How Much is Health Spending Expected to Grow?
This chart collection explores how much health spending is expected to grow in the coming years, with a look at growth in prescription drug spending, out-of-pocket spending, and related trends.
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2026 Employer Health Benefits Survey
FeatureThis is the 28th Employer Health Benefits Survey (EHBS) and reflects employer-sponsored health benefits in 2026. As in years past, the survey examines trends in employer coverage, including premiums, employee contributions, deductibles, offer rates, and employer practices. This year, we asked employers detailed questions about satisfaction with their health plans; coverage of GLP-1 agonists and IVF; actions taken in response to projected cost increases; and firms’ ability to obtain information about health care costs and…
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Workers Now Pay $7,471 on Average Annually for Family Health Coverage, Up 9% or $621 from 2025, Benchmark Employer Health Benefits Survey Finds
News ReleaseWorkers are paying on average $7,471 annually toward the premiums for employer-sponsored family health benefits this year, which is up 9%, or $621, from 2025, per KFF’s annual benchmark health benefits survey of large and small employers. The burden of family premiums hits particularly hard for workers at small firms with less than 200 workers. On average, covered workers in small firms are contributing $9,687 annually toward family coverage this year. That’s $2,847 more than…
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The Trump Administration’s $90 Payment to Medicare Beneficiaries, Reminiscent of a Similar Proposal Six Years Ago, May Not Offset Rising Costs
Quick InsightsMedicare’s standard Part B premium is $2,435 this year and is projected to increase by $79 annually for 2027 – meaning this increase alone would consume most of the $90 payment, which less than half of all beneficiaries will receive.
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Many Medicare Part D Stand-Alone Drug Plan Enrollees Will See Modest Premium Increases for 2027, But Others Could Pay Much More If They Don’t Switch Plans
Issue BriefThis brief analyzes the Medicare Part D stand-alone prescription drug plan (PDP) market for 2027. The analysis shows that there will be a modest reduction in the number of PDPs for 2027, along with modest premium increases less than $10 per month for many enrollees, but much larger monthly premium increases of $50 or more for others if they don’t change plans.
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How TrumpRx Brand-Name Drug Prices Compare to Other Countries
Issue BriefTrumpRx prices for brand-name drugs are about as likely to be higher as lower compared to average prices in other wealthy countries, according to an analysis that compares 32 brand-name drugs (without generics or biosimilars) on the TrumpRx website with publicly available prices in one or more of 11 OECD member countries.
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Analysis: Prices for Many Brand-Name TrumpRx Drugs Are Cheaper than the Average Price in Other Wealthy Countries, But Are Almost as Likely To Be More Expensive
News ReleaseConsumers who buy brand-name prescription drugs without an available generic or biosimilar at the prices available through the new TrumpRx website are about as likely to pay more as pay less for those drugs relative to the publicly listed prices available in other comparatively wealthy countries, a new KFF analysis finds. The Trump administration has promoted the TrumpRx website as a way for consumers to get the lowest prices for prescription medications in the world, drawing on…
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Examining LGBTQ+ Adults’ Experiences with Health Care Costs and Access
Poll FindingThis report examines how LGBTQ+ adults' experiences with health care costs and access compare to those of non-LGBTQ+ adults, finding that LGBTQ+ adults face significantly greater challenges affording and accessing care.
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Medicare’s Proposed Cut to 340B Drug Payments Would Hit Safety-Net Hospitals While Benefiting For-Profit Hospitals
Policy WatchThis analysis finds that CMS’s proposed cut to Medicare reimbursement for 340B drugs, and accompanying increase for other outpatient services, would reduce revenues among safety-net hospitals while increasing revenues among for-profit hospitals.
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Are Health Care Costs THE Top Issue for Voters?
From Drew AltmanIn a new column, Dr. Drew Altman, Founding President and CEO, analyzes the polling on health costs as a voting issue and concludes that there is no one top voting issue. He writes: “I have come to the conclusion that the search for a single top issue through polling questions—whether it’s health costs, or gas prices, or the cost of food—is artificial. People worry about and experience these costs together. There is no top issue,…