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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.

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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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  • The Politics of ACA Rate Hikes Will Be 2016 in Reverse

    From Drew Altman

    Democrats are expected to turn the tables and attack Republicans for rising premiums and sabotaging the Affordable Care Act. In his Axios column, Drew Altman discusses a balancing act they face which has not received attention: score political points, but run the risk of a new debate scaring the broader public and undermining the ACA by focusing on its continuing problems.

  • Why are Healthcare Prices So High, and What can be Done about Them?

    Event Date:
    Event

    An archived webcast of this forum is now available at www.healthsystemtracker.org . Nearly a fifth of the United States’ economy goes to healthcare spending – a far larger share than in any other large, wealthy country in the world. Research suggests that price, rather than the volume of services, is the main driver of this disparity, and price is also a primary factor in pushing up the nation’s health spending over time. On May 9, 2018,…

  • As Americans age, Medicare will pay for a growing share of the nation’s prescription drugs

    Feature

    COW – powerpoint on Medicare drug spending share increasing Download Source Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of National Health Expenditure (NHE) Historical (1960-2016) and Projected (2017-2026) data from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary, National Health Statistics Group (Accessed on May 2, 2018) for the Peterson-Kaiser Health System Tracker.

  • How have healthcare prices grown in the U.S. over time?

    Feature

    This chart collection explores price increases in private insurance for common services over time and finds significant geographic variation in prices. For example, the average price of a full knee replacement for those in large employer plans increased from $19,595 in 2003 to $34,063 in 2016, growth of 74% compared to a 28% increase in general inflation. The average price of a knee replacement in New York City is more than twice the price of…

  • Six Months ahead of the Midterm Elections, Democratic and Republican Voters’ Views about President Trump Outweigh their Views on Issues, Including Health Care

    News Release

    Who are the “Health Care Voters”? Mostly Women, and Mostly Planning to Vote Democratic As primary season for the 2018 midterm elections heats up, the latest Kaiser Family Foundation poll suggests the elections are shaping up more as a referendum on President Trump than on health care or any other issue. When asked what will make the biggest difference in how they vote in the Congressional elections, larger shares of Democrats and Republicans cite candidates’…

  • The Shrinking Health Spending Gap

    From Drew Altman

    In an Axios column, Drew Altman analyzes the narrowing gap between growth in health spending and GDP and discusses why it matters. The big question, he says, is will the narrowing have staying power?

  • Poll: Public Mixed on Whether Medicaid Work Requirements Are More to Cut Spending or to Lift People Up; Most Do Not Support Lifetime Limits on Benefits

    News Release

    Ahead of the Midterms, Voters across Parties See Costs as their Top Health Care Concern At a time when the Trump Administration is encouraging state efforts to revamp their Medicaid programs through waivers, the latest Kaiser Family Foundation tracking poll finds the public splits on whether the reason behind proposals to impose work requirements on some low-income Medicaid beneficiaries is to lift people out of poverty or to reduce spending. The Centers for Medicare and…

  • Texans’ Experiences with Health Care Affordability and Access

    Report

    Using data from the Kaiser Family Foundation/Episcopal Health Foundation 2018 Texas Health Policy Survey, this brief explores Texas residents’ experiences with health care affordability and access to care. It examines Texans’ difficulty affording health care compared to other basic needs, problems paying medical bills, and skipping or postponing care because of costs. It also explores the experiences of vulnerable groups like the uninsured and those with lower incomes.