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The MIDTERMS

Democrats Hold a Nearly 2-to-1 Advantage Over Republicans on Handling the Cost of Health Care

Poll: Cost of Health Care and Gas Top Voters’ Midterm Concerns; Democrats Hold Significant Advantage on Health Care Costs and Cost of Living 

With the 2026 midterms about a month away, health care costs remain tied with gas as voters’ top midterm concerns and the Democrats hold a clear edge over the Republicans Party on who voters trust to handle many top electoral issues, including the cost of health care and the cost of living. Two-thirds of U.S. adults now favor Medicare-for-all, a new high in KFF Polling, but support shifts when competing claims from critics and proponents are heard.

New and noteworthy

Americans’ Challenges with Health Care Costs

This data note reviews our recent polling data that finds that many Americans struggle to afford many aspects of health care, including disproportionate shares of uninsured adults, Black and Hispanic adults and those with lower incomes.

Health System Tracker

Is This A Healthcare Economy?

Health care employment has grown faster than other sectors of the economy, with jobs in physician offices, hospitals, outpatient care centers, home health, and other settings increasing over the past year even as the rest of the job market plateaued. 

Cumulative percent change in health sector and non-health sector employment, January 1990 - August 2026

What Are the Recent Trends in Health Sector Employment

Health care employment continues to grow even as hiring across other sectors has plateaued. The health sector added nearly 379,000 jobs over the past year, a 2% increase, compared with just 0.2% growth in other non-farm employment, with outpatient care among the fastest-growing health care settings.

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.

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  • At CMS, the Mission Is Broader Than Medicare and Medicaid

    From Drew Altman

    In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal's Think Tank, Drew Altman discusses whether the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' broad new responsibilities implementing the Affordable Care Act and a more proactive approach to Medicare payment signals that it’s time for (another) name change.

  • The Connection Between Health Coverage and Income Security

    News Release

    Using data from a new Kaiser Family Foundation panel survey following the uninsured in California who gained coverage since 2010, Drew Altman's latest column in The Wall Street Journal's Think Tank shows how expanding health coverage and improving economic security for working Americans are connected even though they are often part of separate policy debates. All previous columns by Drew Altman are available online.

  • The Connection Between Health Coverage and Income Security

    From Drew Altman

    In this column in The Wall Street Journal's Think Tank, Drew Altman shows how expanding health coverage and improving economic security for working Americans are connected even though they are often part of separate policy debates.

  • How to Think About Higher Growth in Health-Care Spending

    News Release

    In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal's Think Tank, Drew Altman explains that just as we should not have expected historically low rates of health spending increases to continue, we should not dramatize a return to higher rates in coming years. All previous columns by Drew Altman are available.  

  • How to Think About Higher Growth in Health-Care Spending

    From Drew Altman

    In this column for The Wall Street Journal's Think Tank, Drew Altman explains that just as we should not have expected historically low rates of health spending increases to continue, we should not dramatize a return to higher rates in coming years.

  • What do we know about the burden of disease in the United States?

    Feature

    This slideshow examines disease burden in the United States and comparable countries as measured by Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs), which take into account years of life lost due to premature death and years of productive life lost to poor health or disability. Although the U.S. disease burden rate dropped 14 percent between 1990 and 2010. comparable countries saw an average decrease of 18 percent. In the United States, mental health and musculoskeletal disorders are…

  • Early Analysis In Eleven States Finds Modest Increases For ACA Silver Plans

    News Release

    A Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of Affordable Care Act (ACA) plans in major metropolitan areas in 11 states where data are available, including the District of Columbia, finds that preliminary 2016 premiums for benchmark silver plans grew modestly, but increased more sharply this year than last year. The average increase for benchmark plans across the cities is 4.4 percent for 2016 compared with a 2 percent increase nationwide in 2015.

  • Analysis of 2016 Premium Changes and Insurer Participation in the Affordable Care Act’s Health Insurance Marketplaces

    Issue Brief

    This analysis provides an early look at premium changes for individuals in the health insurance marketplaces, created under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), in major cities in 10 states plus DC. Premium changes for the benchmark silver plans vary significantly across the sample cities. The benchmark rates will increase 4.4 percent on average in 2016 without accounting for tax credits, a relatively modest amount but greater than the average increase for 2015.

  • Poll Finds Nearly Three Quarters of Americans Say Prescription Drug Costs Are Unreasonable, and Most Blame Drug Makers Rather Than Insurers for the Problem

    News Release

    If Supreme Court's King v. Burwell Decision Restricts Insurance Subsidies to Certain States, Most Say Congress Should Act to Ensure Residents of All States are Eligible, and a Majority in Potentially Affected States say Their State Should Act Public's Views on Affordable Care Act Are Divided and Unchanged: 42% Unfavorable and 39% Favorable Nearly three quarters (73%) of the public view prescription drug costs as unreasonable, and far more blame pharmaceutical companies more than insurers…

  • Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: June 2015

    Feature

    Given recent news about some high-cost prescription drugs and the debate about who should pay for them, this month’s Kaiser Health Tracking Poll has a special focus on the issue. Nearly three-quarters of the public think that the cost of prescription drugs is unreasonable. Americans place much of the blame with the drug companies saying they set prices too high and that company profits are a major factor in drug pricing. The poll also finds…