Kaiser Family Foundation

Last updated
KFF
FormationDecember 4, 1948;75 years ago (1948-12-04)
Founder Henry J. Kaiser
Type NGO
Legal status Public charity
Purpose Health care, health policy
Headquarters San Francisco, California, U.S.
President and CEO
Drew Altman
Revenue (2019)
$53,799,622 [1]
Expenses (2019)$54,877,435 [1]
Website www.kff.org

KFF, which was formerly known as The Kaiser Family Foundation or The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, is an American non-profit organization, headquartered in San Francisco, California. It prefers KFF, which is its business operating name, to reduce confusion because it is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente and it is no longer a foundation. [2] KFF states that it is a non-partisan organization focused on health policy. It conducts its own research, polling, journalism, and specialized public health information campaigns. [3] Its website has been heralded for having the "most up-to-date and accurate information on health policy" [4] and as a "must-read for healthcare devotees." [5]

Contents

Current activities

Policy analysis and polling

KFF publishes analysis, polling and journalism about health-care issues, and states that much of its work especially concerns persons with low income or those who are otherwise especially vulnerable to health-care cost, such as the uninsured, those with chronic illnesses, or Medicaid/Medicare recipients. In addition to domestic U.S. health policy issues, KFF also conducts work on the U.S. role in global health policy. [6]

In early 2020 its analysis and polling focused heavily on the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2010, KFF began providing resources for consumers seeking information about the then new health insurance law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act with a series of animated videos [7] explaining the health law and health insurance terms as well as a calculator [8] for people to estimate what health insurance coverage would cost them.

KFF is also well known for public opinion research, documenting the views and experiences of the public on health and related issues –often in partnership with major news organizations, such as The Washington Post [9] and The New York Times . [10]

Health news and information

As one of the core programs of KFF, KFF Health News focuses on coverage of health care policy and politics. [11] KFF Health News provides coverage of health policy issues and developments at the federal and state levels in the health care marketplace and health care delivery system. [12] It was formerly known as Kaiser Health News (KHN), but was renamed in April 2023 to communicate its ownership by KFF. [13]

In 2024 and 2020, KFF Health News reporters were finalists for a Pulitzer Prize in Investigative Reporting for exposing how the Social Security Administration routinely reduced or suspended monthly checks to take back funds to pay off large debts that were often created by its own miscalculation of people’s benefits [14] and for exposing predatory bill collection by the University of Virginia Health System that relentlessly squeezed low-income patients –many into bankruptcy –forcing the non-profit, state-run hospital to change its tactics. [15]

KFF formerly sponsored training and site visits for health care reporters. [16] [17]

In 2023, KFF launched the Health Misinformation & Trust Initiative [18] for tracking health misinformation in the U.S, analyzing its impact on the American people, and mobilizing media to address the problem. [19]

KFF also works with major media and corporate partners, government agencies and health departments, national leadership and community organizations, and other partners to create large-scale public information campaigns on pressing health and social issues, mostly on HIV/AIDS.

Under Greater Than HIV [20] (formerly Greater Than AIDS) –a national public information response to the U.S. epidemic launched in 2009 –KFF works with a broad cross-section of public and private partners [21] to increase knowledge, reduce stigma and promote actions to stem the spread of HIV. While national in scope, Greater Than HIV focuses on communities most affected. Previous programs include Greater than Covid and Get Yourself Tested. [22] [23]

History

KFF was established in 1948 by Henry J. Kaiser. At that time, the organization, which was known as the Kaiser Family Foundation, was set up in Oakland, California, the same city in which Kaiser Permanente's headquarters were located. Later, KFF moved to Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, about 35 miles away from Oakland. In 2018, it relocated to San Francisco, CA. [24]

When Kaiser died in 1967, his second wife, Alyce Chester, inherited half of his estate, and the other half went to the KFF. Alyce sold all of her holdings, moved far away, and remarried. Mr. Kaiser's children received very little direct inheritance; but did receive authority to run the Kaiser Industries businesses, and the Kaiser Family Foundation.[ citation needed ]

In 1977, ten years after Kaiser's death, the conglomerate of disparate Kaiser Industries organizations split apart. The Kaiser Family Foundation was initially a major owner of these shares: at the time of dissolution, the foundation owned 32 percent, according to Fortune Magazine . [25]

