Home Health Costs Topics

Health Costs

Health Care Affordability

BTD Health Policy in 2026

Health Policy in 2026

In a new column, President and CEO Dr. Drew Altman forecasts eight things to look for in health policy in 2026. “First and foremost,” he writes, “is the role health care affordability will play in the midterms.” And, he notes: “The average cost of a family policy for employers could approach $30,000 and cost sharing and deductibles will rise again after plateauing for several years.” View all of Drew’s Beyond the Data Columns

Enhanced Premium Tax Credits

8 Things to Watch for 2026 ACA Open Enrollment

The ACA Marketplace Open Enrollment season begins November 1, and with it comes looming changes to the enhanced premium tax credits, increases in out-of-pocket premiums, and changes to Marketplace enrollment and eligibility rules.

health system tracker
KEY RESOURCES

  • Health Policy 101: Costs and Affordability

    This Health Policy 101 chapter explores trends in health care costs in the U.S. and the factors that contribute to this spending. It also examines how health care spending varies and the impact on affordability and people's overall financial vulnerability.  


  • Americans’ Challenges with Health Care Costs

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

  • National Health Spending Explorer

    This interactive Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker tool allows users to examine five decades worth of data on health expenditures by federal and local governments, private insurers, and individuals.

  • Polling on Prescription Drugs and Their Prices

    This chart collection draws on recent KFF poll findings to provide an in-depth look at the public’s attitudes toward prescription drugs and their prices. Results include Americans’ opinions on drug affordability, pharmaceutical companies, and various potential measures that could lower prices.

Latest News

More KFF Health News

Subscribe to KFF Emails

Choose which emails are best for you.
Sign up here

View the Latest: Health Costs

Filter

List Grid

91 - 100 of 1,540 Results

  • Will the Trump Administration Fast Track the Privatization of Medicare?

    Policy Watch

    The privatization of Medicare has been taking place without much public debate – a trend that has implications for the 68 million people covered by Medicare, health care providers, Medicare spending, and taxpayers. It's not yet clear whether the administration will promote policies to accelerate the privatization of Medicare or focus more on achieving efficiencies and savings within Medicare Advantage, or pursue policies that aim to achieve both. How this plays out will have implications for beneficiaries, health care providers and insurers, and is worthy of serious debate.

  • Even as HMO enrollment has declined and government regulation of managed care practices has increased, problems with health insurance have not disappeared – they’ve just morphed, explains Larry Levitt, KFF Executive Vice and President for Health Policy

    A Backlash Against Health Insurers, Redux

    Perspective

    In this JAMA Health Forum post, Executive Vice President Larry Levitt recalls the mid-1990s’ public backlash against Health Maintenance Organizations (commonly known as HMOs) – all of which preceded the recent outpouring of health insurance concerns – as well as how consumer protections against coverage restrictions have evolved and fallen short.

  • Challenges with Effective Price Transparency Analyses

    Issue Brief

    Promoting price transparency in health care is a policy approach with bi-partisan support in Congress and the public at large. This analysis examines the vast troves of price transparency data that payers are required and finds unlikely prices, inconsistencies, and other oddities that pose major challenges for efforts to use it to promote competition and drive down prices.

  • Key Facts About Hospitals

    Feature

    This analysis presents key facts about hospitals with more than 40 charts related to national spending on hospital care, characteristics of the hospital industry, rural hospitals, use of hospital care, out-of-pocket spending and medical debt, hospital prices, hospital finances, and charity care.

  • What Drives Differences in Life Expectancy between the U.S. and Comparable Countries?

    Issue Brief

    This analysis compares 2021 data about deaths in the U.S. and 11 other large, wealthy countries by age and cause to understand the primary drivers of the longevity gap between the U.S. and the comparable countries. It finds that the primary reasons for the gap in 2021 were chronic disease, COVID-19 and substance use disorders.

  • KFF Prescription Drug Advertisements Poll: January 2025

    Poll Finding

    KFF’s January 2025 Prescription Drug Advertisements Poll looks at the public's experiences with prescription drug advertisements, whether they've talked to a doctor about advertised drugs, and how this has influenced the care they receive.

  • Congressional District Interactive Map: How Much Will ACA Premium Payments Rise if Enhanced Subsidies Expire?

    Issue Brief

    This analysis and interactive map illustrate how much more enrollees in Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace plans would pay in premiums at the congressional district level if the enhanced subsidies were to expire in 2026 as under current law. The tool presents scenarios for an older couple who would lose subsidy eligibility due to their income level and for a single person with a $31,000 income. It also presents net average premium payment increases in each district in states that use Healthcare.gov.

  • A Look at Federal Health Data Taken Offline

    Policy Watch

    This post looks at federal government databases with key health data that went offline on Jan. 31, 2025, including several related to HIV, some of which had returned by Feb. 2, 2025. It briefly describing the affected databases, which include widely used, large-scale national health surveys, indices, and data dashboards, that inform research, policy making, and media coverage about health care and public health.

  • How Does U.S. Life Expectancy Compare to Other Countries?

    Feature

    This chart collection examines how life expectancy in the U.S. compares to that of other similarly large and wealthy countries. Between 2019 and 2022, the U.S. experienced a sharper decline and a slower rebound in life expectancy than peer countries, on average, due to increased mortality and premature death rates in the U.S. from the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, life expectancy in the U.S. returned to pre-pandemic levels, but remains lower than that of comparable countries.