Drew Altman

Simplest math ever. A 200 bill Iran war special appropriation = almost six years of extended ACA tax credits.

NEW. Marketplace enrollees are dropping coverage and switching to higher deductible plans, but the biggest effect of not extending the credits: more than half say they can’t afford food and other essentials because they have higher health costs. on.kff.org/3NKfN84

People say prior authorization review is their number one problem when they try to get health care. Can we get rid of it? My new column: on.kff.org/4bscQB0

Dems are up 10 pts on drug costs, the issue Trump wants R’s to play offense on. Its 31% to 18% for Independents with 41% not sold on either party on drug costs. Watch this gap as the midterms unfold. kff.org/public-opinion…

This may not last with gas prices rising, but we have not seen it often: health costs are THE top household economic concern, propelled by reality, political debate about ACA tax credits, and media coverage.

Behind  almost every health policy move for the rest of the year - the midterms - and how that’s playing out so far.  My latest column on.kff.org/4tYaVMG

Trump says he has a “health plan”. Not a classic health plan, but an agglomeration of what his administration and R’s are doing in health, including his drug cost deals and TrumpRx, and, a positive spin on the largest cuts in coverage and federal health spending in history.

Trump talks up TrumpRx in the SOTU. The facts: kff.org/patient-consum…

This from a Wash Post story about defense spending is the murkier world we now try to shed light on: “ It is unclear if the Trump administration’s proposal is for an additional $500 billion just for next year, or $500 billion each year for a decade.”  Just a small thing.

One thing almost everyone agrees on: we need more competition in health care. Today’s KFF Wonk Shop examines why it’s so hard to get it. kff.org/event/consolid…

Hospitals are the biggest factor in recent health spending growth. But it’s no longer just “ the prices stupid”, it’s also hospital use. kff.org/health-costs/h…

Of all the things that drive people crazy about using the health system, prior authorization is public enemy number one: kff.org/public-opinion….

The Was Post and my Red Sox have similarities. The new thing loses its luster for the billionaire. It’s a money sink to “win”. There are new toys. The right move is to sell. Instead they cut, fielding a team but no longer a championship one.

Deepest sympathies for the many great journalists laid off at the Washington Post today. A comment on many things about the news industry and why I prefer our non profit model with our own stable funding and no need to chase revenue or clicks.

It’s not going to be a health care election but it will partly be a health cost election. Our new poll: on.kff.org/3LGVtUh

Of the 53m prior authorization determinations MA plans did in 2024, 7.7% were denied. Those must have been some very expensive cases to make it worth operating such a giant system and making so many people miserable in the process. kff.org/topic/medicare/

MA plans did a mind boggling 53 million prior authorization reviews in 2024: kff.org/medicare/medic…. Stay tuned for our poll on how people feel about prior auth.

Everyone wants to reduce health care spending – their own, often at the expense of someone else’s health spending. No one really wants to take on underlying costs. My latest column: kff.org/from-drew-altm…

More on what to watch this year: on.kff.org/4r4r80I

States are starting to cut Medicaid as revenues fall and federal cuts loom, making lots of different cuts to spread the pain and ease the politics. But work requirements and the $1T in federal Medicaid cuts have not hit yet. on.kff.org/45rYOND