In his latest column, President and CEO Dr. Drew Altman shows how spiking premiums, which may come if the enhanced ACA tax credits are not extended, will hit people in the context of their family budgets, alongside rising costs for food, housing and utilities. For some families, their new health care costs could far exceed what they pay for food, affecting their economic security and potentially their vote.

This poll comes as the Trump administration revamps federal policies, and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continues to question the childhood vaccine schedule. The KFF-Washington Post Survey of Parents reveals large majorities of parents view long-standing childhood vaccines such as the ones to prevent measles, mumps, and rubella and polio as safe and important, but are less confident in seasonal vaccines for flu and especially COVID-19. Read the News Release →

This issue brief describes the hardship exception for individuals living in counties with high unemployment, and using the most recent available county-level unemployment data, estimates the number of counties that could meet the criteria for this exception and the number of expansion enrollees living in those counties who could be exempt from work requirements.