The Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker provides clear, up-to-date information on trends, drivers and issues that impact the performance of the system. It also illustrates how the U.S. is performing relative to other countries and how different parts of the system are performing relative to one another. A partnership of the Peterson Center on Healthcare and the KFF, the Tracker’s work goal places a heavy emphasis on data and evidence, addressing key questions through collections of charts, which provide data with additional context and synthesis of the latest research and developments. The Tracker also provide regular insight briefs for a more in-depth look at topical questions.
Featured Peterson-KFF Resources
COVID-19 preventable mortality and leading cause of death ranking
This updated analysis finds that in November 2021, COVID-19 ranked as the 3rd leading cause of death in the U.S., up from 7th in July, due to the more infectious delta variant, insufficient vaccination, and reduced social distancing. At least 163,000 deaths from COVID-19 between June and November could have been prevented with vaccines.
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Related Peterson-KFF Resources
- Unvaccinated COVID patients cost the U.S. health system billions of dollars
- Characteristics of Vaccinated Patients Hospitalized with COVID-19 Breakthrough Infections
- Most private insurers are no longer waiving cost-sharing for COVID-19 treatment
- Few Adults Are Aware of Hospital Price Transparency Requirements
- Surprise Bills Vary by Diagnosis and Type of Admission
- What Drives Health Spending in the U.S. Compared to Other Countries
- How does the quality of the U.S. health care system compare to other countries?
- Health System Dashboard
National Health Spending Explorer
The Health Spending Explorer on the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker helps users examine five decades worth of numbers documenting expenditures by federal and local governments, private insurers, and individuals on 15 categories of health services, including hospitals, physician and clinic care, and prescription drugs.
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Tracking the Rise in Premium Contributions and Cost-Sharing for Families with Large Employer Coverage
An analysis of large employer health coverage on the Peterson-Kaiser Health System Tracker finds that the cost to families for health coverage and care has risen more than two times faster than wages and three times faster than inflation over the last decade.
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New Analysis of Large Employer Health Coverage: The Cost to Families for Health Coverage and Care Has Risen More Than 2X Faster Than Wages and 3X Faster Than Inflation Over the Last Decade
A new KFF analysis that looked at both premiums and other out-of-pocket costs shows that families with coverage through a large employer paid 67 percent more for their health benefits and care in 2018 than a decade earlier. In 2018, a typical family of four with large employer coverage spent…
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Surprise Bills Vary by Diagnosis and Type of Admission
A new issue brief looks at the prevalence of potential surprise medical bills based on patient diagnosis, emergency visits, and type of inpatient admission.
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How Prepared is the U.S. to Respond to COVID-19 Relative to Other Countries?
Compared to most similarly large and wealthy countries, the U.S. has fewer practicing physicians per capita but has a similar number of licensed nurses per capita. Looking specifically at the hospital setting, the U.S. has more hospital-based employees per capita than most other comparable countries, but nearly half of these hospital workers are non-clinical staff.
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Analysis: Hospital Price Transparency Data Lacks Standardization, Limiting Its Use to Insurers, Employers, and Consumers
In spite of a new price transparency rule that requires hospitals to publish the prices of common health services, comparing prices across hospitals remains challenging due to limited compliance with the law and a lack of standardization in the available data, a new KFF analysis finds. The federal rule, which…
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The Pandemic’s Effect on the Widening Gap in Mortality Rate between the U.S. and Peer Countries
A new KFF brief looks at where COVID-19 falls as a leading cause of death in the U.S. compared to similarly large and wealthy countries. The analysis finds that COVID-19 mortality rates are the third leading cause of death in the U.S., a ranking shared by only one peer country,…
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Cost-Sharing Waivers and Premium Relief by Private Plans in Response to COVID-19 (Nov. 2020 Update)
An updated issue brief estimates the number of enrollees in individual and fully-insured group market plans that have waived cost-sharing – out-of-pocket costs including coinsurance, copayments, and deductibles – for COVID-19 treatment. The analysis also estimates the number of enrollees whose insurer is offering various forms of premium payment relief.…
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Interactive Maps Highlight Urban-Rural Differences in Hospital Bed Capacity
As the U.S. coronavirus outbreak spreads beyond densely populated metropolitan areas, a new KFF analysis finds that rural areas typically have fewer intensive care hospital resources than their urban counterparts, and populations at greater risk of developing serious illness and complications from COVID-19. While metro and non-metro areas have similar numbers of…
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COVID-19 Pandemic-Related Excess Mortality and Potential Years of Life Lost in the U.S. and Peer Countries
A new issue brief reviews excess death rates in the U.S. and peer countries by age groups to examine how the pandemic has affected excess mortality rate among younger people. The analysis looks specifically at the excess deaths that arose in 2020 to examine how the age at death during…
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Early 2021 Data Show No Rebound in Health Care Utilization
This analysis finds hospital admissions remained below expected levels in early 2021, suggesting much of the care people put off during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic may have been forgone altogether.
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