This analysis assesses the potential reach of the latest expansion of the Mexico City Policy, which is now part of the Promoting Human Flourishing in Foreign Assistance (PHFFA) Policy.
Nearly 53 million prior authorization requests were submitted to Medicare Advantage insurers on behalf of Medicare Advantage enrollees in 2024, of which 4.1 million (7.7%) were denied. Just 11.5% of denied requests were appealed, though 80.7% of appeals overturned the initial denial in Medicare Advantage. Substantially fewer prior authorization requests were made in traditional Medicare,…
In this brief on Medicaid issues to watch for 2026, KFF explores how state fiscal pressures are likely to converge with the implementation of the 2025 reconciliation law to affect Medicaid coverage, financing, and access to care over the next year, especially leading up to the midterm elections.
This brief describes current state fiscal conditions as states begin fiscal year 2027 budget debates and highlights key areas to watch for Medicaid policy changes as states respond to fiscal challenges and the 2025 reconciliation law.
Starting in May of last year, HHS Secretary Kennedy and the CDC/ACIP began to make changes to the federal vaccine schedule for children, culminating in an announcement on January 5 of this year with the most wide-ranging changes to date. This policy brief tracks the number of states that have announced they are no longer…
This budget summary provides an analysis of global health funding amounts provided in the FY 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor HHS) conference bill and accompanying report.
A new features from AI companies, like ChatGPT Health and Claude for Healthcare, aim to provide personalized health guidance, but may still provide wrong or dangerous health advice. And, as the U.S. experiences a severe flu season, a vaccine-strain mismatch may be contributing to misconceptions that flu vaccines are ineffective.
This issue brief provides an overview of a new data sharing agreement for CMS to share Medicaid data with ICE and its potential implications for health care access and data privacy.
This Health System Tracker analysis examines the tradeoffs ACA Marketplace enrollees must consider as they decide whether to keep their current plan or switch to a new one, following the expiration of the ACA’s enhanced premium tax credits at the end of 2025.
On January 11, 2026, the Appropriations Committee released the FY 2026 National Security, Department of State and Related Programs (NSRP) (formerly State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs [SFOPs]) appropriations bill and accompanying explanatory statement. The bill and explanatory statement include funding for U.S. global health programs at the State Department.