Health Costs

The MIDTERMS

Democrats Hold a Nearly 2-to-1 Advantage Over Republicans on Handling the Cost of Health Care

Poll: Cost of Health Care and Gas Top Voters’ Midterm Concerns; Democrats Hold Significant Advantage on Health Care Costs and Cost of Living 

With the 2026 midterms about a month away, health care costs remain tied with gas as voters’ top midterm concerns and the Democrats hold a clear edge over the Republicans Party on who voters trust to handle many top electoral issues, including the cost of health care and the cost of living. Two-thirds of U.S. adults now favor Medicare-for-all, a new high in KFF Polling, but support shifts when competing claims from critics and proponents are heard.

New and noteworthy

Americans’ Challenges with Health Care Costs

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.

Health System Tracker

Is This A Healthcare Economy?

Health care employment has grown faster than other sectors of the economy, with jobs in physician offices, hospitals, outpatient care centers, home health, and other settings increasing over the past year even as the rest of the job market plateaued. 

Cumulative percent change in health sector and non-health sector employment, January 1990 - August 2026

What Are the Recent Trends in Health Sector Employment

Health care employment continues to grow even as hiring across other sectors has plateaued. The health sector added nearly 379,000 jobs over the past year, a 2% increase, compared with just 0.2% growth in other non-farm employment, with outpatient care among the fastest-growing health care settings.

How TrumpRx Brand-Name Drug Prices Compare

TrumpRx prices for brand-name drugs are about as likely to be higher as lower compared to average prices in other wealthy countries, according to an analysis that compares 32 brand-name drugs.

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  • Public Opinion on Prescription Drugs and Their Prices

    Poll Finding

    This chart collection draws on recent KFF poll findings to provide an in-depth look at the public's attitudes toward prescription drugs and their prices. Results include the U.S. public’s experiences with prescription drug costs, use of GLP-1 medications, and support for policy solutions.

  • How Does U.S. Life Expectancy Compare to Other Countries?

    Issue Brief

    This chart collection examines how life expectancy in the U.S. compares to that of other similarly large and wealthy countries. Life expectancy at birth in the U.S. increased 0.6 years from 78.4 years in 2023 to 79.0 years in 2024, its highest-ever level. However, the average life expectancy in comparable countries was 82.7 years, about 3.7 years longer than in the U.S., reflecting a persistently wide difference in life expectancy between the U.S. and comparable…

  • How ACA Marketplace Costs Compare to Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance

    Issue Brief

    This analysis compares ACA Marketplace costs to employer-sponsored health insurance costs and finds that individual market premiums have become more similar to employer-sponsored premiums over time. In 2024, individual market insurance premiums averaged $540 per member per month, slightly below the average $587 per member per month premium for fully-insured employer coverage. The analysis uses data from Mark Farrah Associates Health Coverage Portal to compare average premiums in the individual and group insurance markets. The…

  • 2025 California Health Benefits Survey

    Report

    The survey provides an in-depth look at trends in employer-sponsored coverage in California, including premiums, cost sharing, offer rates, and employer strategies to manage costs and access to care, including comparisons to the nation overall.

  • KFF Health Tracking Poll: Public Weighs Political Consequences of Health Policy Legislation

    Poll Finding

    KFF's Health Tracking Poll finds that more than three-quarters of the public say they want Congress to extend the ACA enhanced premium tax credits that are set to expire at the end of this year. If the credits do expire and the average premium more than doubles, seven in 10 of those who purchase their own insurance say they would not be able to afford premiums without significantly disrupting their household finances.

  • KFF’s Kaiser Health News and NPR Launch Diagnosis: Debt, a Yearlong Reporting Partnership Exploring the Scale, Impact, and Causes of the Health Care Debt Crisis in America

    News Release

    KFF’s Kaiser Health News (KHN) and NPR today launched a yearlong investigative project that explores the scale, impact, and causes of the health care debt crisis in the United States. Drawing upon a special KFF poll conducted for the project, original data analysis, and hundreds of interviews, the investigation reveals a problem far more pervasive than previously reported. That’s because much of the medical debt is hidden as monthly installments paid via credit card, loans…