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Affordability and Spending

Public Views on Prescription Drug Costs: Regulation, Affordability and TrumpRx

Amid the Trump administration’s focus on lowering prescription drug costs, including its new TrumpRx website, KFF’s Health Tracking Poll finds that most Americans (59%) are worried about affording prescription drugs and support more regulation of prescription drug pricing (72%). Looking ahead to the 2026 midterm elections, the Democratic party currently holds the advantage when it comes to who voters trust to address the cost of health care, including prescription drugs.

Affordable care act

Poll: Health Care Costs, Expiring ACA Tax Credits, and the 2026 Midterms

Heading into this midterm election year, the cost of health care tops the public’s economic anxieties, and more than 4 in 10 voters say the issue will have a major impact on their vote, a new KFF Health Tracking poll finds. Two thirds of public say Congress "did the wrong thing" by not extending ACA enhanced tax credits, but Republicans largely say Congress “did the right thing.”

Health System Tracker

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.

 

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 Do Health Expenditures Vary Across the Population? Five percent of the population made up nearly half of all health spendings, pending an average of $72,918 annually in 2023.

NHE explorer

National Health Spending Explorer: Get up-to-date information on U.S. health spending by federal and local governments, private companies, and individuals.

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  • 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.

  • Massachusetts Health Reform Tracking Survey

    Poll Finding

    This survey finds that, with a July 1 implementation milestone approaching, most Massachusetts residents support a new state law to provide health coverage to almost all residents, including the individual mandate that requires residents to obtain coverage or pay a penalty.

  • Using Payment to Promote Better Medicaid Managed Care for People with AIDS

    Report

    This paper suggests methods of financing managed care for people with HIV or AIDS. Note: This publication is no longer in circulation. However, a few copies may still exist in the Foundation's internal library that could be xeroxed. Please email order@kff.org if you would like to pursue this option.

  • Snapshots: Wages & Benefits: A Long-Term View

    Issue Brief

    Recent polls show that a substantial portion of families worry about whether their incomes will keep pace with rising prices generally and whether they will have to pay more for health care or health insurance.

  • Key Findings: Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: Election 2008 – April 2008

    Poll Finding

    This document presents key findings from the April 2008 Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: Election 2008, which tracks changes in the saliency of health as a political and policy priority, what the public’s priorities are for a health reform plan, and whether any candidates are breaking through with the public with their health reform plans.

  • Medical Liability Reforms: Comparison of the Candidates’ Proposals

    Fact Sheet

    Medical Liability Reforms: Comparison of Candidate's Proposals   Bush-Cheney1 Kerry-Edwards2 Supports a $250,000 cap on non-economic damages and a reasonable cap on punitive damages. Supports limiting a party's share of total damages to their proportionate share of blame for the injury inflicted. Supports action to allow providers to review best practices without fear of litigation.

  • Chartpack: Kaiser Health Tracking Poll — February 2009

    Poll Finding

    This document contains findings presented in charts from the February 2009 Kaiser Health Tracking Poll. The survey was conducted February 3 through February 12, 2009, among a nationally representative random sample of 1,204 adults ages 18 and older.

  • What’s in There? The New Health Reform Law and Private Insurance

    Event Date:
    Event

    This briefing focuses on how the reform law affects access to private coverage, including the new federal high-risk pools, tax credits for small businesses, health insurance exchanges, the individual mandate and employer obligations. This briefing, cosponsored by the Alliance for Health Reform and the Kaiser Family Foundation, explored these and other issues.

  • Pulling It Together: Predictions

    Perspective

    I usually don’t make predictions, unless they are backed up by the kind of statistical modeling we often produce.  But here are three predictions I am confident about that form the basis of this latest column. GROUP HEALTH INSURANCE PREMIUMS WILL CONTINUE TO RISE AT HISTORICALLY MODERATE LEVELS, AT LEAST FOR THE NEXT FEW YEARS.