Kaiser Family Foundation
{{short description|American non-profit organization}}
{{confused|George Kaiser Family Foundation|Kaiser Foundation}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = KFF
| former name =
| image = KFF logo.png
| image_border =
| size =
| alt =
| caption =
| map =
| msize =
| malt =
| mcaption =
| map2 =
| abbreviation =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| formation = {{Start date and age|1947|12|04}}
| founder = Henry J. Kaiser
| extinction =
| merger =
| merged =
| type = NGO
| status = Public charity
| purpose = Health care, health policy
| professional_title =
| headquarters = San Francisco, California, U.S.
| location =
| coords =
| region_served =
| services =
| membership =
| language =
| general =
| leader_title = President and CEO
| leader_name = Drew Altman
| leader_title2 =
| leader_name2 =
| leader_title3 =
| leader_name3 =
| leader_title4 =
| leader_name4 =
| key_people =
| main_organ =
| parent_organization =
| subsidiaries =
| affiliations =
| revenue_year = 2019
| expenses_year = 2019
| num_staff =
| num_volunteers =
| website = {{url|www.kff.org}}
| footnotes =
}}
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.{{cite web|title=About Us|url=http://www.kff.org/about-us/|website=www.kff.org|access-date=12 April 2023|archive-date=18 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210218210902/https://www.kff.org/presidents-message/|url-status=live}} 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.{{cite web|title=More About KFF|url=http://www.kff.org/about-us/|website=www.kff.org|access-date=12 April 2023|archive-date=18 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201218132700/https://www.kff.org/more-about-the-kaiser-family-foundation/|url-status=live}} Its website has been praised for having the "most up-to-date and accurate information on health policy"{{cite news|title=Presenting the third annual Wonky awards|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/12/31/presenting-the-third-annual-wonky-awards/|access-date=19 May 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=December 31, 2013|archive-date=18 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150618122157/http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/12/31/presenting-the-third-annual-wonky-awards/|url-status=live}} and as a "must-read for healthcare devotees."{{cite news|author1=Duke Helfand|title=Spreading the health|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-apr-18-la-fi-himi18-2010apr18-story.html|access-date=22 Aug 2019|work=Los Angeles Times|date=April 18, 2010|archive-date=22 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190822153005/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-apr-18-la-fi-himi18-2010apr18-story.html|url-status=live}}
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.{{cite web|title=Our Programs|url=http://www.kff.org/our-programs/|website=www.kff.org|date=8 April 2010 |access-date=19 May 2015|archive-date=8 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150508084656/http://kff.org/our-programs/|url-status=live}}
In 2010, KFF began providing resources for consumers seeking information about the then new health insurance law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. These resources included a series of animated videos{{cite news|title=Insurance Lingo Boggles Consumers|url=http://health.wusf.usf.edu/post/insurance-lingo-boggles-consumers|access-date=19 May 2015|publisher=Health News Florida|date=November 13, 2014|archive-date=22 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150522055114/http://health.wusf.usf.edu/post/insurance-lingo-boggles-consumers|url-status=live}} explaining the health law and health insurance terms as well as a calculator{{cite news|author1=Mike Oliver|title=Use newly updated calculator to see if you qualify for Obamacare subsidy to buy insurance in 2015|url=http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2014/11/use_this_updated_calculator_to.html|access-date=19 May 2015|publisher=AL.com|date=November 13, 2014|archive-date=17 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150517052855/http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2014/11/use_this_updated_calculator_to.html|url-status=live}} for people to estimate what health insurance coverage would cost them.
In early 2020 its analysis and polling focused heavily on the COVID-19 pandemic.
