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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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  • Key Findings: Kaiser Health Tracking Poll — April 2009

    Poll Finding

    This document contains the key findings from the April Health Tracking Poll. The survey was designed and analyzed by public opinion researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation and was conducted April 2 through April 8, 2009, among a nationally representative random sample of 1,203 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.

  • TrumpRx: What’s the Value for Customers?

    Issue Brief

    In February, the Trump administration launched TrumpRx, a government website that provides prescription drug discounts to consumers. This brief examines issues that may impact consumers, especially those with private insurance, who access drug discounts through TrumpRx.

  • 5 Key Facts About Medicaid Coverage for People with Medicare

    Issue Brief

    The recently passed House budget resolution targets cuts to Medicaid of up to $880 billion or more over a decade to help pay for tax cuts. Major cuts to Medicaid may impact coverage for the almost 1 in 5 Medicare beneficiaries (12.2 million) who are also enrolled in Medicaid.

  • The Midterms Lurk Behind Every Health Policy Move Now

    From Drew Altman

    In his latest column, President and CEO Dr. Drew Altman discusses how midterm political strategy will shape health policy in 2026, focusing on recent moves by President Trump. He writes: “Democrats start out with a significant advantage on health in the midterms, but rather than cut and run to other issues, Trump wants Republicans to try to erode that advantage where they can.”

  • Why We Are Stuck with Prior Authorization Review

    From Drew Altman

    Prior authorization review frustrates patients and physicians, but we likely can’t just eliminate it. In his new column, President and CEO Dr. Drew Altman discusses why, and why the focus is now instead on “doing it smarter.” Altman writes: “A proposal to eliminate prior authorization altogether could be the single most tangible and popular health reform idea a candidate could make. But, in our fragmented health system, with no great way to control costs or limit unnecessary care, we seem to be stuck with prior authorization review…and most payers are now trying to ‘do prior authorization review smarter.’”

  • Recent Trends in Commercial Health Insurance Market Concentration

    Issue Brief

    Commercial health insurance markets remain highly concentrated across coverage types. However, the individual market, which consists mostly of the ACA Marketplaces, has attracted more insurers and witnessed greater insurer competition across a variety of measures since the implementation of the enhanced premium tax credits in 2021, according to a new Healthy System Tracker analysis.