Costs and Other Barriers to Care Can Worsen Health For Adults With Multiple or Complex Health Conditions

Survey: Adults With Multiple or Complex Health Conditions Face Significant Challenges with Health Costs, Commonly Struggle to Access Care 

Significant shares of adults with multiple or complex health conditions, including cancer, lung disease, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and mental health conditions say they struggle to pay their medical bills and access needed care and medication. These challenges fall hardest on uninsured adults who face greater costs and access challenges. Read the news release →

Drew Altman: The Group that Struggles the Most in American Health Care

In a new column, Dr. Drew Altman, KFF’s Founding President and CEO, shares findings about the chronically ill uninsured from a large KFF survey of 25,000 Americans focusing on the cost and access challenges facing the chronically ill. He writes: “There are more than enough needs to go around in American health care, but if I had to pick the one group that struggles the most with costs and access, it would be people with chronic illnesses who are also uninsured.”

Americans’ Challenges with Health Care Costs

This data note reviews recent KFF polling data about Americans’ struggles to afford many aspects of health care, including disproportionate shares of uninsured adults, Black and Hispanic adults, and those with lower incomes.

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health costs

vaccines

Kindergarten Routine Vaccination Rates Continue to Decline

As measles cases rise across the U.S., children’s routine vaccination rates continue to decline while exemptions from school vaccination requirements, particularly non-medical exemptions, have increased. In a new analysis, KFF finds that about 280,000 kindergarteners were unvaccinated against measles in the 2025–2026 school year, and for the sixth year in a row, MMR vaccinations fell below the 95% level needed to prevent community transmission.

featured videos

Are Health Insurers to Blame for Our Health System Problems?

Political leaders on both sides point fingers at health insurers for high costs and patient frustrations. How much blame do insurers, in fact, deserve for our health system’s problems? This three-part video series from KFF considers this question and the complicated answer, exploring what’s driving rising insurance premiums, whether insurers provide value, and who we trust to decide what gets covered and at what price. Watch and share →

Why Does Health Insurance Cost So Much?

Are Health Insurers Providing Good Value?

Is Prior Authorization a Blessing or a Curse?

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