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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

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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  • Maternity Care and Consumer Driven Health Plans

    Event Date:
    Event

    Maternity Care and Consumer-Driven Health Plans With maternity care representing one of the most common and costly medical interventions that women experience, Kaiser and the March of Dimes co-hosted a forum to release new studies that analyze the costs of maternity care and assess coverage under consumer-driven health plans (CDHPs). Kaiser released a new study that compares the out-of-pocket costs of maternity care under CDHPs and traditional health insurance plans. The March of Dimes released…

  • Maternity Care and Consumer-Driven Health Plans

    Report

    Maternity Care and Consumer-Driven Health Plans This report compares out-of-pocket costs of maternity care under 12 consumer-driven health plans (CDHP) from the group and individual markets to a traditional health insurance plan. CDHPs typically have lower premiums but higher deductible levels than traditional health plans, shifting more of the financial responsibility for the costs of medical care to patients to promote more cost-conscious health care choices. In some cases, out-of-pocket costs under CDHPs may be…

  • Health Affairs Article: From ‘Soak The Rich’ To ‘Soak The Poor: Recent Trends In Hospital Pricing

    Report

    Health Affairs Article: From 'Soak The Rich' To 'Soak The Poor': Recent Trends In Hospital Pricing The May-June 2007 issue of Health Affairs features a Foundation-supported study on recent trends in hospital pricing, including comparisons of rates charged to self-pay patients versus those with insurance coverage. The article also examies three specific policy options that could lower the markups for self-pay patients: a voluntary effort by hospitals, litigation, and legislation Health Affairs article "From 'Soak…

  • Snapshots: How Changes in Medical Technology Affect Health Care Costs

    Issue Brief

    Health expenditures continue to grow very rapidly in the U.S.  Since 1970, health care spending has grown at an average annual rate of 9.8%, or about 2.5 percentage points faster than the economy as measured by the nominal gross domestic product (GDP).  Annual spending on health care increased from $75 billion in 1970 to $2.0 trillion in 2005, and is estimated to reach $4 trillion in 2015.  As a share of the economy, health care…

  • Medicare Consumer-Directed Health Plan: Medicare MSAs and HSA-like Plans in 2007

    Issue Brief

    Medicare Consumer-Directed Health Plan: Medicare MSAs and HSA-like Plans in 2007 This March 2007 issue brief, commissioned by the Kaiser Family Foundation, examines the development of consumer-directed health plans in the Medicare program. Medicare Medical Savings Account plans have high deductibles accompanied by a personal savings account that can be used to pay for medical expenses. The paper examines how such plans operate in Medicare, how they differ from other types of Medicare Advantage plans…

  • Health Affairs Article: Impact of State Tort Reforms on Physician Malpractice Payments

    Issue Brief

    A study in the March/April 2007 issue of Health Affairs analyzes the impact of state tort reforms on physician malpractice claims. The study finds that the tort law changes have had a measurable but limited impact on physician malpractice claims, depending on the type and strength of the tort reform. Commissioned by Kaiser, the study was authored by Teresa M. Waters of the University of Tennessee, and Peter P. Budetti of the University of Oklahoma, and Gary…

  • Snapshots: Effect of Tying Eligibility for Health Insurance Subsidies to the Federal Poverty Level

    Issue Brief

    Considerable attention has been paid in recent years to the rapid growth of health insurance premiums and its impact on coverage affordability. Premium growth has far outpaced growth in workers earnings, which means that workers have to spend more of their income each year on health care to maintain current coverage levels. Less attention has been given to the disconnection between the growing cost of health insurance and eligibility for health care subsidies in public…

  • Snapshots: Insurance Premium Cost-Sharing and Coverage Take-up

    Issue Brief

    One of the many reasons an individual may be uninsured is that she or he decides an employer’s offer of health insurance is too expensive. Several studies have noted the likelihood that a worker will decline an employer’s offer of health insurance increases with the amount he or she is required to contribute. Alternatively, employees may obtain coverage through a spouse, opt for publicly provided coverage if eligible, or decide to do without coverage entirely.…