Health Care Policy and Reform

Before the novel coronavirus outbreak, approximately 28 million Americans were uninsured. Now another 27 million are estimated to lose insurance coverage as jobs are lost and employment-based insurance evaporates, more than 20 percent of which are projected to have no other source of coverage. Becoming uninsured devastates families and causes lasting economic harm and damages […]

The use of medications such as antihistamines and NSAIDs, which are taken intermittently to treat symptoms, was sensitive to co-payment changes. Other medications—antihypertensive, antiasthmatic, antidepressant, antihyperlipidemic, antiulcerant, and antidiabetic agents—also demonstrated significant price responsiveness. The reduction in use of medications for individuals in ongoing care was more modest. Still, significant increases in co-payments raise concern […]

There’s a logic to out-of-pocket medical payments. They’re supposed to make patients think twice before spending money on unnecessary health care. When it comes to drugs, however, they’re often preventing people from getting necessary care. A recent data brief from the National Center for Health Statistics said about a quarter of adults who had diagnosed […]

States’ total Medicaid spending grew slightly in the fiscal year 2019, even though program enrollment fell off amid a strong economy with low unemployment, according to a survey of state Medicaid directors released Friday by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The report found that overall Medicaid spending growth fell to 2.9% in 2019 thanks to a […]

Wendy Matney hesitated to tell her family not to call 911. “It seemed almost selfish to say, ‘Please don’t call because we can’t afford this,’” said the 39-year-old home health aide, who has a form of epilepsy that causes frequent, sometimes violent, seizures. Matney has been to the hospital enough, though, to know a trip […]