Health Costs

The MIDTERMS

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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  • Prescription Drug Discount Cards: Current Programs and Issues

    Report

    As policymakers consider a range of approaches to providing prescription drug coverage to the Medicare population in today s tight budgetary environment, one proposal that has been put forth by the Bush Administration is that of a Medicare-endorsed prescription drug discount card program. This report describes the range of existing discount card programs run by both private sponsors and state governments and provides background information on the implications of this approach to assisting Medicare beneficiaries…

  • Working Families at Risk: Coverage, Access, Cost and Worries

    Other Post

    Many Working Families Struggle To Get Needed Care And Pay Medical Bills Three-Quarters of the Currently or Recently Uninsured Are in Working Families Nearly Half of Uninsured Adults in Working Families Have Access or Bill Problems Embargoed for release until: 10:00 a.m., EST, Monday, December 8, 1997 For further Information contact: Chris Ferris (202)347-5270 or Mary Mahon (212)606-3853 Washington, D.C.-- Three in four American adults who do not have health insurance or who have experienced…

  • Medicaid and Managed Care

    Fact Sheet

    This fact sheet provides an overview of the Medicaid program's increasing reliance on managed care to deliver services. Fact Sheet

  • Comparisons of the Liability Provisions of the House and Senate Patients’ Rights Bills

    Report

    A hotly debated issue in Congress has been the issue of when health maintenance organizations, health insurers, and those who administer health benefit plans should be financially liable to their plan participants for a denial of a claim or for damages for any injuries that result from such denials (known as health plan liability ). This new report by Gary Claxton of the Georgetown Institute for Health Care Research and Policy describes the health plan…

  • How Well Does the Employment-Based Health Insurance System Work for Low-Income Families?

    Other Post

    Part 2 Even when insurance is offered to low-wage workers, its costs to these workers may be substantial, and, for some, a barrier to coverage. In 1996, workers had to contribute an average of $1,615 per year for family coverage, or about 30% of the total premium.5 Thus, a worker who earned $10 an hour in 1996, with annual wages of about $20,000, would have had to spend 8% of earnings to buy family coverage.*…

  • Medicaid and HIV/AIDS Policy: A Basic Primer

    Report

    The Medicaid Primer presents in depth information on Medicaid, the federal/state program that provides health coverage for low-income families and people with disabilities and is the largest source of public financing for HIV/AIDS care in the U.S. The Medicaid Primer is designed to help policymakers and advocates navigate through the complexities of Medicaid with regard to the program's role for people with HIV/AIDS. REPORT Download

  • Medicaid Support for Family Planning in the Managed Care Era

    Report

    As the largest source of public funding for contraceptive care in the United States, Medicaid plays a crucial role in financing family planning services and supplies for millions of low-income women across the nation. In the past 15 years, managed care has become the primary way of delivering care to children and adults on Medicaid, a development which has had significant implications for how family planning services are financed, organized and delivered under Medicaid. This…

  • Alternative Approaches to Liability: Models for Health Plan Liability

    Report

    This report looks at the different ways in which liability is handled in a number of industries, and explores how these models might apply to health plans. The report also discusses health plan liability in the context of the ongoing Consumer Protection debate. Report: Models for Health Plan Liability

  • How Medicare HMO Withdrawals Affect Beneficiary Benefits, Costs, and Continuity of Care

    Report

    Results from the 1999 Survey of Experiences with Medicare HMOs This report examines the effects of Medicare HMO withdrawals on elderly and disabled beneficiaries who were involuntarily disenrolled from their HMO at the end of 1998. Based on a nationally-representative survey, the report describes new insurance arrangements made by beneficiaries after their HMO withdrew and considers the effects of this insurance transition on benefits, costs, and continuity of care. The study finds that most beneficiaries…