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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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  • Webinar: How Might the Pandemic Affect Health Premiums, Utilization, and Outcomes in 2021 and Beyond?

    Event Date:
    Event

    As the coronavirus pandemic enters its eighth month, we are still facing uncertainty about what the long-term impact of the crisis will be for the health sector, and for patients. However, the extent to which costs grow, and how the burden is distributed across payers, programs, individuals, outcomes, and geography are still very much unknown. On Monday, October 19, KFF held a webinar on the outlook for the U.S. health system in light of the…

  • Tracking Poll: A Large and Growing Majority, Including Republicans, Does Not Want the Supreme Court to Overturn the ACA’s Protections for People with Pre-Existing Conditions

    News Release

    As the Senate considers Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court, the October KFF Health Tracking Poll finds a large majority (79%) of the public do not want the Court to overturn the Affordable Care Act’s protections for people with pre-existing medical conditions, up 17 percentage points since last year when 62% held this view. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments a week after Election Day in a challenge to the…

  • Analysis: Many Private Insurers Offer Financial Relief for COVID-19 Treatment, but Cost-Sharing Waivers Are Expiring

    News Release

    A new analysis finds that most people with individual or fully-insured group market coverage are in plans that waived cost-sharing for COVID-19 treatment, though many of those waivers are set to expire in the coming months. About 88% - nearly nine in ten - enrollees in the individual and fully-insured group markets are covered by plans that have taken action to limit out-of-pocket costs for patients undergoing treatment for COVID-19 since the start of the…

  • Cost-Sharing Waivers and Premium Relief by Private Plans in Response to COVID-19 (Nov. 2020 Update)

    Issue Brief

    An updated issue brief estimates the number of enrollees in individual and fully-insured group market plans that have waived cost-sharing – out-of-pocket costs including coinsurance, copayments, and deductibles – for COVID-19 treatment. The analysis also estimates the number of enrollees whose insurer is offering various forms of premium payment relief. The updated analysis finds that, as of November 2020, about half (49%) of fully-insured plan enrollees have coverage that waives cost-sharing for COVID-19 treatment through…

  • Health Care and the 2020 Presidential Election

    Feature

    This side-by-side comparison examines President Trump’s record and former Vice President Biden’s positions across a wide range of key health issues, including the response to the pandemic, the Affordable Care Act marketplace, Medicaid, Medicare, drug prices, reproductive health, mental health and opioids, immigration and health coverage, and health care costs.

  • When Cost-Sharing Waivers for COVID-19 Treatment Expire for People with Private Insurance Plans

    Feature

    About 88% – nearly nine in ten – enrollees in the individual and fully-insured group markets are covered by plans that have taken action to limit out-of-pocket costs for patients undergoing treatment for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. However, after accounting for waivers that have already expired (20%) or are scheduled to expire by the end of September (16%), just over half of enrollees in these plans will still be eligible for waived…

  • How Costly Are Common Health Services in the United States?

    Feature

    A new chart collection examines what we know about the cost of common health services in the U.S. The analysis shows that costs for many common health services have risen more rapidly than inflation; for example, the average cost of hospital admission among large employer plans increased by about $10,000 (68%) between 2008 and 2018. Additionally, there are large geographic variations in the cost of the same health services across the U.S. A lower back…

  • COVID-19 Test Prices and Payment Policy

    Issue Brief

    This analysis examines list prices for COVID-19 testing at the largest hospitals in every state and finds they range widely from $20 to $850. Federal law now requires private insurers to cover COVID-19 tests at no cost to the patient and provides funding for people without health insurance.