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.
On Wednesday, October 19th, a panel of experts joined series moderator Larry Levitt in a 45-minute discussion exploring the government’s plan to transition the distribution of COVID tests, vaccines, and therapeutics to the commercial market and its potential implications for consumers and insurers.
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…
This post examines what would happen to ACA marketplace premiums for enrollees with incomes more than four times the federal policy level if the enhanced American Rescue Plan Act subsidies expire, including variations by state .
This analysis illustrates how provisions included in the House budget reconciliation bill could expose Marketplace enrollees with unpredictable incomes to higher penalties when filing taxes if they underestimate their incomes. About one in four potential Marketplace shoppers had incomes that varied at least 20 percent from the beginning to the end of the year.
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.
On July 4, President Trump signed into law the budget reconciliation bill, previously known as “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” The law includes several policy changes that could have significant implications for the health and health coverage of older Americans ages 50 and older, including those who are covered by Medicare.
Proposed changes in eligibility rules in both SNAP and Medicaid may jeopardize some people’s access to both adequate food and health care if various provisions of the bill take effect, in part because there is a significant overlap in eligibility requirements for Medicaid and SNAP across states. Four in 10 (40%) Medicaid enrollees receive SNAP benefits.
The ACA's enhanced premium tax credits expired at the end of 2025. This calculator estimates how much out-of-pocket premium payments would increase for families without the enhanced credits. The projected premium increases are estimated based on family income, zip code, size, ages, and 2026 ACA Marketplace premiums.
In this JAMA Health Forum post, Executive Vice President Larry Levitt explores why the incoming Trump administration and Republican majorities in Congress are likely to pursue budget cuts in Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act and why such efforts are likely to boost the number of uninsured Americans.
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.
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