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KFF/AP Survey Probes Rural Voters’ Increasing Anxieties About the Rising Cost of Living, Including Health Costs, Heading into the Midterm Elections

The KFF/AP Rural Voters Survey examines the views and political priorities of voters living in rural areas across the United States ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. The survey gauges rural voters’ top election issues, growing struggles with cost of living and health care costs, as well as views on the Trump administration’s health care policies.

Health System Tracker

How TrumpRx Brand-Name Drug Prices Compare

TrumpRx 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.

The MIDTERMS

“...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, unless that issue is the catchall, ‘cost of living.’” — Drew Altman, KFF Founding President and CEO

Are Health Care Costs THE Top Issue for Voters?

In 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, unless that issue is the catchall, “cost of living.”

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  • About 1 in 6 Emergency Visits and Hospital Stays Had At Least One Out-of-Network Charge in 2017

    News Release

    In roughly 1 of every 6 emergency room visits and inpatient hospital stays in 2017, patients came home with at least one out-of-network medical bill, a new KFF analysis finds. More specifically, 18 percent of all emergency visits and 16 percent of in-network hospital stays had at least one out-of-network charge, leaving patients at risk for surprise medical bills, according to the analysis of claims data from large employer plans. The analysis also finds the…

  • The Only Health Care Prices That Matter to Consumers

    From Drew Altman

    In this column, Drew Altman zeroes in on a key test for when the implementing rules are written for the new executive order on hospital price transparency: consumers will need to know what amount they must pay out of pocket to really help them shop on price.

  • Health Care Spending is More Than Just the Parts You See

    From Drew Altman

    In this Axios column, Drew Altman looks at total family spending for health including taxes and health benefits, and why people need to understand it to assess proposals like Medicare-for-All.

  • Low-Wage Workers Feel the Pinch on Health Insurance

    From Drew Altman

    In this column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman explores how low-wage firms and their workers are faring in the employer-based health insurance market and how the Affordable Care Act may influence future trends.

  • How Workers and Employers Diverge on Wellness Programs 

    News Release

    In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman examines employer attitudes and the evidence on wellness programs, and what the prospects for wellness programs are long term. All previous columns by Drew Altman are available online.

  • Women who Give Birth Incur Nearly $19,000 in Additional Health Costs, Including $2,854 More that They Pay Out of Pocket

    News Release

    The health care costs associated with pregnancy and childbirth average almost $19,000, including $2,854 paid out-of-pocket, a new KFF analysis of large employers’ insurance claims finds. Unlike other analyses that examine costs of specific pregnancy-related services, such as a vaginal or cesarean delivery, this new analysis compares three years of health care claims for reproductive-aged women who gave birth to claims for women who had not given birth. The analysis finds women who give birth…

  • Outpatient Visits Are Growing More Complex: Implications for Health Costs

    Issue Brief

    This analysis for the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker uses claims data from private, large employer-based plan to examine trends in complexity coding across outpatient practice settings from 2004 to 2021. It finds a trend toward higher complexity codes that contributes to higher outpatient spending.

  • Use of ACA preventive services potentially affected by Braidwood v. Becerra

    Issue Brief

    This analysis finds that about 10 million privately insured people received at least one ACA preventive service or drug that could be affected by a now-stayed U.S. District Court ruling, which found the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) requirement to cover certain preventive services without any cost sharing to be partially unconstitutional.

  • About 1 in 20 People with Private Insurance Received Services that Could be Affected by a District Court Ruling Limiting the ACA’s Preventive Services Mandate

    News Release

    A new KFF analysis finds about 1 in 20 privately insured people (5.7%) received at least one ACA preventive service or drug that could be affected by a now-stayed U.S. District Court ruling in Braidwood Management v. Becerra, which found the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) preventive services mandate partially unconstitutional. The district court also found that pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), medication recommended for HIV prevention, violates the religious rights of those who have objections to its…

  • Premiums and Worker Contributions Among Workers Covered by Employer-Sponsored Coverage, 1999-2024

    Interactive

    This graphing tool allows users to explore trends in workplace-sponsored health insurance premiums and worker contributions over time for different categories of employers based on results from the annual Employer Health Benefits Survey. Breakouts are available by firm size, region and industry, as well as for firms with relatively few or many part-time workers, higher- or lower-wage workers, and older or younger workers.