Golden Years Blog
KFF The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news
- Assessing Ability to Work: How Historical SNAP Processes May Vary from Medicaidby kffamayad on October 22, 2026 at 2:02 pm
In light of the uncertainty surrounding how states will verify the Medicaid medical frailty exclusion, this issue brief describes how the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has handled similar administrative challenges.
- How Much is Health Spending Expected to Grow?by kffamyj on October 22, 2026 at 1:28 pm
This chart collection explores how much health spending is expected to grow in the coming years, with a look at growth in prescription drug spending, out-of-pocket spending, and related trends.
- Recently Released KFF Poll Shows Uncertainty Over Established Safety of COVID-19 Vaccines During Pregnancy – The Monitorby kffhagerey on October 22, 2026 at 12:00 pm
KFF’s recently released Tracking Poll finds that public confidence in the safety of COVID-19 vaccines for use during pregnancy has fallen, and many are uncertain about a false claim linking the vaccines with higher risk of miscarriage. Separately, conversations about childhood vaccines frame vaccination as an individual parental decision.
- 2026 Employer Health Benefits Surveyby kffcarenec on October 22, 2026 at 9:00 am
This is the 28th Employer Health Benefits Survey (EHBS) and reflects employer-sponsored health benefits in 2026. As in years past, the survey examines trends in employer coverage, including premiums, employee contributions, deductibles, offer rates, and employer practices. This year, we asked employers detailed questions about satisfaction with their health plans; coverage of GLP-1 agonists and IVF; actions taken in response to projected cost increases; and firms’ ability to obtain information about health care costs and utilization.
- Workers Now Pay $7,471 on Average Annually for Family Health Coverage, Up 9% or $621 from 2025, Benchmark Employer Health Benefits Survey Findsby kffrainl on October 22, 2026 at 9:00 am
Workers are paying on average $7,471 annually toward the premiums for employer-sponsored family health benefits this year, which is up 9%, or $621, from 2025, per KFF’s annual benchmark health benefits survey of large and small employers. The burden of family premiums hits particularly hard for workers at small firms with less than 200 workers.
- Premiums and Worker Contributions Among Workers Covered by Employer-Sponsored Coverage, 1999-2026by kffmichaelp on October 22, 2026 at 8:59 am
Since 1999, the Employer Health Benefits Survey has documented trends in employer-sponsored health insurance. Every year, private and non-federal public employers with 10 or more employees complete the survey.
- The Future of CDC HIV Prevention Funding for Community Organizationsby kfflindseyd on October 21, 2026 at 5:13 pm
Following reports that CDC is ending Community Based Organization (CBO) funding for HIV prevention, this analysis provides a snapshot of where, to whom, and at what level these community grants were distributed in the past grant cycle. We find community organizations stand to lose significant amounts of funding, especially those located in the south.
- Midterm Election Update: Medicaid Changesby kffcarenec on October 21, 2026 at 2:20 pm
Major federal changes to Medicaid eligibility and financing from the 2025 reconciliation law are coming, including new work requirements that will affect millions of Medicaid enrollees. KFF’s fact sheet provides an overview of what has changed, what is still ahead, and what the public thinks about Medicaid heading into the midterms.
- A Closer Look at State Directed Payments for Nursing Home Servicesby kffpriyac on October 21, 2026 at 1:00 pm
Building on previous analysis of state directed payments (SDPs), this issue brief takes a closer look at SDPs for nursing home services.
- KFF Polling on Health Information and Trustby kffcarenec on October 20, 2026 at 12:32 pm
Drawing on KFF's poll findings, this interactive dashboard tracks the public’s trusted sources for health information, attitudes toward vaccines, and use of news, social media, and AI for health-related information. It provides visual representations of the key trends in the public’s trust in health information and tracks exposure to and belief in false and unproven health claims.
- KFF Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust: Fall 2026 Update on Vaccine Viewsby kffmardetm on October 20, 2026 at 12:30 pm
The latest KFF Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust finds about half of parents mistakenly believe spacing out vaccines is healthier for children, while confidence in many long-standing childhood vaccines is high across partisans. These findings take on new relevance following President Trump's recent executive order calling for changes in U.S. childhood vaccine recommendations, including splitting the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine—currently given as a single combined shot—into three separate vaccines across multiple visits.
- Building the AI Hospitalby kffrobins on October 20, 2026 at 9:00 am
Walk into the emergency room at Israel’s largest hospital and the first clinician to take your history may be an AI avatar — with a physician signing off on every recommendation. Israel’s Sheba Medical Center is building what could become the first fully AI-based hospital by 2030. Dr. Eyal Zimlichman, Sheba's Chief Transformation Officer, Chief Innovation Officer and Chief AI officer, talks with Chip about what that means for patients. During their conversation, Dr. Zimlichman argues that in the future, doctors will "be much more humane than the doctors of the present...because if we're not able to achieve that, then there's really no difference between the AI and the physician...we will be able to compete with the AI in terms of humanity."
- Medicaid State Fact Sheetsby kffmichaelp on October 19, 2026 at 4:59 pm
What percentage of people are covered by Medicaid in your state? Our State Medicaid fact sheets provide a snapshot with key data for Medicaid in every state related to current coverage, access, and financing, as well as a politics section for each state.
- Status of State Medicaid Expansion Decisionsby kffmichaelp on October 16, 2026 at 7:13 pm
This page displays an interactive map of the current status of state decisions on the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion. Additional Medicaid expansion resources are listed (with links) below the map.
- Policy Tracker: Exceptions to State Abortion Bans and Early Gestational Limits by kffmabelf on October 16, 2026 at 3:20 pm
This policy tracker documents exceptions in each state’s most restrictive gestational limit or total ban.












