Policy Watch
Quick-hitting policy analysis, polling, and updates on the key issues facing the country.
How Did Medicaid Renewal Outcomes Change During the Unwinding?
This policy watch uses unwinding data collected through KFF’s Medicaid Enrollment and Unwinding Tracker to examine how national-level renewal outcomes changed over the course of unwinding, including changes in the share of people who had their coverage renewed or were disenrolled from Medicaid each month.
Read Post
A Closer Look at Rape and Incest Exceptions in States with Abortion Bans and Early Gestational Restrictions
Ten of the 21 states with abortion bans or gestational limits do not have an exception for pregnancies resulting from sexual assault. In the 11 states with rape and incest exceptions, the details and fine print make can make access to abortion care unattainable for pregnant survivors of sexual assault. Law enforcement reporting requirements, early pregnancy gestational limits, and the lack of provider availability present major barriers to abortion access, even when the state has an exception.
Read Post
Addressing Youth Mental Health with Social and Emotional Learning in Schools
Schools can play a role in promoting mental health and connecting youth to treatment. One approach that many schools have implemented is social and emotional learning, which teaches skills such as emotional management, resilience, and relationship building. This policy watch discusses how common these programs are in schools, how they are integrated, and what supporters and critics say about social and emotional learning.
Read Post
What the FTC’s New Protections From Non-Compete Agreements Mean in a Mostly Non-Profit Hospital Industry
This analysis uses 2022 data from the American Hospital Association (AHA) Annual Survey Database to present the number and share of hospital workers by occupation who may not be covered by the federal protections against non-compete agreements because they work for a non-profit hospital.
Read Post
The Growing Role of Foreign-Educated Nurses in U.S. Hospitals and Implications of Visa Restrictions
KFF analysis of data from the American Hospital Association (AHA) Annual Survey shows that the overall share of hospitals reporting hiring foreign-educated RNs has nearly doubled between 2010 and 2022, and a growing share of hospitals report hiring an increasing number of foreign-educated RNs to fill vacancies over time.
Read Post
Emergency Abortion Care to Preserve the Health of Pregnant People: SCOTUS, EMTALA, and Beyond
This policy watch outlines SCOTUS’ June 27, 2024, decision dismissing the case, Moyle v. United States, where the Court had been asked to determine if a federal law called the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act preempted Idaho’s abortion ban. The decision returns the case to the lower courts and reinstates a court order blocking enforcement of the Idaho ban where it prohibits abortion care for pregnant people having medical emergencies.
Read Post