Matthew Rae
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mattrae.bsky.social
Matthew Rae
@mattrae.bsky.social
1.1K followers 810 following 71 posts
New platform; still posting about healthcare cost & access, employer benefits, surveys, #rstats & sometimes my dog Ruffles
I post graphs, papers & briefs that I find interesting

Associate Director @KFF
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mattrae.bsky.social
Matthew Rae @mattrae.bsky.social · Nov 13
Hi
My name is Matt, and I study private health insurance markets with all my friends at KFF. I like to think about what we know about healthcare costs, what we don't, and what's hard to measure.

Follow me for lots of discussions on our Employer Health Benefits Survey.
Reposted by Matthew Rae
raveuhtea.bsky.social
So excited about our new fellows. They're tackling issues like climate risk, accountability mechanisms, and how our institutions and policies can impact people’s ability to access and use the internet.
Benton Institute for Broadband & Society Announces Marjorie & Charles Benton Opportunity Fund Fellowships Examining Barriers to Broadband
Latest cohort of researchers supported by Marjorie & Charles Benton Opportunity Fund
www.benton.org
April 10, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Reposted by Matthew Rae
raveuhtea.bsky.social
But as @johnbhorrigan.bsky.social's analysis of American Community Survey data showed (and has consistently shown) that people over 60 are less likely to have home internet access or appropriate devices to access these services online.
April 9, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Reposted by Matthew Rae
raveuhtea.bsky.social
New rules require seniors to seek services online or travel in-person to social security offices.
wamu.org/story/25/04/...
New Social Security rules will create hurdles for millions of seniors, report finds
A new report from a left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities finds that upcoming changes to Social Security will amount to a "45-mile trip for some 6 million seniors."
wamu.org
April 9, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Reposted by Matthew Rae
lindseydawson.bsky.social
Our new piece examines a CMS proposal that would change how ACA plans cover gender affirming care, likely making these services harder to access and/or more expensive. www.kff.org/private-insu... with @mattrae.bsky.social and Kaye Pestaina
New Rule Proposes Changes to ACA Coverage of Gender-Affirming Care, Potentially Increasing Costs for Consumers | KFF
This brief examines a proposed rule that seeks to change how ACA plans would cover gender affirming care services. If finalized the rule could lead insurers to drop coverage or shift costs to individu...
www.kff.org
March 25, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Reposted by Matthew Rae
cynthiaccox.bsky.social
As Congress considers making significant cuts to federal spending, we @kff.org take a look at how much federal support $ goes to health programs like Medicaid, Medicare, and the ACA

www.kff.org/medicaid/iss...

@jcubanski.bsky.social @alicelburns.bsky.social
#healthpolicy #medsky #publichealth
What Does the Federal Government Spend on Health Care? | KFF
As Congressional Republicans and President Trump search for trillions of dollars in cuts to mandatory federal spending that could help offset the cost of extending expiring tax cuts, this brief analyz...
www.kff.org
February 24, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Reposted by Matthew Rae
mattrae.bsky.social
Trump signed an executive order today building on #PriceTransparency. But what should we make of the data already posted? Coincidentally, @kff.org just published an analysis of the Transparency in Coverage data. It's not always easy to make out heads or tails
February 25, 2025 at 11:55 PM
Reposted by Matthew Rae
mattrae.bsky.social
For all the promise of #pricetransparency using the data is hard. New from the Peterson-@kff.org health system tracker, a user guide on tackling the data, and some not-so-obvious pitfalls

www.healthsystemtracker.org/brief/challe...
Challenges with effective price transparency analyses - Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker
The Transparency in Coverage (TiC) rule aimed to make healthcare prices easily comparable, but the reported data may pose many barriers to effective analysis.
www.healthsystemtracker.org
February 25, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Reposted by Matthew Rae
healthbegins.bsky.social
Great breakdown in this @kff.org post showing where we're spending money on health care and where the damage will be if there are cuts.

What Does the Federal Government Spend on Health Care? buff.ly/43agCMC by @jcubanski.bsky.social @alicelburns.bsky.social @cynthiaccox.bsky.social
What Does the Federal Government Spend on Health Care? | KFF
As Congressional Republicans and President Trump search for trillions of dollars in cuts to mandatory federal spending that could help offset the cost of extending expiring tax cuts, this brief…
buff.ly
March 2, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Reposted by Matthew Rae
adrianna.bsky.social
Missed this story last night portending something bad for AHRQ

AHRQ fills a hugely important void in the medical and health care research space: it funds work that doesn't map cleanly to a disease, body part, or special population (e.g., older Americans)

www.politico.com/news/2025/03...
March 14, 2025 at 6:32 PM
mattrae.bsky.social
Trump signed an executive order today building on #PriceTransparency. But what should we make of the data already posted? Coincidentally, @kff.org just published an analysis of the Transparency in Coverage data. It's not always easy to make out heads or tails
February 25, 2025 at 11:55 PM
Reposted by Matthew Rae
caseylangwith.bsky.social
A must read for those interested in health care affordability and pricing transparency
February 25, 2025 at 6:45 PM
mattrae.bsky.social
For all the promise of #pricetransparency using the data is hard. New from the Peterson-@kff.org health system tracker, a user guide on tackling the data, and some not-so-obvious pitfalls

www.healthsystemtracker.org/brief/challe...
Challenges with effective price transparency analyses - Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker
The Transparency in Coverage (TiC) rule aimed to make healthcare prices easily comparable, but the reported data may pose many barriers to effective analysis.
www.healthsystemtracker.org
February 25, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Reposted by Matthew Rae
crampell.bsky.social
A useful rundown of disappeared health data, courtesy of @kff.org (@cynthiaccox.bsky.social @mattrae.bsky.social @jenkatesdc.bsky.social @emmawage.bsky.social @jaredortaliza.bsky.social @lindseydawson.bsky.social)

www.kff.org/policy-watch...
A Look at Federal Health Data Taken Offline | KFF
This post looks at federal government databases with key health data that went offline on Jan. 31, 2025, including several related to HIV, some of which had returned by Feb. 2, 2025. It briefly descri...
www.kff.org
February 2, 2025 at 6:41 PM
mattrae.bsky.social
Here is the page to download Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System #yrbs without figuring out the SAS import lines.
asdfree.com/youth-risk-b...

