The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
KFF’s policy research provides facts and analysis on a wide range of policy issues and public programs.
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.
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the organization’s core operating programs.
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.
The survey finds nearly six in 10 people with health insurance experienced a problem using their insurance in the past year, with even larger shares reporting problems among people who are sick or who have mental health needs. It includes data for people with different types of coverage, including employer, Marketplace, Medicare and Medicaid, and also examines affordability issues and mental health access.
As policymakers and regulators pay more attention to consolidation in health care provider markets, this brief examines and summarizes the evidence about consolidation, including recent trends, the impact on prices and quality, and proposals to address consolidation and increase competition.
Most patients do not know about the new surprise billing protections and likely also do not know of resources available to seek recourse for incorrect medical bills. This brief provides resources to privately insured patients who receive surprise balance bills and also summarizes relevant policies and how they apply to balance billing.
Ahead of the annual Affordable Care Act (ACA) open enrollment period, the time during which consumers can shop for health plans or renew existing coverage, KFF has updated and expanded its searchable collection of more than 300 Frequently Asked Questions about open enrollment, the health insurance marketplaces and the ACA.
The brief provides an overview of how vaccines are reimbursed and covered across government programs and different types of health insurance in the United States. It coverage regulations specific to COVID-19 vaccine(s).
In context of the rapidly growing number of older adults in the U.S. and increasing challenges that this population faces, the Kaiser Family Foundation conducted a large scale, nationally representative telephone survey to better understand people’s expectations about later life and efforts they’ve taken to plan for if they become seriously ill. To learn more about the experiences of those with serious illness specifically, this survey also included interviews with adults who are either personally age 65 or older living with a serious illness, or have an older family member who is or was before they recently died.
The latest Kaiser Health Tracking Poll examines the public’s early attitudes towards the House Republican plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act and finds that more expect the new plan will make things worse rather than better when it comes to the number of people with coverage and costs for those buying insurance on their own. The survey also measures public support for continuing current federal Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood, gauges the importance of various ACA provisions for women’s and children’s health, and revisits the public's knowledge on key provisions included in the health care law.
As a group, older Americans are likely to see some of the biggest changes in their health insurance under the House-passed American Health Care Act (AHCA). The Congressional Budget Office projects that the number of 50- to 64-year-olds who are uninsured would rise to 10 million in 2026, about 5.
A new KFF analysis finds that expanding Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium subsidies like Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has proposed would lower the cost of Marketplace coverage for nearly all potential enrollees, including the uninsured and others currently priced out of the Marketplace.
This summary of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act highlights and summarizes health-related provisions focused on the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States and support for the global response.
© 2025 KFF