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Promotional Image for the KFF video Health Care Affordability at the Macro Level

Health Care Costs Keep Rising … Why and Who Pays?

The U.S. spends more on health care than other large, wealthy countries. Concerns about rising costs aren’t new, yet somehow we keep paying the bill. In this video, KFF’s Larry Levitt explains how we got here, who bears the consequences and why reining in spending systematically may be central to the next big health care debate. KFF’s Larry Levitt, Executive Vice President for Health Policy, explains how we got here, who bears the consequences and why reining in spending systematically may be central to the next big health care debate.

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.

Health System Tracker

Among adults 18 - 64 with private insurance, mental health and substance use treatment accounted for 10% of all overnight stays at hospitals or other medical facilities in 2023.

Cost and Utilization of Inpatient Mental Health and Substance Use Treatment This analysis describes the most common diagnoses for inpatient treatment and total associated costs.

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 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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  • California Health Care Chartbook: Key Data and Trends

    Report

    This chartbook provides California and U.S. data and trend analysis on a broad range of health system and financing indicators, including demographics and health status data, insurance coverage and the uninsured, employer health insurance premiums and offer rates, Medicaid and Medicare enrollment and spending, and health care industry trends. Chartbook (.pdf)

  • Analysis of the Number of Workers Covered by Self-Insured Health Plans Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and 1995.

    Report

    This report presents findings based upon the KPMG health benefits survey of private and public employers and explores the extent of ERISA preemption on health plans covering U.S. workers. Included is estimated data on the total number of workers covered by fully and partly self-insured health plans in 1993 and 1995, a summary of the ERISA provisions and case law dealing with health plans and an analysis of potential changes to ERISA. Note: This publication…

  • Estimates of Medicare Beneficiaries’ Out-of-Pocket Drug Spending in 2006

    Report

    This report projects the impact of the new Medicare drug benefit on out-of-pocket spending for people who enroll in 2006. This analysis from November 2004 estimates that 6.9 million beneficiaries are projected to be affected by the coverage gap (the so-called "doughnut hole") in the standard Part D drug benefit. This estimate is based on projected enrollment in Part D plans of 29 million (Congressional Budget Office, July 2004), prior to implementation of the drug…

  • Snapshots from the Kitchen Table: Family Budgets and Health Care

    Video

    This Kaiser Family Foundation documentary, “Snapshots from the Kitchen Table: Family Budgets and Health Care,” profiles several American families who are struggling to make ends meet. It depicts the narrow financial ledge on which millions of low- and middle- income working households stand even in normal economic times, and illustrates the central role that health care costs and coverage play in a household’s economic stability. Some of the families profiled have health insurance, others do…

  • Visualizing Health Policy: Health Care Costs

    Other Post

    The September 2012 Visualizing Health Policy  infographic  examines health costs in the United States, including how costs have changed, how they compare to some other countries, and how they impact American families. See the full-size infographic at The Journal of the American Medical Association View the related Slideshow Visualizing Health Policy is a monthly infographic series produced in partnership with the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Each month's infographic is freely available on JAMA’s website…

  • California Employer Health Benefits Survey Archives

    Report

    In 1999, The Kaiser Family Foundation, the Health Research and Educational Trust, and UC Berkeley undertook a supplement to the National Employer Health Benefits Survey based on California firms. Since that time, the survey has been conducted annually by Kaiser and HRET. Like the National survey, the California Employer Health Benefits Survey tracks trends in employer health insurance coverage, the cost of that coverage, and other topical health insurance issues. Findings are based on a…

  • Annual Increase in National Health Expenditures and Their Share of Gross Domestic Product, 1961-2011

    Feature

    Annual Increase in National Health Expenditures and Their Share of Gross Domestic Product, 1961-2011 Download Source Kaiser Family Foundation calculations using NHE data from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary, National Health Statistics Group, at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/NationalHealthExpendData/ (see Historical; National Health Expenditures by type of service and source of funds, CY 1960-2011; file nhe2011.zip). Gross Domestic Product data from Bureau of Economic Analysis, at http://bea.gov/national/index.htm#gdp (file gdplev.xls). 

  • Annual Increase in National Health Expenditures and Their Share of Gross Domestic Product, 2001-2011

    Feature

    Annual Increase in National Health Expenditures and Their Share of Gross Domestic Product, 2001-2011 Download Source Kaiser Family Foundation calculations using NHE data from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary, National Health Statistics Group, at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/NationalHealthExpendData/ (see Historical; National Health Expenditures by type of service and source of funds, CY 1960-2011; file nhe2011.zip). Gross Domestic Product data from Bureau of Economic Analysis, at http://bea.gov/national/index.htm#gdp (file gdplev.xls).