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This chart collection examines what we know about prescription drug spending and use in the U.S. and comparably large and wealthy countries, using data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Just over 35 million people are enrolled in Medicare Advantage in February 2026, an increase of 1.1 million since a year ago. The increase was largely driven by increased enrollment in special needs plans.
This brief provides an overview of key trends in Medicare spending and spending growth, as well as the impact of these trends on out-of-pocket costs for Medicare beneficiaries and Medicare program solvency, as projected by the Medicare Trustees in the 2026 Trustees Report.
This brief looks at premium changes for Medicare Part D stand-alone prescription drug plans between 2025 and 2026. For plans that were offered nationwide in 2025 and will continue to be offered in 2026, Part D enrollees in many states will see lower monthly premiums in 2026.
Without these extra subsidies in place for 2027, some Part D stand-alone drug plan (PDP) enrollees could see a larger premium increase for drug coverage next year than they’ve faced in recent years, though plan-specific premium amounts are not yet known. While some policymakers questioned the rationale for and cost of the premium stabilization demonstration, which totaled $9.8 billion in 2025 and 2026, the extra subsidies worked as intended to stabilize year-over-year PDP premium increases…
Extending the short-term GLP-1 Bridge program is good news for eligible Medicare beneficiaries because it provides the certainty of obesity drug coverage at a $50 copay for a longer duration, but federal spending will also rise by some unknown amount since CMS hasn’t disclosed the projected cost.
Deciding what health care gets covered largely falls to health insurers, and it’s not a role that wins them many fans. A KFF poll finds prior authorization is the single biggest burden insured adults say they face beyond cost.
The U.S. spends more on health care than other large, wealthy countries. Concerns about rising costs aren't new, yet somehow we keep paying the bill. In this video, KFF’s Larry Levitt explains how we got here, who bears the consequences and why reining in spending systematically may be central to the next big health care debate.
As health care costs dominate the national political conversation, our 2026 KFF Women’s Health Survey shows the toll those costs are taking on women. Our new nationally representative survey of women and men ages 18–64 finds costs remain a major barrier for women, specifically — causing everything from delayed care to rationed medications to cuts in spending on basic needs.
This data note describes Medicaid prescription drug utilization and spending trends in calendar year 2020 compared to previous years to explore how the pandemic impacted Medicaid prescription drug utilization and spending.
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