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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

Among adults 18 - 64 with private insurance, mental health and substance use treatment accounted for 10% of all overnight stays at hospitals or other medical facilities in 2023.

Cost and Utilization of Inpatient Mental Health and Substance Use Treatment This analysis describes the most common diagnoses for inpatient treatment and total associated costs.

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 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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  • Health Care Costs: What You Need To Know

    Event Date:
    Event

    On Wednesday, April 1, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Alliance for Health Reform presented a briefing to explore the trends in health care costs in both the public and private sectors.

  • New Interactive Tool Allows Users to Explore Trends in US Health Spending and Share Custom-Made Charts

    News Release

    A new interactive tool on the Peterson-Kaiser Health System Tracker allows users to analyze the most up-to-date data on U.S. health spending, then build, display and share the charts they create. Developed by analysts at the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Health Spending Explorer helps users examine five decades worth of numbers documenting expenditures by federal and local governments, private insurers, and individuals on 15 categories of health services, including hospitals, physician & clinic care, and prescription drugs.…

  • Why Low Growth in Health Costs Still Stings

    News Release

    In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal's Think Tank, Drew Altman shows how rising deductibles have eclipsed growth in wages and discusses why that may be the main reason people think costs have been continuing to rise rapidly when instead, growth has slowed. All previous columns by Drew Altman are available online.   

  • Public vs. Private Health Insurance on Controlling Spending

    News Release

    In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal's Think Tank, Drew Altman analyzes whether public or private health insurance does a better job of controlling costs. All previous columns by Drew Altman are available online. 

  • Few Consumers Use Information on Health Provider Quality or Price

    News Release

    In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal's Think Tank, Drew Altman discusses new poll findings showing very small numbers of consumers are using provider quality and price information. All previous columns by Drew Altman are available online. 

  • 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 is behind the recent slowdown in health spending?

    Feature

    This slideshow charts the recent slowdown in health spending in the United States and other industrialized nations. Some possible causes include economic factors and structural changes to the U.S. health system, such as higher cost sharing in private health insurance and lower payments to providers by Medicare and other public programs.

  • New Tracker Monitors the Performance of the U.S. Health System

    News Release

    The Kaiser Family Foundation, in partnership with the Peterson Center on Healthcare, today announced a new online hub dedicated to monitoring and assessing the performance of the U.S. health system. The Peterson-Kaiser Health System Tracker provides comprehensive data on how the system is performing on critical quality and cost measures, offering clear, up-to-date information on relevant trends, drivers and issues. The Tracker also will illustrate how the United States is performing relative to other countries,…

  • How do mortality rates in the U.S. compare to other countries?

    Feature

    This slideshow compares mortality rates in the United States and other industrialized countries for seven major causes of death. The data show that U.S. mortality rates for circulatory diseases and cancer have fallen in the past 30 years, driving a decline in the nation's overall rate. However, mortality rates for leading causes of death other than cancer are higher in the United States than the average for comparable countries.