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COSTS and Affordability

KFF Health Tracking Poll: Health Care Costs and the Midterms

This KFF poll finds that health care costs continue to top the public’s list of affordability worries, even as concerns about gas prices have risen in recent weeks, with two-thirds of the public expressing worry over affording health care costs. Majorities say health costs will influence their vote this election. Voters favor Democrats on the issue, while Republicans hold an advantage on addressing fraud and abuse.

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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  • Covering the Low-Income Uninsured: The Case For Expanding Public Programs

    Issue Brief

    An article in the January/February 2001 issue of Health Affairs by Judith Feder, Larry Levitt, Ellen O’Brien, and Diane Rowland assesses how best to expand health insurance coverage for the low-income uninsured. The article concludes that despite flaws in existing public programs, which can and should be remedied, strengthening programs like Medicaid and CHIP establishes a foundation for truly effective coverage for all low-income Americans. Available at www.healthaffairs.org.

  • Medicaid and Managed Care

    Fact Sheet

    This fact sheet provides an overview of the Medicaid program's increasing reliance on managed care to deliver services. Fact Sheet

  • Post-Election Survey: The Public and the Health Care Agenda for the New Administration and Congress

    Poll Finding

    This Kaiser Family Foundation-Harvard School of Public Health survey, conducted immediately after the 2000 Presidential election, finds that health care issues ranked near the top of voters priorities for spending the surplus. Medicare ranked among the top three priorities, along with education and Social Security, and ahead of paying off the national debt and cutting taxes. Education ranked first. The survey also found that voters support patients rights legislation and some action to help the…

  • National Survey on Americans as Health Care Consumers: An Update on the Role of Quality Information

    Poll Finding

    This survey of Americans by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality (AHRQ) shows that the recent attention to medical errors may have entered the public's consciousness since it is now among the public's leading measures of health care quality. The survey also found that the public is more likely to rely on recommendations of friends, family and health professionals they know than on existing standardized quality indicators. Few…

  • Medical Care Research and Review

    Other Post

    Journal Supplement This special supplement of includes: original research tracking trends in disparities in health coverage and access to care over two decades; literature syntheses focused on medical treatment and the decision-making process; legal analysis of civil rights laws in the context of managed care; and findings from a national survey of public awareness of racial inequities in care. The supplement is comprised of work commissioned by the Foundation for its 1999 national policy roundtable,…

  • Health Issues in the 2000 Presidential Election

    Other Post

    A Comparison of Proposals This report presents basic, nonpartisan information to help readers compare the leading presidential candidates' proposals on health care issues, including health coverage for the uninsured, managed care and patients' rights, Medicare reform, prescription drug coverage for seniors, and long-term care. Part of a joint effort of the League of Women Voters and the Kaiser Family Foundation to educate and engage the public on key health policy issues, this side-by-side comparison is…

  • The Public and Prescription Drugs

    Other Post

    Prescription drugs have become an integral part of medical practice - they help keep people healthy and save lives. But rising prescription drug costs have placed a growing burden on consumers, employers, and public programs. The issue of drug coverage for seniors under Medicare has moved to center stage in the Presidential election. This Public Opinion Update summarizes key findings from several surveys conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation in conjunction with other partners on…

  • Prescription Drugs: Results from a National Survey

    Fact Sheet

    Prescription drugs have become an integral part of medical practice - they help keep people healthy and save lives. But rising prescription drug costs have placed a growing burden on consumers, employers, and public programs. The issue of drug coverage for seniors under Medicare has moved to center stage in the Presidential election. Findings from The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer/Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health "National Survey on Prescription Drugs," a Public Opinion Update…