KFF

Small businesses may expect tariffs to drive up the price of imported goods from various countries, but less expected is how these trade policies may ripple through employee health benefits: https://on.kff.org/4oSXN9g

On July 11, CMS told states it does not plan to approve new Medicaid workforce initiatives or extend existing ones. Changes to Medicaid waiver policy and broader cuts to the program could limit states’ abilities to invest in the Medicaid workforce. These changes could also lower provider payments and increase gaps in access.

Relative to current law, the budget reconciliation law is estimated to increase the uninsured rate by 3 percentage points or more in 20 states and DC. Under the combined effects of the law and the expiration of the ACA enhanced tax credits, uninsured rates could rise 3 percentage points or more in 34 states and DC: https://on.kff.org/3JiDnGB

People are bewildered by a supercharged and polarized debate about vaccines and no longer know where to turn for scientific information they can rely on, writes KFF’s President and CEO Dr. Drew Altman in his latest column. “The problem isn’t that…people think mRNA vaccines are unsafe…just 16% think that. It’s because 52% “don’t know enough to say.” Even 59% of MAGA supporters say that.”

President Trump signed into law in July a budget reconciliation package that will make significant changes to Medicaid and the ACA Marketplaces and is estimated to increase the number of uninsured by 10M in 2034. This number would rise to over 14M if enhanced premium tax credits for ACA Marketplace enrollees expire later this year: https://on.kff.org/3JiDnGB

In his latest column, KFF’s President and CEO Dr. Drew Altman examines what years of KFF polling reveal about how Americans view vaccines. Only a small share of the public think vaccines may not be safe, but polarization and misinformation have eroded trust in facts and in the scientific institutions that provide them. https://on.kff.org/3HlGRaF

In a new “Beyond the Data” column, KFF’s President and CEO Dr. Drew Altman analyzes years of KFF polling on vaccines in light of the current controversies about them. The real problem, he says, is not lack of public confidence in the safety of vaccines — few say they are unsafe — it’s that polarization and misinformation have eroded confidence in what’s true or not, and in scientific institutions people used to rely on for the facts. https://on.kff.org/3HlGRaF

New KFF polling shows that while most adults use social media to find health information and advice, few — about one in six (14%) of adults overall — regularly get health information and advice from social media influencers. Even more striking, just 5% of social media users overall say they trust a particular influencer. Among the influencers they mentioned trusting? Oprah Winfrey, Charlamagne tha God, Ben Shapiro, Joe Rogan, and several health care providers, among others. Explore all we’ve learned about trust when it comes to health information and advice on various social media platforms: https://on.kff.org/3JmVlHD

A KFF/ ESPN poll finds NFL players from the 1988 season face serious physical and mental health problems at higher rates than peers in the general population. Yet most would choose to play pro football again. See the findings from our partnership survey: https://on.kff.org/3V2Q1Md

A new analysis shows that individuals with employer insurance could save 41% on their out-of-pocket spending for asthma and COPD inhalers through manufacturer savings. In response to a U.S. Senate investigation into inhaler costs, 3 drug makers voluntarily capped out-of-pocket costs on their brand-name asthma and COPD inhalers. Among the asthma and COPD inhalers covered under the voluntary out-of-pocket spending caps, over half may have patient savings of $19 or less per 30-day supply: https://on.kff.org/4fwxX6F