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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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  • Consumer Protection Issues in Medicare + Choice

    Report

    This report describes and analyzes key Medicare+Choice provisions in the Balanced Budget Act and the accompanying regulations related to consumer protections. It explains how the BBA makes significant improvements for beneficiaries in the areas of access, appeals, and quality. It also explores areas that could be strengthened to better serve the needs of the Medicare population, including provisions pertaining to enrollment and disenrollment, information and education, Medigap coverage, and marketing. Report Report

  • Post-Election Survey: Priorities for the 106th Congress

    Poll Finding

    A national voter survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard School of Public Health conducted shortly after the November congressional elections in 1998. The purpose is to gauge voters' priorities for the next Congress, both generally and with specific regard to health care issues. The survey also measures voter attitudes on Medicare and HMO reform, proposals to help the uninsured, and abortion. The survey was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates. TOPLINE Download CHARTPACK…

  • MarketFacts: A Financial Overview of the Managed Care Industry – Fact Sheet

    Fact Sheet

    A Financial Overview of the Managed Care Industry March 1999 Part 1 The rapid growth of managed care has brought with it a growing connection between the stock market andhealth care organizations. Health care services have evolved from being delivered by physicians and tax-exempt institutions to a market-driven industry attracting investment capital from numerous sources. The market capitalization, or total stock value, of the relatively young HMO industry grew from a little over $3 billion…

  • New Evidence Health Spending Is Growing Faster Again

    News Release

    In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman discusses new Census Department survey data showing higher health spending growth over the last four economic quarters, and raises the question: is the health spending slowdown over? All previous columns by Drew Altman are available.

  • Poll Finds Nearly Three Quarters of Americans Say Prescription Drug Costs Are Unreasonable, and Most Blame Drug Makers Rather Than Insurers for the Problem

    News Release

    If Supreme Court's King v. Burwell Decision Restricts Insurance Subsidies to Certain States, Most Say Congress Should Act to Ensure Residents of All States are Eligible, and a Majority in Potentially Affected States say Their State Should Act Public's Views on Affordable Care Act Are Divided and Unchanged: 42% Unfavorable and 39% Favorable Nearly three quarters (73%) of the public view prescription drug costs as unreasonable, and far more blame pharmaceutical companies more than insurers…

  • What Are Recent Trends in Cancer Spending and Outcomes?

    Feature

    This slideshow compares death rates, years of life lost and disease burden from cancers in the United States to those from other diseases and in other countries. The slideshow also looks at spending on cancers in relation to spending on other diseases and to overall health expenditures.

  • The Affordable Care Act Doesn’t Rank Highly As an Issue for Voters in the Presidential Primaries

    News Release

    Despite Anecdotal Reports about Narrow Networks, 87% of Working-Age Adults with Insurance Are Satisfied With Their Plan's Choice of Doctors; 12% Say They Had to Change Doctors in Past Year As the ACA's Open Enrollment Nears End, Most of Those Who Remain Uninsured Are Disengaged While this month Congress passed and President Obama vetoed legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act, voters nationally aren't focused on the law in this year's presidential election, the latest…

  • What New Data Tell Us About Doctor Choice

    News Release

    Is choice of doctors eroding? Drew Altman explores the rhetoric versus reality and why the issue resonates with Americans, in his latest column for The Wall Street Journal's Think Tank. All previous columns by Drew Altman are online.

  • Health of the Healthcare System

    Video

    Health of the Healthcare System is a diagnostic look at the state of our healthcare system. How does the U.S. healthcare system compare to health systems of other high-income countries, and how has it fared over time? Kaiser Health News and former-NPR reporter, Julie Rovner, takes us through a check-up of our system by assessing four key areas: how healthy we are, the quality of care we receive, how much it costs, and how accessible…

  • In 73 Percent of Counties, Healthcare.Gov Enrollees Could Lower Their Silver Plan Premiums by Comparison Shopping

    News Release

    A new analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that in 73 percent of counties served by Healthcare.gov, people enrolled in the lowest-cost silver plan this year could save money on premiums by switching to a different silver plan in 2016. In these counties, the silver plan with the lowest premiums in 2015 is no longer the lowest-cost plan in 2016, according to the analysis. If they stay in their current plan, Healthcare.gov enrollees who…