Health Costs

The MIDTERMS

Democrats Hold a Nearly 2-to-1 Advantage Over Republicans on Handling the Cost of Health Care

Poll: Cost of Health Care and Gas Top Voters’ Midterm Concerns; Democrats Hold Significant Advantage on Health Care Costs and Cost of Living 

With the 2026 midterms about a month away, health care costs remain tied with gas as voters’ top midterm concerns and the Democrats hold a clear edge over the Republicans Party on who voters trust to handle many top electoral issues, including the cost of health care and the cost of living. Two-thirds of U.S. adults now favor Medicare-for-all, a new high in KFF Polling, but support shifts when competing claims from critics and proponents are heard.

New and noteworthy

Americans’ Challenges with Health Care Costs

This data note reviews our recent polling data that finds that many Americans struggle to afford many aspects of health care, including disproportionate shares of uninsured adults, Black and Hispanic adults and those with lower incomes.

Health System Tracker

Is This A Healthcare Economy?

Health care employment has grown faster than other sectors of the economy, with jobs in physician offices, hospitals, outpatient care centers, home health, and other settings increasing over the past year even as the rest of the job market plateaued. 

Cumulative percent change in health sector and non-health sector employment, January 1990 - August 2026

What Are the Recent Trends in Health Sector Employment

Health care employment continues to grow even as hiring across other sectors has plateaued. The health sector added nearly 379,000 jobs over the past year, a 2% increase, compared with just 0.2% growth in other non-farm employment, with outpatient care among the fastest-growing health care settings.

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.

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  • Retired Steelworkers and Their Health Benefits: Results from a 2004 Survey

    Report

    This Kaiser survey report looks at how the bankruptcies of two steel companies, the LTV Corporation and Bethlehem Steel, affected health coverage for the companies' retirees and dependents. The bankruptcies left about 200,000 retirees and spouses without retiree health coverage in 2002 and 2003. The report provides insight into the impact of a tax credit enacted by Congress in 2002 to provide temporary assistance to workers and retirees in "distressed" industries, including the steel industry.…

  • Snapshots: Comparing Projected Growth in Health Care Expenditures and the Economy

    Issue Brief

    The rising cost of health care is much in the news. Health costs continue to grow faster than national income and, despite research indicating that we the get good value for the increased spending, some policy makers and health analysts question whether governments and private employers can continue to finance the level of care that they do today. This paper illustrates the magnitude of savings that would be needed in order to bring health care…

  • Kaiser Health Poll Report Selected Findings on 2006 State of the Union Address and Health Care

    Poll Finding

    A new poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation examines what the public took away from President Bush's State of the Union address, finding that the health messages in the speech have yet to register with most Americans. Despite extensive news coverage both before and after the speech giving information about the President's proposals for expanding the use of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), seventy-one percent of adults have not heard the term "health savings account." Survey…

  • Prospects for Retiree Health Benefits as Medicare Drug Coverage Begins

    Poll Finding

    Findings from the Kaiser/Hewitt 2005 Survey on Retiree Health Benefits The 2005 Kaiser/Hewitt survey of large businesses that provide retiree health benefits to their workers assesses their responses to the new Medicare drug benefit in 2006, their plans for the future, and the way these changes affect retirees. It also looks at the rising costs and changing benefits of retiree health coverage overall in 2005. News Release Report Chartpack Materials from the December 7, 2005…

  • Prospects for Retiree Health Benefits as Medicare Drug Coverage Begins – Chartpack

    Report

    Prospects for Retiree Health Benefits as Medicare Drug Coverage Begins:Findings from the Kaiser/Hewitt 2005 Survey on Retiree Health Benefits - Chartpack This chartpack presents key data from the 2005 Kaiser/Hewitt survey of large businesses that provide retiree health benefits to their workers. Chartpack (.pdf)

  • Prospects for Retiree Health Benefits as Medicare Drug Coverage Begins – Report

    Report

    Prospects for Retiree Health Benefits as Medicare Drug Coverage Begins:Findings from the Kaiser/Hewitt 2005 Survey on Retiree Health Benefits - Report This report assesses how large businesses that provide retiree health benefits to their workers are responding to the new Medicare drug benefit in 2006, their plans for the future, and the way these responses affect retirees. It also looks at the rising costs and changing benefits of retiree health coverage overall in 2005. Full…

  • Health Care Costs Survey – Toplines

    Poll Finding

    This document includes the toplines from the joint USA Today/Kaiser/Harvard School of Public Health survey exploring Americans’ views on health care costs. Survey Toplines (.pdf)

  • Health Care Costs Survey – Summary and Chartpack

    Poll Finding

    The summary and chartpack highlight key findings from the joint USA Today/Kaiser/Harvard School of Public Health survey exploring Americans’ views on health care costs. Survey Summary and Chartpack (.pdf)