"A work of R is never finished, merely abandoned."
February 3, 2025 at 7:10 PM
mattrae.bsky.social
If you are downloading data right now -

I recommend asdfree.com. Anthony Damico has R scripts to download ~50 public surveys, create the survey design and save them locally. If you are an R user this will things go much faster!
Analyze Survey Data for Free
Analyze Survey Data for Free
asdfree.com
February 3, 2025 at 7:06 PM
mattrae.bsky.social
This is so fun - compare definitions of rurality for any zipcode.
www.ruralhealthinfo.org/am-i-rural
Am I Rural? Tool - Rural Health Information Hub
Use RHIhub’s Am I Rural? Tool to find out if a location is considered rural based on various definitions of rural, including definitions that are used as eligibility criteria for federal programs.
www.ruralhealthinfo.org
February 3, 2025 at 6:14 PM
mattrae.bsky.social
Among subsidized enrollees living in states that use Healthcare.gov, premium payments would have been an average of 93% higher in 2024 without the enhanced tax credits.

www.kff.org/affordable-c...
February 3, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Reposted by Matthew Rae
jenkatesdc.bsky.social
NEW from @kff.org: A look at some of the federal datasets & portals taken down and implications for research, policy, & media coverage about health.
@cynthiaccox.bsky.social @lindseydawson.bsky.social @mattrae.bsky.social @emmawage.bsky.social .

www.kff.org/policy-watch...
A Look at Federal Health Data Taken Offline | KFF
This post looks at federal government databases with key health data that went offline on Jan. 31, 2025, including several related to HIV, some of which had returned by Feb. 2, 2025. It briefly descri...
www.kff.org
February 2, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Reposted by Matthew Rae
cynthiaccox.bsky.social
NEW: several federal datasets and health surveys came offline on Friday

We @kff.org explain what these data are & how they’re used in interventions to address our nation’s biggest health challenges
@jenkatesdc.bsky.social @mattrae.bsky.social @lindseydawson.bsky.social

www.kff.org/policy-watch...
A Look at Federal Health Data Taken Offline | KFF
This post looks at federal government databases with key health data that went offline on Jan. 31, 2025, including several related to HIV, some of which had returned by Feb. 2, 2025. It briefly descri...
www.kff.org
February 2, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Reposted by Matthew Rae
nytimes.com
More than 8,000 web pages across more than a dozen U.S. government websites have been taken down since Friday afternoon, a New York Times analysis found. The purges have removed information about vaccines, veterans’ care, hate crimes, scientific research and more.
Thousands of U.S. Government Web Pages Have Been Taken Down Since Friday
Federal agencies moved to satisfy Trump’s orders to remove topics like diversity initiatives and “gender ideology.”
nyti.ms
February 2, 2025 at 4:52 PM
mattrae.bsky.social
HIV, transgender care, climate change and other federal websites go dark www.axios.com/2025/01/31/h...
HIV, transgender care, climate change and other federal websites go dark
Several CDC pages were taken down by Friday afternoon. Some redirected users to other sections of the site.
www.axios.com
February 2, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Reposted by Matthew Rae
cynthiaccox.bsky.social
Adding more to the list of #federaldata #datapurge
cynthiaccox.bsky.social Cynthia Cox @cynthiaccox.bsky.social · Feb 1
14/x
HSRA’s Area Health Resource File is offline. AHRF “provides data on health care professions, health facilities, population characteristics, economics, health professions training, hospital utilization, hospital expenditures, and environment at the county, state, and national levels”
February 1, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Reposted by Matthew Rae
crampell.bsky.social
A breakdown of the goods we import from Mexico
November 26, 2024 at 1:18 AM
Reposted by Matthew Rae
joshmich.bsky.social
About 50% of USAID global health staff - "roughly 450 technical experts" whose responsibilities cover areas such as HIV/AIDS, maternal and child health, malaria, tuberculosis, and other infectious diseases, have now been fired
www.cbsnews.com/news/rubio-f...
Rubio foreign aid freeze leads to USAID staff suspensions and contractor terminations
Approximately 60 senior staff within USAID have been suspended, leaving the agency without clear leadership, five sources familiar with the internal action told CBS News.
www.cbsnews.com
January 29, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Reposted by Matthew Rae
crampell.bsky.social
I'm keeping a running list of disappearing federal data in the 🧵 below. If there are others I missed let me know. crampell[at]washpost[dot]com or Signal username crampell.13
crampell.bsky.social Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · Jan 31
List of CDC information that appears to have been taken down so far:
1. CDC Atlas
2. CDC Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System
3. HRSA Target
4. Language removed for LGBT work
5. CDC Social Vulnerability Index
January 31, 2025 at 7:05 PM