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COSTS and Affordability

A Preview of the Role Health Care May Play in the 2026 Election

Ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, this KFF issue brief examines the role health care has played in previous elections and what that may suggest about its potential role in 2026. KFF polls have consistently found that the cost of health care is an important part of voters’ economic concerns.

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

In 2024, life expectancy in the U.S. reached an all-time high of 79 years but remained years behind the average in comparable countries

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.

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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  • Section 11: Retiree Health Benefits

    Report

    Exhibit 11.1 Exhibit 11.4 Exhibit 11.2 Exhibit 11.5 Exhibit 11.3   11 Twenty-eight percent of Medicare beneficiaries receive prescription drug coverage from an employer, a far higher number than receive coverage through a Medicare HMO (15%), Medigap (7%) or Medicaid (10%). Laschober et. al., Health Affairs, February 2002.

  • Health Care Costs Survey

    Poll Finding

    This comprehensive survey from USA Today, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Harvard School of Public Health examines how Americans are being affected by health care costs.

  • Retiree Health VEBAs: A New Twist On An Old Paradigm

    Issue Brief

    This issue brief provides an overview of stand-alone Voluntary Employees' Beneficiary Association trusts, through which employers have been able to rid themselves of future obligations to pay retiree health benefits in exchange for making a significant payment to designed to approximate the projected cost of these benefits.

  • Changes in Health Insurance Coverage, 2007-2008: Early Impact of the Recession

    Issue Brief

    This issue brief examines trends in health insurance coverage from 2007 to 2008, a period marked by the start of a deep recession. It finds that the share of the nonelderly population covered by employer-provided insurance declined, the share covered by public programs increased and the number of uninsured people continued to rise.

  • 8 Questions & Answers about Puerto Rico

    Fact Sheet

    These slides provide a quick snapshot of Puerto Rico’s population, as well as current and upcoming issues that are impacting the island’s health care system.

  • 8 Preguntas & Respuestas sobre Puerto Rico

    Fact Sheet

    La crisis de $73 mil millones de Puerto Rico ha sido tema de los medios de comunicación nacionales, y de debate en el Congreso en los últimos meses.