KFF is also well known for public opinion research, documenting the views and experiences of the public on health and related issues{{snd}}often in partnership with major news organizations, such as The Washington Post{{cite news|title=Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation rural and small-town America poll|url=https://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/page/national/washington-post-kaiser-family-foundation-rural-and-small-town-america-poll/2217/|access-date=23 June 2017|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=June 2017|archive-date=17 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170617192831/http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/page/national/washington-post-kaiser-family-foundation-rural-and-small-town-america-poll/2217/|url-status=live}} and The New York Times.{{cite news|title=Full Results of The New York Times/Kaiser Family Foundation Poll|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/04/23/upshot/24upshot-south-poll.html?_r=0&abt=0002&abg=0|access-date=19 May 2015|work=The New York Times|date=April 23, 2014|archive-date=23 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150523102405/http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/04/23/upshot/24upshot-south-poll.html?_r=0&abt=0002&abg=0|url-status=live}}
=Health news and information=
As one of the core programs of KFF, KFF Health News focuses on coverage of health care policy and politics.{{cite web|title=About Us|url=http://kaiserhealthnews.org/about-us/|website=kaiserhealthnews.org|access-date=19 May 2015|archive-date=24 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150424032644/http://kaiserhealthnews.org/about-us/|url-status=live}} 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.{{cite news|author1=Tom Gilbert|title=Kaiser Health News: A Model of Symbiosis|url=http://www.tvweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/NP041414_Croppedv2.pdf|access-date=19 May 2015|issue=April 2014|publisher=TVWeek.com News Pro|pages=23–24|archive-date=15 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150315112435/http://www.tvweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/NP041414_Croppedv2.pdf|url-status=live}} It was formerly known as Kaiser Health News (KHN), but was renamed in April 2023 to communicate its ownership by KFF.{{cite web|title=About Us|url=https://www.kff.org/about-us|website=kff.org|access-date=12 April 2023}}
In 2020 and 2024, 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,{{cite web|title=Finalist: KFF Health News and Cox Media Group|url=https://www.pulitzer.org/finalists/kff-health-news-and-cox-media-group|website=pulitzer.org|publisher=Pulitzer|access-date=23 September 2024}} and for exposing predatory bill collection by the University of Virginia Health System that relentlessly squeezed low-income patients{{Snd}}many into bankruptcy{{Snd}}forcing the non-profit, state-run hospital to change its tactics.{{cite web|title=Finalist: Jay Hancock and Elizabeth Lucas of Kaiser Health News|url=https://www.pulitzer.org/finalists/jay-hancock-and-elizabeth-lucas-kaiser-health-news|website=pulitzer.org|publisher=Pulitzer|access-date=27 July 2020|archive-date=6 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200506050048/https://www.pulitzer.org/finalists/jay-hancock-and-elizabeth-lucas-kaiser-health-news|url-status=live}}
KFF formerly sponsored training and site visits for health care reporters.{{cite news|author1=Jason Millman|title=A reminder that not everyone loves more transparency for health-care prices|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/06/23/a-reminder-that-not-everyone-loves-more-transparency-for-health-care-prices/|access-date=19 May 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=June 23, 2014|archive-date=10 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150510172809/http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/06/23/a-reminder-that-not-everyone-loves-more-transparency-for-health-care-prices/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Media Internships & Fellowships|url=http://www.kff.org/media-internships-fellowships/|website=www.kff.org|date=3 March 2015 |access-date=19 May 2015|archive-date=8 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150508111256/http://kff.org/media-internships-fellowships/|url-status=live}}
In 2023, KFF launched the Health Information & Trust Initiative{{cite web|title=KFF's New Health Misinformation and Trust Initiative|url=https://www.kff.org/kffs-new-health-misinformation-and-trust-initiative/|website=kff.org|access-date=23 September 2024}} for tracking health misinformation in the U.S, analyzing its impact on the American people, and mobilizing media to address the problem.{{cite news|author1=Dani Blum|title=Health Misinformation Is Evolving. Here's How to Spot It.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/16/well/health-misinformation.html|access-date=23 September 2024|newspaper=The New York Times|date=March 16, 2024}}
