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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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  • Explaining Health Care Reform: How Do Health Care Costs Vary By Region?

    Issue Brief

    Although regional variations in health spending have been studied for decades, there is renewed focus on this issue because of the role of health care costs in health care reform and the potential source of funds if addressing cost variations can yield savings. This explainer examines what is known about regional variations in health care costs and their relationship to quality of care, and addresses key questions about their role in health reform. Issue Brief…

  • 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…

  • Workplace Wellness Programs, Healthy Behaviors and Health Reform

    Event Date:
    Event

    Many large employers offer financial incentives to their employees to exercise regularly, improve their diets, lose weight and quit smoking. Health reform proposals would write some of these incentives into law. But some patient advocates say that, depending on how the incentives are structured, they can make coverage more expensive for those who don't qualify for them. This briefing, co-sponsored by the Alliance for Health Reform and AARP, discussed prevention models that are working for…

  • What’s in the Stars? Quality Ratings of Medicare Advantage Plans, 2010

    Issue Brief

    NEW: Foundation brief looks at implications of 2011 quality ratings for Medicare Advantage plans. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) rates the relative quality of the private plans that are offered to Medicare beneficiaries through the Medicare Advantage program as a way of aiding beneficiaries who are considering enrolling in such a private plan. CMS rates Medicare Advantage plans on a one to five-star scale, with five stars representing the highest quality. This…

  • Pulling it Together: A Note on Presidential Leadership Strategy

    Perspective

    In inside circles of the health reform debate there has been criticism of the President for not weighing in earlier and publicly on the details of health reform legislation. Does he want the Senate's approach to employer obligations, or the approach taken in the House? What form of public option does he want: a robust one, a trigger, an opt-in, an opt-out, or none at all? What level of premiums and cost sharing is he…

  • 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.1 This concern about the cost of health insurance may result in part from the rapid increases in the costs of work-based health insurance in recent years: between 1999 and 2009, health insurance premiums rose 131%, a much faster rate of increase…

  • The Role of Independent Commissions in Controlling Costs and Enhancing Value: International Lessons

    Event Date:
    Event

    The Alliance for Health Reform and the Commonwealth Fund co-sponsored this briefing to examine the quasi-governmental authorities that Germany, the Netherlands and France have established to control health care costs, oversee quality, and regulate insurance and provider payment. How and why have these quasi-governmental authorities come into being? What is their scope of power, and the mechanism they provide for bringing stakeholders together in health care decision making? What are the respective roles of government…

  • Chartpack: Kaiser Health Tracking Poll — November 2009

    Poll Finding

    This document contains the chartpack from the November Health Tracking Poll. The survey was designed and analyzed by public opinion researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation and was conducted November 5 through November 12, 2009, among a nationally representative random sample of 1,203 adults ages 18 and older. Telephone interviews conducted by landline (802) and cell phone (401, including 112 who had no landline telephone) were carried out in English and Spanish. The margin of…

  • Assessing Congressional Budget Office Estimates of the Cost and Coverage Implications of Health Reform Proposals

    Issue Brief

    This issue brief explains key elements of the Congressional Budget Office's estimates of the major health reform bills pending in Congress, the Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3962) and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590). Throughout the health reform debate, CBO has analyzed these and other bills and provided projections of the costs and savings to the federal government associated with the plans over a 10-year period, as well as…

  • Key Findings: Kaiser Health Tracking Poll — November 2009

    Poll Finding

    This document contains the key findings from the November Health Tracking Poll. The survey was designed and analyzed by public opinion researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation and was conducted November 5 through November 12, 2009, among a nationally representative random sample of 1,203 adults ages 18 and older. Telephone interviews conducted by landline (802) and cell phone (401, including 112 who had no landline telephone) were carried out in English and Spanish. The margin…