Politics

With the November midterm elections comes changes in Congress and state legislatures. While full election results remain in flux, there is the possibility of a shift from unified Democratic control of the White House and Congress to divided power. A split in political control of the federal government raises big…

While inflation was clearly at the top of voters’ minds in this year’s midterm elections, the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade played a significant role in motivating key voting blocs that likely contributed to the Democratic party’s stronger-than-expected performance, a new analysis of KFF’s supplemental questions on the Associated Press VoteCast survey…

In the wake of the 2022 midterm elections, KFF’s analysis of KFF/AP VoteCast supplemental questions shows how abortion and the overturn of Roe v. Wade played a factor in the election by motiving key voting blocks.

NEW: Explore the 2024 KFF/AP VoteCast data dashboard. Abortion As A Voting Issue Abortion On The Ballot Issues In Competitive Races Most Important Issue Facing The U.S.

In this column for the JAMA Forum, KFF’s Larry Levitt explores the Medicare drug-price negotiation provisions and other significant drug-price changes in the Inflation Reduction Act and their potential to lead to further efforts to address health care costs.

This post examines the potential for this year’s midterm elections to decide the fate of Medicaid expansion, with gubernatorial races in 10 of the 12 states that have not expanded, including Georgia, Kansas and Wisconsin, where the gubernatorial race is considered a toss-up. South Dakota voters also will decide a Medicaid expansion ballot initiative.

Medication abortion, also known as medical abortion or abortion with pills, has been FDA-approved as safe and effective since 2000 for the termination of pregnancies through the first 10 weeks. Its use in the United States has grown in recently years and now it accounts for just over half of…

U.S. prescription drug spending per person is about double what it is in peer countries and about 8 in 10 U.S. adults say the cost of prescription drugs is unreasonable. With the public ranking lowering out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs the top health care priority for Congress, lawmakers have been…

Increased social isolation, stress, and unemployment as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic have contributed to a rise in mental health issues and substance use disorders (SUD) in the U.S. The impact of the pandemic has been particularly concerning for kids, as KFF’s most recent COVID Vaccine Monitor reported that…

Against the backdrop of public concern about inflation and rising gas prices, proposals to lower what people pay out-of-pocket for drugs tops the public’s list of health care priorities for Congress, a new KFF Health Tracking Poll finds. Most (55%) of the public say inflation is the biggest problem facing…