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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 Much Do Medicare Beneficiaries Spend Out of Pocket on Health Care?

    Issue Brief

    This analysis presents the most current data on out-of-pocket health care spending by Medicare beneficiaries, both overall and among different groups of beneficiaries. The analysis explores how much Medicare beneficiaries spend out of pocket in total on health care premiums and health-related services, on average; how much beneficiaries spend out of pocket on different types of health-related services; and what share of income beneficiaries spend on out-of-pocket health care costs.

  • Health Issues and the Election Quiz

    Feature

    Test your knowledge about health facts, policy issues and proposals that are emerging among the 2020 presidential candidates. The 10 questions focus on health issues in the 2020 election, including: health care costs, prescription drug prices, the Affordable Care Act and changes in health insurance coverage, reproductive health, and Medicare-for-all and public option proposals.

  • Mapping the Uneven Burden of Rising ACA Marketplace Premium Payments due to Enhanced Tax Credit Expiration

    Issue Brief

    Enhanced premium tax credits expire at the end of this year. Among those with incomes over 400% poverty who are losing the tax credit altogether, the impact will be greatest for those whose unsubsidized premiums are highest: older Marketplace enrollees and those living in higher-premium locales. The maps in this brief show how much average premium payments would increase for 2026 benchmark silver plans with the expiration of enhanced premium tax credits at three income levels above an income cap of 400% of federal poverty for a 40-year-old and 60-year-old individual, namely 401%, 501% and 601%.

  • How the Trump Administration and Congress Are Reshaping the Affordable Care Act’s Marketplaces: Views from the States

    Event Date:
    Event

    Through regulations and the House budget reconciliation bill, significant changes are being considered by Congress and the Trump Administration for how the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance Marketplaces would work. To examine how these changes could reshape the ACA’s Marketplaces, KFF held a virtual briefing on June 11 featuring leaders from two state-based Marketplaces to get perspectives from the field.

  • Who Might Lose Eligibility for Affordable Care Act Marketplace Subsidies if Enhanced Tax Credits Are Not Extended?

    Policy Watch

    This analysis looks at the individual market enrollees who make at least four times the federal poverty level who would no longer be eligible for any tax credits if the current ACA Marketplace enhanced subsidies expire at the end of this year. Compared to other people with similar incomes, these enrollees are more likely to be early retirees, self-employed and living in rural areas.

  • Health Spending Issues to Watch This Year

    Issue Brief

    KFF and the Peterson Center on Healthcare examine market trends contributing to rising health costs and identify several potential federal and state policy issues to watch throughout 2025, including high-cost drugs, federal funding cuts, and workforce shortages.

  • Copay Adjustment Programs: What Are They and What Do They Mean for Consumers?

    Issue Brief

    Drug makers sometimes offer copay coupons to lower consumers’ out-of-pocket costs for their brand-name prescriptions, though how private health plans treat those coupons can substantially limit their value to consumers. This issue brief provides an overview of such copay adjustment programs, stakeholder arguments for and against their use, their prevalence, and federal and state efforts to address them.