By 1985, the foundation no longer had an ownership stake in the Kaiser companies and is no longer associated with Kaiser Permanente or Kaiser Industries. [26] KFF is now an independent national organization with a Board of Trustees that have backgrounds in public service, academia, nonprofits, health care, and media. [27]

Starting in September 1990, KFF CEO Drew Altman directed "a complete overhaul of the Foundation's mission and operating style." Altman changed a "sleepy grant-making organization" (some $30 million a year interest on the $400 million endowment), into a leading voice and repository for facts and information on health-care issues, [28] remaking the organization by establishing new programs, recruiting staff, becoming an operating foundation and then later, a public charity. [29]

Notable members of the board of trustees

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References

  1. 1 2 "Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation" (PDF). Foundation Center. 15 November 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  2. ↑ "About Us". www.kff.org. Archived from the original on 18 February 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  3. ↑ "More About KFF". www.kff.org. Archived from the original on 18 December 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  4. ↑ "Presenting the third annual Wonky awards". The Washington Post. December 31, 2013. Archived from the original on 18 June 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  5. ↑ Duke Helfand (April 18, 2010). "Spreading the health". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 22 August 2019. Retrieved 22 Aug 2019.
  6. ↑ "Our Programs". www.kff.org. 8 April 2010. Archived from the original on 8 May 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  7. ↑ "Insurance Lingo Boggles Consumers". Health News Florida. November 13, 2014. Archived from the original on 22 May 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  8. ↑ Mike Oliver (November 13, 2014). "Use newly updated calculator to see if you qualify for Obamacare subsidy to buy insurance in 2015". AL.com. Archived from the original on 17 May 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  9. ↑ "Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation rural and small-town America poll". The Washington Post . June 2017. Archived from the original on 17 June 2017. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  10. ↑ "Full Results of The New York Times/Kaiser Family Foundation Poll". The New York Times . April 23, 2014. Archived from the original on 23 May 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  11. ↑ "About Us". kaiserhealthnews.org. Archived from the original on 24 April 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  12. ↑ Tom Gilbert. "Kaiser Health News: A Model of Symbiosis" (PDF). No. April 2014. TVWeek.com News Pro. pp. 23–24. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 March 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  13. ↑ "About Us". kff.org. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  14. ↑ "Finalist: KFF Health News and Cox Media Group". pulitzer.org. Pulitzer. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  15. ↑ "Finalist: Jay Hancock and Elizabeth Lucas of Kaiser Health News". pulitzer.org. Pulitzer. Archived from the original on 6 May 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  16. ↑ Jason Millman (June 23, 2014). "A reminder that not everyone loves more transparency for health-care prices". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 10 May 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  17. ↑ "Media Internships & Fellowships". www.kff.org. 3 March 2015. Archived from the original on 8 May 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  18. ↑ "KFF's New Health Misinformation and Trust Initiative". kff.org. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  19. ↑ Dani Blum (March 16, 2024). "Health Misinformation Is Evolving. Here's How to Spot It". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  20. ↑ "Walgreens and Greater Than AIDS Team with Health Departments and Local AIDS Service Organizations to Provide Free HIV Testing in Support of National HIV Testing Day". walgreens.com. June 13, 2013. Archived from the original on 6 June 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  21. ↑ "Walgreens and Greater Than AIDS Team with Health Departments and Local AIDS Service Organizations to Provide Free HIV Testing in Support of National HIV Testing Day". walgreens.com. June 13, 2013. Archived from the original on 6 June 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  22. ↑ "GYT: Get Yourself Tested Campaign". npin.cdc.gov. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Archived from the original on 21 May 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  23. ↑ "GYT: Get Yourself Tested (United States)". weforum.org. World Economic Forum. Archived from the original on 25 May 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  24. ↑ Diamond, Dan. "POLITICO Pulse". Politico. Archived from the original on 8 March 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  25. ↑ "The Kaisers and Their Empire". Fortune Magazine . February 1977.
  26. ↑ Donna K.H. Walters (August 4, 1985). "An Empire Fades Away, But Its Legacy Lingers On; Final Chapter Is Being Written for What Once Was West's Greatest Industrial Power". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2013-11-06. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
  27. ↑ "Board of Trustees". kff.org. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  28. ↑ Lois Romano (November 2, 2009). "Health care? He's got it covered". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  29. ↑ "President's Message". kff.org. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
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