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

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.

Stay informed.

Stay informed.

Filter

861 - 870 of 1,589 Results

  • Consumer Protection Issues in Medicare + Choice

    Report

    This report describes and analyzes key Medicare+Choice provisions in the Balanced Budget Act and the accompanying regulations related to consumer protections. It explains how the BBA makes significant improvements for beneficiaries in the areas of access, appeals, and quality. It also explores areas that could be strengthened to better serve the needs of the Medicare population, including provisions pertaining to enrollment and disenrollment, information and education, Medigap coverage, and marketing. Report Report

  • MarketFacts: A Financial Overview of the Managed Care Industry – Fact Sheet

    Fact Sheet

    A Financial Overview of the Managed Care Industry March 1999 Part 1 The rapid growth of managed care has brought with it a growing connection between the stock market andhealth care organizations. Health care services have evolved from being delivered by physicians and tax-exempt institutions to a market-driven industry attracting investment capital from numerous sources. The market capitalization, or total stock value, of the relatively young HMO industry grew from a little over $3 billion…

  • What Are Recent Trends in Cancer Spending and Outcomes?

    Feature

    This slideshow compares death rates, years of life lost and disease burden from cancers in the United States to those from other diseases and in other countries. The slideshow also looks at spending on cancers in relation to spending on other diseases and to overall health expenditures.

  • The Affordable Care Act Doesn’t Rank Highly As an Issue for Voters in the Presidential Primaries

    News Release

    Despite Anecdotal Reports about Narrow Networks, 87% of Working-Age Adults with Insurance Are Satisfied With Their Plan's Choice of Doctors; 12% Say They Had to Change Doctors in Past Year As the ACA's Open Enrollment Nears End, Most of Those Who Remain Uninsured Are Disengaged While this month Congress passed and President Obama vetoed legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act, voters nationally aren't focused on the law in this year's presidential election, the latest…

  • What New Data Tell Us About Doctor Choice

    News Release

    Is choice of doctors eroding? Drew Altman explores the rhetoric versus reality and why the issue resonates with Americans, in his latest column for The Wall Street Journal's Think Tank. All previous columns by Drew Altman are online.

  • New Animated Video Provides an Engaging Look at the Cost and Quality of the Nation’s Health System

    News Release

    A new animated video on the Peterson-Kaiser Health System Tracker provides an engaging “check-up” of the nation’s health system, addressing questions of whether it’s getting better or worse and how it compares to other countries. Health of the Healthcare System, produced by the Kaiser Family Foundation, draws on the most up-to-date, reliable data to offer an easy-to-understand portrait of cost, quality and access to health care in the United States. Julie Rovner, a veteran health reporter…

  • Prescription Drugs’ Sizable Share of Health Spending

    From Drew Altman

    In this column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman explains why prescription drug spending may be a larger share of health spending than most people think, depending on how you look at it.

  • Prescription Drugs’ Sizable Share of Health Spending

    News Release

    In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal‘s Think Tank, Drew Altman explains why prescription drug spending may be a larger share of health spending than most people think, depending on how you look at it. All previous columns by Drew Altman are online.  

  • Visualizing Health Policy: Recent Trends in Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance Premiums

    Other Post

    This Visualizing Health Policy infographic charts recent trends in employer-sponsored health insurance premiums. Between 1999 and 2015, premiums increased by 203 percent, outpacing both inflation and workers’ earnings. However, growth of premiums for family coverage slowed toward the end of that time period, from an average of 11 percent a year between 1999 and 2005, to 5 percent between 2005 and 2015. In recent years, deductibles rose faster than both premiums and wages, with the…