates that nearly 1 in 10 adults (9%) – or roughly 23 million people – owe medical debt. This includes 11 million who owe more than $2,000 and 3 million people…
How Affordability of Health Care Varies by Income among People with Employer Coverage March 10, 2022 Issue Brief This analysis looks at the share of working families’ income that is spent on premiums, deductibles and other cost-sharing for employer-sponsored care. It shows that lower-income families spend a greater share of their income on health costs than those with higher incomes.
Many households do not have enough money to pay cost-sharing typical in private health plans March 10, 2022 Issue Brief This analysis assesses whether people can afford to pay cost-sharing amounts common with private insurance plans. It finds that large shares of non-elderly households do not have enough liquid assets to meet typical plan cost-sharing amounts.
KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor: The Pandemic’s Toll on Workers and Family Finances During the Omicron Surge March 10, 2022 Poll Finding 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.
4 in 10 Workers – and 6 in 10 of Those with Low Incomes – Say They Missed Work During the Omicron Surge Due to COVID-19 Illness, Quarantine or Closure March 10, 2022 News Release The surge in COVID-19 cases triggered by the omicron variant led to widespread work disruptions, with about 4 in 10 workers (42%) – including 6 in 10 of those with lower incomes – saying they had to miss work at least once in the past three months because of a…
Prices Increased Faster Than Inflation for Half of all Drugs Covered by Medicare in 2020 February 25, 2022 Issue Brief Recent legislation would require drug companies to pay rebates to the federal government when annual increases in prescription drug prices for Medicare and private insurance exceed the rate of inflation. As context for understanding the possible impact of this proposal, this analysis compares price changes for drugs covered by Medicare Part B (administered by physicians) and Part D (retail prescription drugs) between 2019 and 2020 to the inflation rate over the same period.
Outpatient telehealth use soared early in the COVID-19 pandemic but has since receded February 10, 2022 Issue Brief Telehealth use skyrocketed during the early months of the pandemic. While it has since decreased somewhat from that high, it still represents a much more substantial share of health care than before COVID, this KFF-Epic Research analysis finds.
How Do Prescription Drug Costs in the United States Compare to Other Countries? February 8, 2022 Slideshow