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Affordability

A promotional image for the the KFF Health Policy 101 Health Care Costs and Affordability chapter

Health Policy 101 is a comprehensive guide covering fundamental aspects of U.S. health policy and programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, employer-sponsored insurance, the uninsured population, health care costs and affordability, women's health issues, and health care politics. The Health Care Costs and Affordability chapter explores trends in health care costs in the U.S. and the factors that contribute to this spending. It also examines how health care spending varies across the population, the impact of costs on care affordability and individuals' overall financial vulnerability.

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  • How Unaffordable is Health Care and What Can We Do About It?

    Event Date:
    Event

    For decades, the cost of medical care, prescription drugs and health insurance has consistently risen faster than general inflation and wage growth, posing financial challenges for government, businesses and people. KFF polling has found that the cost of health care ranks as the top economic worry for adults and their families, and has implications for their financial security and access to care. Even people with insurance say they struggle to afford health care costs, and…

  • How Unaffordable is Health Care? 

    Video

    Health care affordability is a top issue for many people. Why and how did care get so expensive? In this three-part video series, KFF experts look at the rising cost of health care in the U.S. from the macro level to the issues facing everyday Americans. Drawing on KFF policy analysis and polling, the videos examine the underlying drivers of health care spending, the true cost of employer sponsored health insurance and whether the Affordable…

  • AI: Show Me the Outcomes

    Podcast

    Chip talks with Dr. Toyin Ajayi, co-founder and CEO of Cityblock Health, which delivers value-based care to more than 100,000 Medicaid and dual-eligible members across ten states, many of them people of color managing chronic conditions. Ajayi makes a pointed case: Roughly 60 percent of health care AI investment goes to billing, coding, and risk adjustment — making sure someone gets paid — while only a fraction goes to delivering care. If we continue to…

  • Key Facts about the Uninsured Population

    Issue Brief

    The number and share of people without insurance grew in 2024, increasing for the first time since 2019, according to KFF's analysis of data from the American Community Survey (ACS). This issue brief describes trends in health coverage in 2024, examines the characteristics of the uninsured population , and summarizes the access and financial implications of not having coverage.

  • What We Know So Far About 2026 ACA Marketplace Enrollment, Premiums, and Deductibles

    Issue Brief

    This analysis examines early indicators of how the expiration of enhanced premium tax credits has affected effectuated enrollment levels (i.e., enrollment among people who have paid their premiums), plan selections, and out-of-pocket costs in 2026, drawing on plan selection and effectuated enrollment data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and state-based Marketplace (SBM) Open Enrollment reports, as well as KFF survey data and individual market enrollment estimates from Wakely Consulting Group.

  • When Minutes Matter, What Is AI’s Role? 

    Podcast

    When minutes matter for a patient’s care, what is AI’s role in clinical practice? Elad Walach, co-founder and CEO of Aidoc — a company with a comprehensive AI health care platform that analyzes real-time images and flags time-sensitive findings — shares his perspective on AI’s transformative power in dodging diagnostic error, improving access to care, and ensuring care quality in busy clinical settings.

  • There Are Many MAHAs

    From Drew Altman

    In a new column, Dr. Drew Altman, Founding President and CEO, dissects the MAHA “movement.” He writes: “There appear to be many MAHAs, not one. You can care about pesticides, or food additives, or vaccines, or child health, or corporate influence, or all of the above, to varying degrees. The reason so many Americans say they support MAHA when asked in polls is that, like a restaurant with a large menu, there is something in…

  • Americans’ Challenges with Health Care Costs

    Issue Brief

    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.