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COSTS and Affordability

KFF Health Tracking Poll: Health Care Costs and the Midterms

This KFF poll finds that health care costs continue to top the public’s list of affordability worries, even as concerns about gas prices have risen in recent weeks, with two-thirds of the public expressing worry over affording health care costs. Majorities say health costs will influence their vote this election. Voters favor Democrats on the issue, while Republicans hold an advantage on addressing fraud and abuse.

Affordable care act

ACA Marketplace Survey Feature Image - Website

Cost Concerns and Coverage Changes: A Follow-Up Survey of ACA Marketplace Enrollees

This KFF survey is a follow-up survey of adults who had ACA Marketplace insurance in 2025. The survey examines the cost concerns and coverage changes of Marketplace enrollees following the end of the enhanced premium tax credits and finds that half of returning enrollees say their health care costs are “a lot higher” and most expect to cut back on basic household expenses to afford coverage.

Health System Tracker

What Are the Recent Trends in Employer-Based Health Coverage? Employer-sponsored health insurance is the largest source of health coverage for people under 65, but its reach is uneven.

How Does U.S. Life Expectancy Compare to Other Countries? The life expectancy gap between the U.S. and peer countries decreased from 4.1 years in 2023 to 3.7 years in 2024 as U.S. mortality dropped.

How Does Cost Affect Access to Health Care? In 2024, about 1 in 6 adults reported delaying or not getting healthcare due to cost, including medical or mental health care.

How Does Health Spending in the U.S. Compare to Other Countries? While the U.S. still spends the most in total dollars, eight OECD nations had a higher percentage increase in per-person health spending in 2024.

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  • Illustrating the Potential Impacts of Adverse Selection on Health Insurance Costs in Consumer Choice Models

    Other Post

    Health Care Spending in the United States and OECD Countries  Health spending is rising faster than incomes in most developed countries, which raises questions about how these countries will pay for future health care needs.  The issue may be particularly acute in the United States, which not only spends much more per capita on health care than any other country, but which also has had one of the fastest growth rates in health spending among…

  • National Council of Jewish Women features article on “Diagnosing Women’s Health Care”

    Other Post

    National Council of Jewish Women features article on “Diagnosing Women’s Health Care” Kaiser Vice President and Director of Women's Health Policy, Alina Salganicoff, authored an article titled "Diagnosing Women’s Health Care" featured in the National Council of Jewish Women's magazine, NCJW Journal, volume 29. The article highlights the special challenges that many women face in affording and accessing comprehensive health care in the U.S. It discusses the state of women's health coverage, emerging issues for…

  • Health Affairs Article: From ‘Soak The Rich’ To ‘Soak The Poor: Recent Trends In Hospital Pricing

    Report

    Health Affairs Article: From 'Soak The Rich' To 'Soak The Poor': Recent Trends In Hospital Pricing The May-June 2007 issue of Health Affairs features a Foundation-supported study on recent trends in hospital pricing, including comparisons of rates charged to self-pay patients versus those with insurance coverage. The article also examies three specific policy options that could lower the markups for self-pay patients: a voluntary effort by hospitals, litigation, and legislation Health Affairs article "From 'Soak…

  • Designing a Medicare Drug Discount Card: Implications of Policy Choices for Medicare Beneficiaries and Plan Sponsors

    Report

    This report analyzes key issues surrounding the implementation of a Medicare-endorsed prescription drug discount card program. Medicare prescription drug discount cards have been proposed as a short-term strategy for lowering prescription drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries. The report considers the implications for both discount card sponsors and beneficiaries of alternative program designs, including such features as the annual lock-in for consumers, exclusive formularies, providing comparative information to consumers about drug prices and discounts, administration of…

  • Characteristics of Frequent Emergency Department Users

    Report

    The increased use of U.S. hospital emergency departments has received considerable attention from both the health care community and policymakers in recent years. This analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation examines the demographic and health characteristics of people who frequently visit the emergency room to help understand why their utilization is so high. Using data from the nationally representative Medical Expenditures Panel Survey, the analysis finds that high emergency department users (those who made four…

  • Closing the Long-Term Care Funding Gap: The Challenge of Private Long-Term Care Insurance

    Issue Brief

    This policy brief from the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured examines the fundamentals of private long-term care insurance. It describes the results of a study exploring how consumers buy policies, how much policies cost and how they work, and what regulations exist to protect consumers. It also discusses some key challenges that policymakers face when considering whether to enlarge the role of private long-term care insurance in financing long-term care. Policy Brief (.pdf)

  • Health Care Costs: The Role of Technology and Chronic Conditions

    Event Date:
    Event

    The Alliance for Health Reform and co-sponsors presented the second event in a three-part series of discussions on costs, the factors driving them up, and what (if anything) can be done about them. This briefing takes an in-depth look at two of the most often cited cost drivers - technology and chronic conditions. For more information, please visit the Alliance's event page.   Full Video:   Part One  Part Two   The panel is moderated by…

  • How Do M+C Plans Manage Pharmacy Benefits? Implications for Medicare Reform

    Report

    Understanding how Medicare+Choice (M+C) plans manage their drug benefits may generate important lessons for Medicare. This report, based on interviews with both national and regional managed care firms, provides an in-depth look at how plans have managed their M+C outpatient pharmacy benefits in recent years. Findings show that plans rely on a number of cost management strategies to constrain the growth in drug spending including formularies, tiered-copayments, mail-order benefits, and fixed caps or dollar limits…

  • The Federal Employees Health Benefits Program: Program Design, Recent Performance and Implications for Medicare Reform

    Report

    This report provides a basic description of the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program's (FEHBP) structure, benefits, financing, and operations. The report also assesses FEHBP's recent performance in a variety of areas, including cost increases, benefit changes, access to providers, and risk selection. It concludes with a brief discussion of the implications of the FEHBP experience for Medicare reform proposals. Report Speaker Presentation (Merlis) Webcast of briefing

  • Making Medicaid Managed Care Work:  An Action Plan for Persons Living with HIV

    Other Post

    Making Medicaid Managed Care Work: An Action Plan for Persons Living with HIV This report, by the National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA) with support from The Kaiser Family Foundation, describes nine key points for people living with HIV to keep in mind when trying to influence the development of a managed care system that will serve them effectively. Senator John Chafee (R-RI), an acknowledged ally of NAPWA, gratefully accepted the report upon its…