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The MIDTERMS

Democrats Hold a Nearly 2-to-1 Advantage Over Republicans on Handling the Cost of Health Care

Poll: Cost of Health Care and Gas Top Voters’ Midterm Concerns; Democrats Hold Significant Advantage on Health Care Costs and Cost of Living 

With the 2026 midterms about a month away, health care costs remain tied with gas as voters’ top midterm concerns and the Democrats hold a clear edge over the Republicans Party on who voters trust to handle many top electoral issues, including the cost of health care and the cost of living. Two-thirds of U.S. adults now favor Medicare-for-all, a new high in KFF Polling, but support shifts when competing claims from critics and proponents are heard.

New and noteworthy

Americans’ Challenges with Health Care Costs

This data note reviews our recent polling data that finds that many Americans struggle to afford many aspects of health care, including disproportionate shares of uninsured adults, Black and Hispanic adults and those with lower incomes.

Health System Tracker

Is This A Healthcare Economy?

Health care employment has grown faster than other sectors of the economy, with jobs in physician offices, hospitals, outpatient care centers, home health, and other settings increasing over the past year even as the rest of the job market plateaued. 

Cumulative percent change in health sector and non-health sector employment, January 1990 - August 2026

What Are the Recent Trends in Health Sector Employment

Health care employment continues to grow even as hiring across other sectors has plateaued. The health sector added nearly 379,000 jobs over the past year, a 2% increase, compared with just 0.2% growth in other non-farm employment, with outpatient care among the fastest-growing health care settings.

How TrumpRx Brand-Name Drug Prices Compare

TrumpRx prices for brand-name drugs are about as likely to be higher as lower compared to average prices in other wealthy countries, according to an analysis that compares 32 brand-name drugs.

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  • Uninsured Are Less Satisfied

    Perspective

    Given that people without health insurance have no protection from health care costs, it is not surprising that they are much less likely to say they are satisfied with costs than those with insurance (31 percent vs. 68 percent Majorities of both the uninsured and insured report being satisfied with the quality of care they receive, but the differences are still striking. Six in ten of the uninsured say they are satisfied with their quality…

  • July Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: Public Still Divided on ACA, Few Believe the Law Will Improve Consumer Protections

    Perspective

    Overall public opinion on the health reform law remains unchanged this month, with 42 percent of Americans holding a favorable view and 43 percent an unfavorable view. Even though previous Health Tracking polls have consistently shown that consumer protections were one of the least controversial and most widely supported provisions of the health reform law, the July poll finds that just one in five Americans think the law will lead to improvements in consumer protections…

  • The Economy and Medical Care

    Perspective

    Various market watchers have reported that the use of health care services has not been growing recently as it had in the past, resulting in lower than expected health care claims for people with private insurance and higher than expected earnings for insurers. A look at physician office visits by nonelderly patients with private insurance over the past decade illustrates the change in the use of services (See the chart below). (This analysis was prepared…

  • Improving the Financial Accountability of Nursing Facilities

    Report

    This report examines nursing facility expenditures to assess relative spending increases in areas such as nursing services, administrative costs, and profits. Using California as a case study, it explores reimbursement by cost category and a standard medical loss ratio (MLR) as potential policy options to improve nursing facility financial accountability and care quality.

  • Explaining Health Reform: Eligibility And Enrollment Processes For Medicaid, CHIP and Subsidies in the Exchange

    Issue Brief

    The new health reform law will require most U.S. citizens and legal residents to have health coverage by 2014. It provides new options for coverage by expanding Medicaid eligibility to more low-income people and creating a state-based system of health insurance exchanges through which individuals can purchase coverage, with federal subsidies for many. This brief and accompanying explanatory chart summarize key requirements that states face under health reform to construct coordinated and consumer-friendly enrollment systems…

  • Relative Contributions of Different Types of Health Services to Total Growth in National Health Expenditures, 2002-2012

    Feature

    Relative Contributions of Different Types of Health Services to Total Growth in National Health Expenditures, 2002-2012-HEALTHCOSTS 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 1960-2012; file nhe2012.zip). 

  • Average Annual Percentage Change in National Spending for Selected Health Services, 2002-2012

    Feature

    Average Annual Percentage Change in National Spending for Selected Health Services, 2002-2012-HEALTHCOSTS 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 1960-2012; file nhe2012.zip). 

  • Average Annual Percent Change in National Health Expenditures, 1960-2012

    Feature

    Average Annual Percent Change in National Health Expenditures, 1960-2012-HEALTHCOSTS 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 1960-2012; file nhe2012.zip). 

  • Cumulative Percent Change in National Health Expenditures, by Selected Sources of Funds, 2000-2012

    Feature

    Cumulative Percent Change in National Health Expenditures, by Selected Sources of Funds, 2000-2012-HEALTHCOSTS 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 1960-2012; file nhe2012.zip). 

  • Annual Percent Change in National Health Expenditures, by Selected Sources of Funds, 1960-2012

    Feature

    Annual Percent Change in National Health Expenditures, by Selected Sources of Funds, 1960-2012-HEALTHCOSTS 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 1960-2012; file nhe2012.zip).