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 

Prior to the 2026 midterm elections, 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.

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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. 

U.S. Health Spending Is Expected to Reach $9 Trillion by 2034

How Much is Health Spending Expected to Grow?

This chart collection explores how much health spending is expected to grow in the coming years, with a look at growth in prescription drug spending, out-of-pocket spending, and related trends.

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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  • Section 6: Trends in Health Plan and Provider Relationships

    Other Post

    Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 next > Exhibit 6.1: Physician Participation in Managed Care, 1988, 1999, 2001 Physician participation in managed care increased sharply in the decade between the late 1980s and the late 1990s, but has decreased since then. The proportion of physicians with at least one managed care contract increased from 61% in 1988 to 91% in 1999, but then dropped to 88% in 2001. The…

  • Section 5: Structure of the Health Care Marketplace

    Other Post

    Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 next > Exhibit 5.1: Health Care Employment and Share of Total Non-Farm Employment, 1990-2005p Health care employment as a proportion of all non-farm employment has increased fairly steadily since the early 1990s. In 2005p, 9.2% of all workers, or 12.3 million people, held health care jobs, up from 7.5% (8.2 million) in 1990. Health Care Employment (object placeholder) Notes: Not seasonally adjusted.…

  • Coverage and Cost Impacts of the President’s Health Insurance Tax Credit and Tax Deduction Proposals

    Issue Brief

    This issue brief looks at the coverage impacts and costs of two components of the administration’s FY 2005 budget proposals to increase the affordability of health insurance: a new tax credit for people purchasing non-group health insurance and a new tax deduction for premiums for high-deductible, non-group health insurance policies. The estimates were prepared by Jonathan Gruber, Ph.D., Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, using a micro-simulation model developed in conjunction with…

  • Section 2: Health Insurance Enrollment

    Other Post

    Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 next > Exhibit 2.1: Trends in Health Coverage for the Nonelderly Population, 2002 and 2003 The percent of the nonelderly population without insurance rose from 17.3% in 2002 to 17.7% in 2003 (or 44.7 million uninsured), an increase of 1.4 million over 2002. The proportion of Americans with employer-based insurance declined from 63.3% in 2002 to 61.9%…

  • Section 1: Health Spending and Costs, Including Prescription Drugs

    Other Post

    Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 next > Exhibit 1.1: National Health Expenditures and Their Share of Gross Domestic Product, 1960-2004 Expenditures in the United States on health care were nearly $1.9 trillion in 2004, more than two and a half times the $717 billion spent in 1990, and more than seven times the $255 billion spent in 1980.…

  • Retiree Health Benefits Now and In the Future – Chartpack

    Report

    This chartpack (charts used at the briefing releasing this survey), from the survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Hewitt Associates between June and September 2003, provides detailed information on retiree health programs offered by large private-sector employers. The data in this survey reflect the responses of 408 large firms (private-sector employers with 1,000 or more workers) and provides information on eligibility, benefits, premiums, and total cost in 2003, and offers insights as to…

  • Retiree Health Benefits Now and in the Future, Report

    Report

    Retiree Health Benefits Now and In the Future - Report This survey, conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Hewitt Associates between June and September 2003 provides detailed information on retiree health programs offered by large private-sector employers. The data in this survey reflect the responses of 408 large firms (private-sector employers with 1,000 or more workers) and provides information on eligibility, benefits, premiums, and total cost in 2003, and offers insights as to what…

  • Retiree Health Benefits in 2003: Employer Survey

    Report

    This survey, conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Hewitt Associates between June and September 2003 provides detailed information on retiree health programs offered by large private-sector employers. The data in this survey reflect the responses of 408 large firms (private-sector employers with 1,000 or more workers) and provides information on eligibility, benefits, premiums, and total cost in 2003, and offers insights as to what changes employers say they are likely to make in the…

  • Designing a Medicare Drug Discount Card: Implications of Policy Choices for Medicare Beneficiaries and Plan Sponsors

    Report

    This report analyzes key issues surrounding the implementation of a Medicare-endorsed prescription drug discount card program. Medicare prescription drug discount cards have been proposed as a short-term strategy for lowering prescription drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries. The report considers the implications for both discount card sponsors and beneficiaries of alternative program designs, including such features as the annual lock-in for consumers, exclusive formularies, providing comparative information to consumers about drug prices and discounts, administration of…