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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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  • Health Spending Is Rising More Sharply Again

    From Drew Altman

    In this column for The Wall Street Journal's Think Tank, Drew Altman discusses why high health care prices are a problem for consumers but not a cause of renewed growth in health spending.

  • The Diseases We Spend Our Health Dollars On

    From Drew Altman

    In this column for The Wall Street Journal's Think Tank, Drew Altman explains how a recent Bureau of Economic Analysis report makes the nation’s health care spending more tangible by breaking it down by disease.

  • Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: March 2015

    Feature

    As the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marks its fifth anniversary, this month’s poll finds the gap between favorable and unfavorable opinions of the law has narrowed to the closest margin in over two years. Although the Supreme Court heard oral arguments for the King v. Burwell case in early March, the majority of the public continues to say they have heard only a little or nothing at all about the case. The survey also includes…

  • Health Care Costs: What You Need To Know

    Event Date:
    Event

    On Wednesday, April 1, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Alliance for Health Reform presented a briefing to explore the trends in health care costs in both the public and private sectors.

  • New Interactive Tool Allows Users to Explore Trends in US Health Spending and Share Custom-Made Charts

    News Release

    A new interactive tool on the Peterson-Kaiser Health System Tracker allows users to analyze the most up-to-date data on U.S. health spending, then build, display and share the charts they create. Developed by analysts at the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Health Spending Explorer helps users examine five decades worth of numbers documenting expenditures by federal and local governments, private insurers, and individuals on 15 categories of health services, including hospitals, physician & clinic care, and prescription drugs.…

  • External Review of Health Plan Decisions — Policy Brief

    Issue Brief

    An 8-page policy brief on the external review of health plan decisions to inform the policy debate in California and nationally. The policy brief covers external review systems in other states and the Medicare program, the current status of external review in California, and issues regarding the design and implementation of external review. Policy Brief: External Review of Health Plan Decisions Policy Brief: External Review of Health Plan Decisions

  • Health Care and the 2004 Elections: Medical Liability Reform

    Issue Brief

    Medical Liability Reform   Download a printable .pdf of Health Care and the 2004 Elections: Medical Liability Reform. IssueBackgroundOptions for Assuring Access to Affordable Liability CoverageAssessing Candidate PositionsIssue Sharp increases in medical liability insurance premiums in recent years, and the withdrawal of some insurers from this market have focused the attention of health care providers, patients, and policymakers on reform of the medical liability system. Of additional concern is that the fear of liability causes…

  • The Distributional Consequences of  Medicare Premium Support Proposal

    Other Post

    The Distributional Consequences of a Medicare Premium Support Proposal This article analyzes the expected distributional impact of enacting a premium support proposal for Medicare based on legislation introduced by Sen. Breaux and Sen. Frist in 1999. This legislation suggested that the Federal Employees Health Benefits plan be used as a model for Medicare. The article simulates impacts in three areas: among beneficiaries who choose to retain fee-for-service coverage, between different geographic areas, and according to…

  • Retiree Health Benefits Examined: Findings from the Kaiser/Hewitt 2006 Survey on Retiree Health Benefits

    Report

    This includes the full report on the 2006 Kaiser/Hewitt survey of large businesses that provide retiree health benefits to their workers. The Kaiser/Hewitt study, the fifth joint survey since 2002, analyzes responses from a non-probability sample of 302 businesses with 1,000 or more employees that offer retiree health benefits. These large firms collectively provide health benefits for 5.2 million retirees and dependents, including 3.4 million Medicare-eligible retirees. Together they account for more than one quarter…