News

This explainer answers key questions about mpox, the international response to date including the U.S. government’s role, and its challenges. It also discusses how the global emergency might affect the U.S. and the current status of mpox circulation within the U.S.

This brief summarizes the positions, records, and potential priorities of the two major party candidates for the 2024 Presidential election on three major issues in women’s health policy – abortion, contraception, and maternal health.

Health payers created the prior authorization system as a cost and quality control strategy, ensuring patients receive only the most necessary, evidence-based, cost-effective and quality care. Nevertheless, real-life implementation has shown that prior authorizations often backfire on their original intents, increasing overall care costs beyond what is necessary. It also delays patient care, contributes to…

This analysis examines the competitiveness of markets for hospital care based on the share of metropolitan areas controlled by a small number of independent hospitals or health systems and other measures. It finds that nearly half of metropolitan areas across the country had only one or two hospitals or health systems providing general inpatient hospital…

Nearly half (47%) of metropolitan areas across the country had only one or two hospitals or health systems providing general inpatient hospital care in 2022, a new KFF analysis finds. The analysis examines the extent of competition among hospitals amid a wave of hospital consolidation that has drawn the attention of state and federal regulators.…More

These fact sheets lay out the health care landscape in every state, providing data on a variety of health care topics that may be the focus of policy debates in the 2024 election. Topics include health costs; women’s health policy, including state abortion, contraception and maternity laws and policies; health coverage, including the Affordable Care…

This Health Policy 101 chapter explores LGBTQ+ people’s identities and demographics, their experiences with health and health care, including the significant disparities, and the related health policy landscape.

Oral contraceptives are the most commonly used method of reversible contraception in the U.S. In July 2023, the FDA approved Opill, the first daily oral contraceptive pill to become available over the counter (OTC) without a doctor’s prescription. This issue brief provides an overview of OTC oral contraceptives and laws and policies related to insurance…