Health Costs

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.”

Affordability and Spending

Our Darwinian Approach to Health Care Costs

Our Darwinian Approach to Health Care Costs

In his latest column, President and CEO Dr. Drew Altman presents his Venn diagram of health care cost problems and shows how, in our fragmented health system, reducing one health cost problem often makes another worse. "...Reducing health care costs has become a Darwinian game; everyone wants to reduce health care costs and spending – their own, often at the expense of someone else."

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.

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1,121 - 1,130 of 1,555 Results

  • Health Centers’ Role as Safety Net Providers for Medicaid Patients and the Uninsured

    Report

    This issue paper profiles the role America's health centers have played in providing care for Medicaid patients and the uninsured. The paper presents information on health center patients and revenue sources and analyzes similarities and differences both between health centers and private practices and among health centers.

  • The Public and Prescription Drugs

    Other Post

    Prescription drugs have become an integral part of medical practice - they help keep people healthy and save lives. But rising prescription drug costs have placed a growing burden on consumers, employers, and public programs. The issue of drug coverage for seniors under Medicare has moved to center stage in the Presidential election.

  • Managed Care and Low-Income Populations in Florida: 1996-1998 Update

    Report

    This report, Managed Care and Low Income Populations in Florida: 1996-1998 Update, updates our 1996 case study of Florida's Medicaid managed care initiatives and their effect on low-income populations. The focus of this report is on how the program has matured and how it has affected access to care and the safety net.

  • NewsHour/Kaiser Survey Underscores Difficulties Faced by Those Without Health Insurance

    Report

    The National Survey on the Uninsured from The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and the Kaiser Family Foundation is this year's first nationwide survey on Americans' attitudes about the growing uninsured population and the difficulties uninsured people face getting medical care. The survey also assesses public attitudes on options to address the problem.

  • Table

    Other Post

    SUMMARY OF CALIFORNIA VERSUS THE U KEY HEALTH CARE FACTS IN CALIFORNIA AND THE U.S. California U.S. Percentage uninsured (non-elderly) (1998) 24.4% 18.3% Percentage of children uninsured (1998) 20.8% 15.5% Percentage of non-elderly enrolled in Medicaid: 1998 11.1% 8.4% 1994 14.3% 10.

  • National Survey of Consumer Experiences with Health Plans

    Report

    A national survey of 2,500 insured adult Americans on their experiences with health plans-documents problems people have experienced with their plans, the impact of those problems, and how people resolve their disputes with their health plans.

  • Pieces of the Puzzle

    Report

    A new report describes the Report to Congress by the Department of Health and Human Services on consumer protection and quality assurance requirements for Medicaid managed care and discusses the differences between the original Federal rule and the revised one.