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KFF designs, conducts and analyzes original public opinion and survey research on Americans’ attitudes, knowledge, and experiences with the health care system to help amplify the public’s voice in major national debates.
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New KFF polling explores the challenges beyond costs that people with insurance face in navigating the health care system. People cite prior authorization review as their top problem by a wide margin, with a third (32%) saying prior authorization requirements are a “major burden.
KFF's health tracking poll finds that beyond costs, insured adults say prior authorization is their biggest challenges when accessing care. About seven in ten (69%) insured adults say prior authorizations are burdensome, and a third (34%) choose prior authorizations as their single biggest health care burden.
This data note reviews our recent polling data that finds that many Americans struggle to afford many aspects of health care, including disproportionate shares of uninsured adults, Black and Hispanic adults and those with lower incomes.
Looking ahead to the midterm elections, health care costs are the public’s top economic concern, and many voters say the issue will have a major impact on their vote. On health care issues, including the cost of health care, voters currently trust Democrats more than Republicans, though neither party has an advantage on addressing the overall cost of living. Following the expiration of the ACA enhanced tax credits, two-thirds of the public say Congress did the “wrong thing” by not extending them.
Heading into this midterm election year, the cost of health care tops the public’s economic anxieties and more than 4 in 10 voters say the issue will have a major impact on their vote, this KFF Health Tracking poll finds.
As economic anxiety rises, KFF's Health Tracking Poll finds that younger adult, LGBT adults, Hispanic adults, and adults with modest incomes are among groups most likely to report difficulty earning a living and affording health care. Large shares of those who are uninsured or purchase their own insurance also report challenges earning a living and paying for care.
This KFF Health Tracking Poll finds that many, including women of reproductive age, remain unfamiliar with key facts about mifepristone. Fewer than half of all adults say they believe abortion pills are safe now, compared to over half of all adults two years ago. This poll explores awareness and perception of the recent FDA review of the medication, and support for policies aimed at restricting it.
This survey explores how ACA Marketplace enrollees expect to respond if their premium payments doubled as expected in 2026 when enhanced premium tax credits are set to expire. About a third would very likely look for a lower-cost plan, even if it had higher deductibles, and about a quarter would very likely end up uninsured. The survey also examines how increased health care costs may affect their finances and the potential impact in next year's elections.
In this JAMA Viewpoints column, KFF's Drew Altman, Ashley Kirzinger and Mollyann Brodie explore the power of health care affordability as an economic issue, how it has played out in recent election cycles, and the implications for the 2026 midterm elections.
Amid the Trump administration’s increased immigration enforcement efforts, one in five immigrants say they personally know someone who has been arrested, detained or deported since January. Four in ten worry they or a family member could face such action. Many immigrants, including naturalized citizens and those who are lawfully present, say they feel less safe, are avoiding activities outside their home, and no longer view the U.S. as a good destination for immigrants.
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