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“...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.”

New and noteworthy

How Unaffordable is Health Care and What Can We Do About It?

Event Date:

On Tuesday, July 21, three experts joined Health Wonk Shop series moderator Larry Levitt in an hour-long discussion of health care affordability. During the discussion, panelists considered affordability from a variety of perspectives, including how to define affordability and the question of affordability for whom, how to measure it, and what can be done to address affordability and the underlying cost of health care.

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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  • Why Some Employers are Turning to Progressive Health Benefits

    From Drew Altman

    In this Axios column, Drew Altman examines the status of progressive health benefits (health benefits linked to wage levels) and their pros and cons at a time when employee health costs are rising and wages are flat.

  • Poll: Two-thirds of Voters Say a Candidate’s Position on Pre-existing Conditions is Important to their Vote, More than Say the Same about Drug Costs, ACA Repeal or Medicare-for-All

    News Release

    About two-thirds (65%) of voters say a candidate’s support for continued protections for people with pre-existing health conditions is either the “single most important factor” or “very important” to their vote in the upcoming midterms elections, finds the latest Kaiser Family Foundation tracking poll. That’s a larger share than says the same about other health care issues, including bringing down prescription drug costs (58%), repealing the Affordable Care Act (53%), stabilizing the ACA marketplaces (52%), or…

  • Implementation of Managed Care Consumer Protections in Missouri, New Jersey, Texas and Vermont Overview

    Report

    This study goes beyond the legislative debates over expanded patients' rights to explore how managed care consumer protections have actually been implemented in four states (Missouri, New Jersey, Texas & Vermont) all of which have been active in this area. The study describes the details of the reforms, the issues that have arisen in implementation, and the lessons for policymakers from the experiences of these states. The Full Report (document #1518) is available on-line. Executive…

  • Health Care Information in California: Who Collects It? Who Needs It? — Issue Brief

    Issue Brief

    A 2-page issue brief about the collection and use of health care information for California's public health, health care and managed care systems. The issue brief includes a brief outline of the kind of health care information that is currently being collected at both the state and national level to support policy development, government oversight, and consumer education. The Issue Brief lists Roundtable participants for a Roundtable Event: Tuesday, November 30, 1999 - 1:00-4:00 PM,…

  • Recent Tax Proposals to Increase Health Insurance Coverage

    Other Post

    This report includes a side-by-side analysis of recent tax proposals by Members of Congress and various health organizations designed to increase the number of individuals with private health insurance coverage. Recent Tax Proposals To Increase Health Insurance Coverage

  • Medicaid Managed Care’s Impact On Safety-Net Clinics In California

    Fact Sheet

    Medicaid Managed Care's Impact On Safety-Net Clinics In California Medicaid Managed Care's Impact On Safety-Net Clinics In California was published in the January/February 2000 issue of the journal Health Affairs. The report provides an overview of Medi-Cal Managed Care in California, and its effects on community health clinics, and related issues. In order to better understand the impact that the Medi-Cal managed care program has had on California safety-net providers, the Kaiser Family Foundation supported…

  • Pending Patient Protection Legislation

    Other Post

    : A Comparative Analysis of Key Provisions of the House and Senate Versions of H.R. 2990 was prepared for the Kaiser Family Foundation by Phyllis Borzi and Sara Rosenbaum of the Center for Health Services Research and Policy, The George Washington University Medical Center. The report provides a side-by-side comparison of the patient protection provisions in the differing versions of H.R. 2990 passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives in 1999, which are…

  • A Risky Proposition?  Risk-Bearing and Solvency in California’s Medical Groups — Policy Brief

    Issue Brief

    A Risky Proposition? Risk-Bearing and Solvency in California's Medical Groups -- Policy Brief A Risky Proposition? Risk-Bearing and Solvency in California's Medical Groups is an 8-page policy brief to provide information about medical groups in California, including a discussion on risk-bearing, solvency, and proposed regulatory approaches. The brief includes a variety of perspectives presented by speakers at a California Health Policy Roundtable held in Sacramento, California on July 20, 1999. Roundtable