Health Costs

The MIDTERMS

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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  • Pulling it Together: Reflections on This Year’s Four Percent Premium Increase

    From Drew Altman

    Our 2012 Employer Health Benefits Survey found a 4% increase in premiums this year, continuing the recent trend of moderation in health costs and spending reported in several studies. Double digit increases in premiums were once a common occurrence, but we have not seen any since a 10% increase in 2004 and 13% growth in 2003. Rates of increase in total health spending have been holding at 4-6% per year recently, and per capita spending…

  • New Report Looks at Health Care Trends in California Compared to Rest of Nation

    Report

    A new chartbook by the Kaiser Family Foundation shows that on most, though not all indicators, California's health care system fares poorly when compared to the U.S. as a whole. The report, Health Care Trends and Indicators in California and the United States, shows that many more Californians have no health insurance than in the rest of the U.S., but when they do have insurance it tends to be more comprehensive and cost less than…

  • Medicare Beneficiaries and HMOs: A Case Study of the Portland Market

    Report

    This case study of the evolution of Medicare managed care in Portland, Oregon, is part of a series of four case studies being prepared for the Kaiser Family Foundation to learn more about the factors influencing, and consequences of, the growth of Medicare managed care. Portland was one of the first markets to implement a Medicare managed care program, with the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan beginning its Medicare HMO in 1978 and all four of…

  • Generation Rx.com: How Young People Use the Internet for Health Information

    Report

    The Internet has become a daily part of life especially for younger Americans. Teens as well as adults are now going online to look for health information. What exactly are young people looking for? Do they trust what they find? Is it influencing what they talk about with their peers, parents, or physicians? Are they worried about privacy? Pornography? Parental controls? A panel featuring Lee Rainie, Director, Pew Internet & American Life Project; Gretchen Berland,…

  • Protection in Managed Care Plans: A Side-by-Side Comparison of Proposal Federal Legislation

    Report

    Protection in Managed Care Plans: A Side-by-Side Comparison of Proposed Federal Legislation. A side-by-side comparison of the provisions for consumer protection in managed care plans contained in the House and Senate budget reconciliation bills and in eight other consumer protection bills currently under consideration by Congress. These bills, which would increase the regulatory oversight of the managed care industry by the federal government, are compared in 22 different categories of managed care issues. Report Report

  • Why Affordability Is the Big Tent

    From Drew Altman

    In this column, KFF President and CEO Drew Altman explores why the public's concerns about out-of-pocket health costs make health care affordability the health policy issue most likely to resonate with voters across the political spectrum.

  • Most Nonprofit Hospitals and Health Systems Had “Strong” Days of Cash on Hand in 2022, Though About One-in-10 Were “Vulnerable”

    News Release

    Most nonprofit hospitals and hospital systems had enough cash on hand in 2022 to cover operating expenses for an extended period of time, though about one-in-10 had relatively low levels to cover their expenses, which potentially could leave them vulnerable in a financial crisis, a new KFF analysis finds.The analysis comes as the hospital industry pushes for increases in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement levels and Congress considers legislation that would reduce hospital revenues, such as…