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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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  • The Public, Managed Care and Consumer Protection

    Other Post

    The Kaiser Public Opinion Update -Revised, 2000 This new and revised Public Opinion Update summarizes key findings from surveys conducted between 1997 and 2000, a period in which the intensity of public debate and media attention paid to managed care issues varied substantially. Trends used in this Public Opinion Update are from the following Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard University, School of Public Health Surveys: September, 1997: Survey of Americans' Views on Managed Care (11/97, #1328); December,…

  • Dementia and Medicare Managed Care: A Growing Challenge for Health Plans

    Report

    The American Bar Association Commission on Legal Problems of the Elderly explored the views of Medicare HMOs on enrolling and delivering services to Medicare beneficiaries with dementia. The Commission conducted detailed interviews with professionals at eight diverse Medicare+Choice organizations. Their report provides background information on health care decision-making law and the Medicare program's laws and regulations, and focuses on survey findings in six key areas: marketing, enrollment, health assessments, health care delivery, advance directives, and…

  • Medicaid Managed Care’s Impact On Safety-Net Clinics In California

    Fact Sheet

    Medicaid Managed Care's Impact On Safety-Net Clinics In California Medicaid Managed Care's Impact On Safety-Net Clinics In California was published in the January/February 2000 issue of the journal Health Affairs. The report provides an overview of Medi-Cal Managed Care in California, and its effects on community health clinics, and related issues. In order to better understand the impact that the Medi-Cal managed care program has had on California safety-net providers, the Kaiser Family Foundation supported…

  • A Risky Proposition?  Risk-Bearing and Solvency in California’s Medical Groups — Policy Brief

    Issue Brief

    A Risky Proposition? Risk-Bearing and Solvency in California's Medical Groups -- Policy Brief A Risky Proposition? Risk-Bearing and Solvency in California's Medical Groups is an 8-page policy brief to provide information about medical groups in California, including a discussion on risk-bearing, solvency, and proposed regulatory approaches. The brief includes a variety of perspectives presented by speakers at a California Health Policy Roundtable held in Sacramento, California on July 20, 1999. Roundtable

  • PPO Operations and Markets

    Report

    , prepared by InterStudy Publications with the support of the Kaiser Family Foundation provides information about Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs), including the key differences between PPOs and other health plan types. The report is based on in-person interviews with 25 executives PPOs and written survey responses from 19 of their respective firms, representing as much as 80 percent of the PPO industry. The report also provides information on the different services offered by PPOs; savings…

  • The Public’s Health Care Agenda for the New President and Congress

    Poll Finding

      The Public's Health Care Agenda for the New President and Congress This survey captures the public's attitudes regarding the health care agenda for President Obama and the new Congress in 2009. It assesses the relative priority placed on health care by the American public as part of addressing the economic recession and as a large scale reform issue. The public's priorities for health care reform and their views on a range of other health…

  • The Role of PBMs in Managing Drug Costs: Implications for a Medicare Drug Benefit

    Other Post

    Extending a drug benefit to Medicare beneficiaries has been a highly publicized issue in recent months. To address the question of how to finance and administer such a benefit while controlling its cost, some have proposed using pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs)--companies that administer pharmaceutical benefits for health plans, HMOs, and employers while managing drug utilization and obtaining discounts from both retail pharmacies and manufacturers. Most recently, the Clinton Administration introduced a proposal for a Medicare…

  • Recent Tax Proposals to Increase Health Insurance Coverage

    Other Post

    This report includes a side-by-side analysis of recent tax proposals by Members of Congress and various health organizations designed to increase the number of individuals with private health insurance coverage. Recent Tax Proposals To Increase Health Insurance Coverage

  • Tax Subsidies for Health Insurance: Evaluating the Costs and Benefits

    Other Post

    This technical report provides 1) a description of the detailed simulation model and the assumptions used to analyze the effects of different tax subsidies for the purchase of health insurance coverage, and 2) the results of this analysis. The analysis includes the number of people who gain coverage, overall costs to the government, how much is spent on the currently insured vs. uninsured, and the effects on low-income groups. The results of this report were…