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{{cite web|title=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|url=http://news.walgreens.com/press-releases/community-news/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.htm|website=walgreens.com|access-date=19 May 2015|date=June 13, 2013|archive-date=6 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150606104031/http://news.walgreens.com/press-releases/community-news/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.htm|url-status=live}} (formerly Greater Than AIDS){{snd}}a national public information response to the U.S. epidemic launched in 2009{{snd}}KFF works with a broad cross-section of public and private partners{{cite web|title=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|url=http://news.walgreens.com/press-releases/community-news/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.htm|website=walgreens.com|access-date=19 May 2015|date=June 13, 2013|archive-date=6 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150606104031/http://news.walgreens.com/press-releases/community-news/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.htm|url-status=live}} 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.{{cite web|title=GYT: Get Yourself Tested Campaign|url=http://npin.cdc.gov/STDAwareness/GYT.aspx|website=npin.cdc.gov|publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|access-date=19 May 2015|archive-date=21 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150521093723/http://npin.cdc.gov/STDAwareness/GYT.aspx|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=GYT: Get Yourself Tested (United States)|url=http://www.weforum.org/best-practices/creative-good/gyt-get-yourself-tested-united-states|website=weforum.org|publisher=World Economic Forum|access-date=19 May 2015|archive-date=25 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525214451/http://www.weforum.org/best-practices/creative-good/gyt-get-yourself-tested-united-states|url-status=live}}
History
KFF was established in 1948 as the Kaiser Family Foundation by Henry J. Kaiser. The organization 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.{{cite news|last1=Diamond|first1=Dan|title=POLITICO Pulse|url=https://www.politico.com/newsletters/politico-pulse/2018/03/01/gao-to-probe-trumps-response-to-opioid-crisis-119844|access-date=7 March 2018|publisher=Politico|archive-date=8 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180308002433/https://www.politico.com/newsletters/politico-pulse/2018/03/01/gao-to-probe-trumps-response-to-opioid-crisis-119844|url-status=live}}
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|date=November 2013}}
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.{{Cite news | title = The Kaisers and Their Empire | work = Fortune Magazine | date = February 1977}}
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.{{Cite news | title = An Empire Fades Away, But Its Legacy Lingers On; Final Chapter Is Being Written for What Once Was West's Greatest Industrial Power | url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-08-04-fi-4512-story.html | work = Los Angeles Times | date = August 4, 1985 | author = Donna K.H. Walters | access-date = 2013-11-02 | archive-date = 2013-11-06 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131106080157/http://articles.latimes.com/1985-08-04/business/fi-4512_1_empire | url-status = live }} KFF is now an independent national organization with a Board of Trustees that have backgrounds in public service, academia, nonprofits, health care, and media.{{cite web|title=Board of Trustees|url=https://www.kff.org/board-of-trustees/|website=kff.org|access-date=12 April 2023}}
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, {{cite news|author1=Lois Romano|title=Health care? He's got it covered.|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/11/01/ST2009110102616.html?sid=ST2009110102616|access-date=19 May 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=November 2, 2009|archive-date=5 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305114034/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/11/01/ST2009110102616.html?sid=ST2009110102616|url-status=live}} remaking the organization by establishing new programs, recruiting staff, becoming an operating foundation and then later, a public charity.{{cite web|title=President's Message|url=https://www.kff.org/presidents-message/|website=kff.org|access-date=12 April 2023}}
Notable members of the board of trustees
- Kathleen Sebelius, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services
- Olympia Snowe, former U.S. Senator
- Soledad O'Brien, American journalist
- Kevin Merida, American journalist
References
{{Reflist|2}}
External links
- [https://www.kff.org Official KFF website]
- [https://kffhealthnews.org KFF Health News website]
- [https://www.greaterthan.org Greater Than HIV]{{snd}}Public education campaign website
- [https://www.greaterthancovid.org Greater Than COVID]{{snd}}Public education campaign website
{{Henry J. Kaiser}}
{{authority control}}
Category:1948 establishments in California
Category:Healthcare reform advocacy groups in the United States
Category:Medical and health foundations based in the United States
Category:Medical and health organizations based in California
Category:Menlo Park, California
Category:Non-profit organizations based in the San Francisco Bay Area