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KFF/AP Survey Probes Rural Voters’ Increasing Anxieties About the Rising Cost of Living, Including Health Costs, Heading into the Midterm Elections

The KFF/AP Rural Voters Survey examines the views and political priorities of voters living in rural areas across the United States ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. The survey gauges rural voters’ top election issues, growing struggles with cost of living and health care costs, as well as views on the Trump administration’s health care policies.

Health System Tracker

How TrumpRx Brand-Name Drug Prices Compare

TrumpRx prices for brand-name drugs are about as likely to be higher as lower compared to average prices in other wealthy countries, according to an analysis that compares 32 brand-name drugs.

The MIDTERMS

“...the search for a single top issue through polling questions — whether it’s health costs, or gas prices, or the cost of food — is artificial. People worry about and experience these costs together. There is no top issue, unless that issue is the catchall, ‘cost of living.’” — Drew Altman, KFF Founding President and CEO

Are Health Care Costs THE Top Issue for Voters?

In a new column, Dr. Drew Altman, Founding President and CEO, analyzes the polling on health costs as a voting issue and concludes that there is no one top voting issue. He writes: “I have come to the conclusion that the search for a single top issue through polling questions—whether it’s health costs, or gas prices, or the cost of food—is artificial. People worry about and experience these costs together. There is no top issue, unless that issue is the catchall, “cost of living.”

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  • 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…

  • Kaiser Health Tracking Poll — February 2009

    Poll Finding

    The first Kaiser Health Tracking Poll of 2009 finds the public is increasingly worried about the affordability and availability of care, with many postponing or skipping treatments due to cost in the past year and a notable minority forced into serious financial straits due to medical bills. Slightly more than half (53%) of Americans say their household cut back on health care due to cost concerns in the past 12 months. The most common actions…

  • Analysis of Focus Groups Concerning Managed Care and Medicare

    Report

    A report and press release summarizing the findings of 14 focus groups held in eight cities nationwide to explore the attitudes and experiences of Medicare beneficiaries in managed care programs, particularly health maintenance organizations (HMOs), and those with traditional fee-for-service coverage, as well as pre-Medicare beneficiaries aged 60-65. A fact sheet on Medicare and managed care is included. REPORT Download

  • Managed Care and Low-Income Populations: A Case Study of Managed Care in Tennessee

    Report

    TennCare represents one of the most ambitious state-level efforts to restructure Medicaid and expand insurance coverage to the uninsured. The case study shows that the rapid change caused considerable confusion for patients, providers, and health plans. The TennCare experience provides early insights into the issues that states will face as they move to enroll more of their low-income populations into managed care arrangements.

  • Dissatisfaction with Health Insurance Despite Positive Ratings

    Perspective

    Personal experiences with the health care system are a key factor in Americans’ opinions on how the health care system should function and their expectations of how the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will change the system when fully implemented. In order to take a closer look at these personal experiences, this post explores findings from the March Kaiser Health Tracking Poll on Americans’ views of their health care and coverage, including health insurance ratings and…

  • Pulling it Together: Forget Math and Science, Teach Civics (Or Why We Need to Bring Back Schoolhouse Rock)

    Perspective

    I am seldom surprised by our poll findings, but this month’s tracking poll produced a doozy.  Twenty-two percent of the American people think the Affordable Care Act has been repealed, and another 26 percent aren't sure.  Those are surprisingly large numbers even with the 52 percent who still know it is the law of the land. How could a repeal "vote" in the House -- however dramatic but still, only symbolic -- be misunderstood as…

  • Kaiser Health Tracking Poll — December 2010

    Feature

    As 2010 draws to a close, the latest tracking poll shows the public still divided in their views of the health reform law, a sentiment largely unchanged since the law’s enactment in March. Forty-two percent of Americans say they have a generally favorable view of the law, while 41 percent have a generally unfavorable view of it. Seniors, generally more critical of the law than younger people, seem to be softening in their opposition as…

  • Toplines: Kaiser Health Tracking Poll — July 2009

    Poll Finding

    This document contains the toplines from the July Health Tracking Poll. The survey was designed and analyzed by public opinion researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation and was conducted July 7 through July 14, 2009, among a nationally representative random sample of 1,205 adults ages 18 and older. Telephone interviews conducted by landline (800) and cell phone (405, including 126 who had no landline telephone) were carried out in English and Spanish. The margin of…

  • Managed Care and Low-Income Populations: A Case Study Of Managed Care In Florida

    Report

    This study is part of a larger initiative, the Kaiser/Commonwealth Low-Income Coverage and Access project funded by both the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and The Commonwealth Fund, to gauge the impact of health restructuring on access and health insurance coverage for low-income populations in seven states through surveys, focus groups and case studies. The aim of the studies is to provide early insights and timely analyses that will assist other states and other efforts…

  • What to Know About How Medicare Pays Physicians

    Issue Brief

    Each year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updates Medicare payments for physician services and other Part B services through rulemaking. This issue brief answers key questions about how physicians are paid under the Medicare program, and reviews policy options under discussion for payment reform.