Home Health Costs Topics

Health Costs

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.

Latest News

More KFF Health News

Stay informed.

Get KFF's latest on Health Costs

Stay informed.

Get KFF's latest on Health Costs

View the Latest: Health Costs

Filter

List Grid

1,271-1,280 of 1,619 results

  • Testimony: State-Based Health Reform Efforts

    Event

    On June 16, 2008, Kaiser Family Foundation Vice President Gary Claxton testified about state-based health reform efforts as part of the Senate Finance Committee's Preparing For Launch Health Reform Summit. In his prepared testimony, he examined the role of Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program, as well as the way various federal laws and policies may limit innovation at the state level. Testimony (.pdf)

  • Update on Individual Health Insurance

    Report

    This report provides information about the individual health insurance market using data from the largest vendor of this type of insurance, eHealthInsurance. The report includes who is buying individual insurance, what they are actually paying for the insurance, and buying patterns. It is the first in an up-coming series of reports jointly produced by the Kaiser Family Foundation and eHealthInsurance to provide trend information in such areas of interest as premiums and cost sharing, and…

  • Chartpack: Kaiser Health Tracking Poll — September 2009

    Poll Finding

    This document contains the chartpack from the September Health Tracking Poll. The survey was designed and analyzed by public opinion researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation and was conducted August 4 through August 11, 2009, among a nationally representative random sample of 1,203 adults ages 18 and older. Telephone interviews conducted by landline (801) and cell phone (402, including 123 who had no landline telephone) were carried out in English and Spanish. The margin of…

  • Kaiser Health Tracking Poll — November 2009

    Poll Finding

    The November Kaiser Health Tracking Poll shows little movement in measures of public opinion about health reform from recent months. Among the new findings is a ranking of the public's top priorities from among a list of elements of the legislation. There were both similarities and differences in priorities across partisan groups: while assuring the availability of affordable plans ranked in the top three priorities for Democrats, Republicans and independents, deficit neutrality ranked in the…

  • Chartpack: Kaiser Health Tracking Poll — December 2009

    Poll Finding

    This document contains the chartpack from the December Health Tracking Poll. The survey was designed and analyzed by public opinion researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation and was conducted December 7 through December 13, 2009, among a nationally representative random sample of 1,204 adults ages 18 and older. Telephone interviews conducted by landline (801) and cell phone (403, including 111 who had no landline telephone) were carried out in English and Spanish. The margin of…

  • Webcast: New CMS Estimates of State-by-State Health Expenditures

    Event Date:
    Event

    The Kaiser Family Foundation held a live interactive webcast on December 7, 2011, to discuss trends in state health care expenditures and the implications for national and state efforts to constrain health care costs. The webcast examines new state-by-state estimates of public and private health spending from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published in the online journal, Medicare and Medicaid Research Review. An expert panel offers perspectives on the trends within and…

  • Policy and Political Implications of the Supreme Court Case on the Affordable Care Act

    Event Date:
    Event

    This webcast features a Kaiser Family Foundation briefing held on March 14, 2012, examining the policy and political implications of the pending U.S. Supreme Court case on the Affordable Care Act (ACA). At the briefing, the Foundation released new polling data on the public’s views about the case as well as their more general views about the health reform law. Participants included: Kaiser President and CEO Drew Altman (moderator)Joe Onek, Principal, The Raben Group Sheila…

  • Prescription Drug Procurement and the Federal Budget

    Issue Brief

    This brief commissioned by the Foundation considers areas where Medicare faces limited opportunity for market-based competition and price negotiation to drive down drug spending. These areas include drug purchasing for low-income people enrolled in Part D plans who face minimal cost-sharing requirements, and purchasing certain unique drugs, such as biologicals, that have no therapeutic alternatives or competitors. Authored by Richard G. Frank of Harvard University, the brief discusses policy options that could lower Medicare spending…

  • Massachusetts Health Care Reform: Six Years Later

    Issue Brief

    In 2006, then-Gov. Mitt Romney signed Massachusetts' comprehensive health reform designed to provide near-universal health insurance coverage for state residents. Building on a long history of health reform efforts, the state embarked on an ambitious plan to promote shared individual, employer, and government responsibility. This brief examines Massachusetts' experience with coverage and access to care over the last six years, as well as the state's ongoing efforts to deal with persistent high health-care costs. The…

  • USA Today/Kaiser/Harvard Survey Highlights Problems in the Health Care System Through the Experiences of People With Cancer

    Poll Finding

        Embargoed for release until:Monday, November 20, 2006   For further information contact:Craig Palosky, cpalosky@kff.org or (202) 347-5270Larry Levitt, llevitt@kff.org or (650) 854-9400     USA Today/Kaiser/Harvard Survey Highlights Problems in the Health Care System Through the Experiences of People With Cancer Survey of Families Affected by Cancer Shows People With and Without Health Insurance Often Suffer Serious Financial Hardships A major national survey of people affected by cancer provides an in-depth examination of…