This brief analyzes the Medicare Part D stand-alone prescription drug plan (PDP) market for 2027. The analysis shows that there will be a modest reduction in the number of PDPs for 2027, along with modest premium increases less than $10 per month for many enrollees, but much larger monthly premium increases of $50 or more…
The average Medicare beneficiary will have 28 Medicare Advantage prescription drug (MA_PD) plans available for general enrollment in 2027. The number of plans varies widely across states.
Recently Secretary of HHS Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., changed how the federal government tracks deaths in its official measles tally, after Pennsylvania reported four deaths. This Policy Watch reviews the two roles, strengths, and weaknesses of the two public health surveillance systems at the center of this change: the Nationally Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS)…
Health care employment continues to grow even as hiring across other sectors has plateaued. The health sector added nearly 379,000 jobs over the past year, a 2% increase, compared with just 0.2% growth in other non-farm employment, with outpatient care among the fastest-growing health care settings.
This brief examines the legal status of Crisis Pregnancy Centers, attempts to regulate them, and future efforts to expand their footprints as they gain more recognition and funding from local, state, and federal programs.
This brief describes the verification process for Medicaid work requirements in Nebraska and examines early data on outcomes for individuals subject to work requirements.
In another concerning example of AI agents going rogue recently, an OpenAI agent hacked into an Australian government website containing health care data. While some industry CEOs are calling for a slowdown and demands for regulation grow, host Chip Kahn focuses on the implications for health care when these same kinds of AI systems are…
This brief describes the role of Medicaid Fraud Control Units (MFCUs) in program integrity efforts, examines caseload and case outcome data, and current issues facing MFCUs.
This issue brief provides an overview of the decennial census and discusses potential implications of the changes outlined in a September 2026 proposed rule to prohibit the collection of race and ethnicity data on the census and exclude many noncitizen immigrants from the apportionment count.
This fact sheet summarizes federal, state, and local policies on paid family and medical leave and paid sick leave.