Health Costs

The MIDTERMS

KFF Health Tracking Poll: MAHA and the Midterms

Chemical food additive and pesticide concerns associated with the Make America Health Again (MAHA) movement are shared broadly across the public. But when it comes to voters, health care costs are a higher priority and bigger motivator, even among MAHA supporters, a new KFF Health Tracking Poll finds. When asked to identify their most important health priority for government to address, far more MAHA-supporting voters identify lowering the cost of health care (42%) than other issues more closely associated with the movement.

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

Among adults 18 - 64 with private insurance, mental health and substance use treatment accounted for 10% of all overnight stays at hospitals or other medical facilities in 2023.

Cost and Utilization of Inpatient Mental Health and Substance Use Treatment This analysis describes the most common diagnoses for inpatient treatment and total associated costs.

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 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 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?

  • Why Some Employers are Turning to Progressive Health Benefits

    From Drew Altman

    In this Axios column, Drew Altman examines the status of progressive health benefits (health benefits linked to wage levels) and their pros and cons at a time when employee health costs are rising and wages are flat.

  • Kaiser Health Tracking Poll – June 2018: Campaigns, Pre-Existing Conditions, and Prescription Drug Ads

    Feature

    The June 2018 KFF Tracking Poll examines the top issues voters want to hear candidates talk about during their 2018 congressional campaigns, including the importance of specific health care positions such as continuing protections for people with pre-existing conditions. The Kaiser poll also examines the public’s views and experiences with prescription drug advertisements and pricing.

  • 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,…

  • Analysis: For Patients with Large Employer Coverage, About 1 in 6 Hospital Stays Includes an Out-of-Network Bill

    News Release

    A new Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of medical bills from large employer plans finds that a significant share of inpatient hospital admissions includes bills from providers not in the health plan’s networks, generally leaving patients subject to higher cost-sharing and potential additional bills from providers. Almost 18 percent of inpatient admissions result in non-network claims for patients with large employer coverage. Even when enrollees choose in-network facilities, 15 percent of admissions include a bill from…

  • Section 10: Plan Funding

    Report

    Exhibit 10.1 Exhibit 10.5 Exhibit 10.2 Exhibit 10.6 Exhibit 10.3 Exhibit 10.7 Exhibit 10.4   10 A self-funded plan is one in which the employer assumes direct responsibility for the costs of enrollees’ medical claims. Employers sponsoring self-funded plans typically contract with a third-party administrator or insurer to provide administrative services for the self-funded plan.