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Affordable care act

Poll: Health Care Costs, Expiring ACA Tax Credits, and the 2026 Midterms

Heading into this midterm election year, the cost of health care tops the public’s economic anxieties, and more than 4 in 10 voters say the issue will have a major impact on their vote, a new KFF Health Tracking poll finds. Two thirds of public say Congress "did the wrong thing" by not extending ACA enhanced tax credits, but Republicans largely say Congress “did the right thing.”

Affordability and Spending

Our Darwinian Approach to Health Care Costs

Our Darwinian Approach to Health Care Costs

In his latest column, President and CEO Dr. Drew Altman presents his Venn diagram of health care cost problems and shows how, in our fragmented health system, reducing one health cost problem often makes another worse. "...Reducing health care costs has become a Darwinian game; everyone wants to reduce health care costs and spending – their own, often at the expense of someone else."

health system tracker
KEY RESOURCES

  • Health Policy 101: Costs and Affordability

    This Health Policy 101 chapter explores trends in health care costs in the U.S. and the factors that contribute to this spending. It also examines how health care spending varies and the impact on affordability and people's overall financial vulnerability.  


  • Americans’ Challenges with Health Care Costs

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

  • National Health Spending Explorer

    This interactive Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker tool allows users to examine five decades worth of data on health expenditures by federal and local governments, private insurers, and individuals.

  • Polling on Prescription Drugs and Their Prices

    This chart collection draws on recent KFF poll findings to provide an in-depth look at the public’s attitudes toward prescription drugs and their prices. Results include Americans’ opinions on drug affordability, pharmaceutical companies, and various potential measures that could lower prices.

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  • Average Annual Percent Change in National Health Expenditures, 1960-2012

    Feature

    Average Annual Percent Change in National Health Expenditures, 1960-2012-HEALTHCOSTS Download Source Kaiser Family Foundation calculations using NHE data from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary, National Health Statistics Group, at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/NationalHealthExpendData/ (see Historical; National Health Expenditures by type of service and source of funds, CY 1960-2012; file nhe2012.zip).

  • Percent Distribution of National Health Expenditures, by Source of Funds, 1960-2012

    Feature

    Percent Distribution of National Health Expenditures, by Source of Funds, 1960-2012-HEALTHCOSTS Download Source Kaiser Family Foundation calculations using NHE data from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary, National Health Statistics Group, at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/NationalHealthExpendData/ (see Historical; National Health Expenditures by type of service and source of funds, CY 1960-2012; file nhe2012.zip).

  • Percent Distribution of Personal Health Expenditures, by Source of Funds, 1960-2012

    Feature

    Percent Distribution of Personal Health Expenditures, by Source of Funds, 1960-2012-HEALTHCOSTS Download Source Kaiser Family Foundation calculations using NHE data from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary, National Health Statistics Group, at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/NationalHealthExpendData/ (see Historical; National Health Expenditures by type of service and source of funds, CY 1960-2012; file nhe2012.zip).

  • Net Cost of Private Health Insurance, Including Administrative Costs, per Person Covered, 1987-2012

    Feature

    Net Cost of Private Health Insurance, Including Administrative Costs, per Person Covered, 1987-2012-HEALTHCOSTS Download Source Kaiser Family Foundation calculations NHE data from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary, National Health Statistics Group, at  http://www.cms.hhs.gov/NationalHealthExpendData/ (see Historical; National Expenditures by type of service and source of funds, CY1960-2012, file nhe2012.zip, Total Admin.

  • What Drives Health Spending in the U.S. Compared to Other Countries

    Issue Brief

    An updated issue brief looks at the drivers of health spending in the U.S. and key differences between the U.S. and other large, wealthy nations. The analysis finds that people in the U.S. spent $5,683 more per person on health care compared to those in similarly large and wealthy countries.

  • Drugs Aren’t the Reason the U.S. Spends So Much on Health Care

    From Drew Altman

    Drew Altman’s column in Axios: the U.S. now spends twice per capita what other wealthy countries do on health care. But while drug costs get all the time in public debate, it's hospital and outpatient spending that mostly explains the difference. And that will be impossible to take on without real pain and political risk, he says.