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KFF Health Tracking Poll: MAHA and the Midterms

Chemical food additive and pesticide concerns associated with the Make America Health Again (MAHA) movement are shared broadly across the public. But when it comes to voters, health care costs are a higher priority and bigger motivator, even among MAHA supporters, a new KFF Health Tracking Poll finds. When asked to identify their most important health priority for government to address, far more MAHA-supporting voters identify lowering the cost of health care (42%) than other issues more closely associated with the movement.

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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  • Page Two

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    Employee Contributions Almost 80% of covered workers with single coverage, and over 90% of covered workers with family coverage make a contribution toward premiums in 2004 (Exhibit C). Workers on average contribute $558 of the $3,695 annual cost of single coverage and $2,661 of the $9,950 annual cost of family coverage toward premiums (Exhibit B). Click on Thumbnail for larger image (opens in a new window) Click on Thumbnail for larger image (opens in a…

  • Pulling it Together: The Health Care Industry’s Second Voluntary Effort

    Perspective

    The announcement that health care industry groups plan to put on the table voluntarily a package of proposals to shave $2 trillion off the rate of increase in health spending over the next ten years immediately conjures up the image of the Voluntary Effort or VE launched with similar fanfare in the Carter administration.  Back then the industry used the VE to fend off Jimmy Carter's efforts to aggressively control the costs of hospital care…

  • Pulling it Together: The Experts vs. The Public on Health Reform

    Perspective

    In repeated Kaiser polls, we see a divide between what experts believe and what the public believes about some of the key issues in health reform. They don’t disagree on everything; far from it. But there is a wide gulf on basic beliefs about what is behind the problems in the health care system and key elements of reform, especially delivery reform. Experts believe the health care system is full of unnecessary care and troubling…

  • Explaining Health Care Reform: How Might a Reform Plan Be Financed?

    Issue Brief

    One of the key challenges in enacting a health care reform plan is how to finance it among government, employers, and individuals. Of particular concern to policymakers is what effect a health reform plan would have on government spending and the federal budget. President Obama and Congressional leaders have said that any health reform plan should not add to the budget deficit over a 10 year period. This brief explains the likely sources of added…

  • Kaiser Health Tracking Poll — August 2009

    Poll Finding

    The August Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds a slim majority of Americans continues to favor moving forward on health care reform now despite an intensifying ad war and a political climate of contentious town hall meetings that coincide with rising concerns about the reform effort. Fifty-three percent of the public believes that tackling health reform is more important than ever, compared to 42 percent who say we cannot afford to take on health care reform…

  • Pulling it Together: Simple Arithmetic

    Perspective

    This week we put out our annual benchmark survey of employer health coverage and costs. Two numbers jumped off the pages. The first number was the average cost of a family health insurance policy in 2009: $13,375. To put that number in context, if you are an employer, you can hire an employee at the minimum wage for about $15,000 per year. If you are a consumer, you can rent an average two-bedroom apartment nationwide…

  • Pulling it Together: Seniors and Health Reform

    Perspective

    It is widely believed that seniors are antsy about the new health reform law. And there is heightened interest in how seniors feel about the law in the political world because they are more likely to vote in midterm elections.  About 48% of the electorate said they voted in the 2006 midterms while about 63% of seniors said the same.  Our June and July tracking polls shed light on seniors’ views on health reform and…

  • Women and Health Care: A National Profile

    Report

    A new national survey of women on their health finds that a substantial percentage of women cannot afford to go to the doctor or get prescriptions filled. Although a majority of women are in good health and satisfied with their health care, many have health problems and do not get adequate levels of preventive care. The report also examines women’s health status, health care costs, insurance, access to care, prevention, and their role in family…

  • Primers on Key Health Care Topics and Programs

    Issue Brief

    The Kaiser Family Foundation maintains a number of primers providing overviews of key health care programs and issues. Written by Foundation staff, each primer provides key data and information that helps illustrate the topic and its relevance for the nation's health care system. Medicaid: A Primer Medicare: A Primer The Uninsured: A Primer Health Care Costs: A Primer How Private Health Coverage Works: A Primer Mental Health Financing in the United States: A Primer The…

  • Kaiser Health Tracking Poll – July 2009

    Poll Finding

    The July Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds a majority of the public remains supportive of taking action on health reform now, though there is some softening of support as criticisms and doubts seem to be registering. As has been the case over the past ten months, a majority of the American people continue to believe that health reform is more important than ever despite the country's economic problems, and the public believes by a two…