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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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66% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents -- a majority -- favor both a public option and Medicare-for-all. Minorities of those who favor either Medicare-for-all or a public option exclusively favor one proposal over the other.
This data note uses data from the January 2019 KFF Health Tracking Poll to examine the public's attitudes toward and experiences with electronic health records (EHR). Nearly 9 in 10 say their physician uses an EHR, and this raises some concerns about privacy issues and impacts on quality of care. About one in five say that they or a family member have noticed an error in their personal medical information in their EHR.
With many of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) major provisions taking effect this past year, the December Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds that many Americans are aware of the main parts of the law and, with the exception of the individual mandate, at least 6 in 10 feel favorably towards them. The poll finds the vast majority of the uninsured don’t know the deadline to enroll, most expect to get health insurance in the next few months, and nearly two-thirds say they don’t think they’ll have to pay a fine, or don’t know if they will, for not having coverage this year.
Most Americans in prime working age who aren't currently employed hope to return to work in the future, though family responsibilities, health issues and a lack of good jobs pose significant challenges, finds a new survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation, The New York Times and CBS News.
The Kaiser Health Policy News Index is designed to help journalists and policymakers understand which health policy-related news stories Americans are paying attention to, and what the public understands about health policy issues covered in the news. According to this month’s index, the public remains captivated by news coverage of the Ebola virus. Fewer, but still substantial shares, report following the conflicts in Iraq and Syria and the results of the midterm elections.
Following the Nov. 4 midterm elections, nearly half of Americans expect increased debate between the two parties over the Affordable Care Act. In comparison, 42 percent say the amount of debate will not change, and very few (5%) say it will decrease. Conducted just prior to the start of the ACA's second open enrollment season, the poll also probes the views of people without health insurance, one of the key target groups for outreach and enrollment efforts. It finds the uninsured remain largely unaware of the renewed opportunity to purchase or enroll in health insurance through the marketplaces over the next few months.
The October Kaiser Health Tracking Poll found that majorities of the public said that if a case of Ebola were diagnosed in their area, they would have a “great deal” or a “fair amount” of confidence in state, local, and federal health authorities to contain the disease and prevent it from spreading. Given the evolving news story, we re-surveyed the public from October 17-19 to determine whether confidence in health authorities to prevent the spread of Ebola has changed in light of more recent developments.
With the Ebola outbreak in West Africa and individual cases in the U.S. and Europe making international headlines, the latest Kaiser Health Policy News Index examines Americans’ attention to the Ebola crisis, awareness of key facts about the disease, and views of the U.S. role in addressing Ebola in Africa and at home.
As the Senate prepares to vote on the Republican plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act and limit federal Medicaid funding, a new Kaiser Family Foundation Tracking Poll finds the Affordable Care Act itself remains far more popular than the bill that would replace it. A majority of Republicans, however, continue to support the Republican plan, though by a significantly narrower margin than last month. Furthermore, the Tracking Poll finds that the most of the public - regardless of partisanship - holds favorable views of Medicaid.
The debate over these enhanced tax credits can be seen as a proxy for the broader public’s concerns about health care affordability which may be why the public is largely in favor of extending these subsidies – even as overall views of the ACA are still very polarized.
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