Health Costs

New and noteworthy

Promotional Image for the KFF video Health Care Affordability at the Macro Level

Health Care Costs Keep Rising … Why and Who Pays?

The U.S. spends more on health care than other large, wealthy countries. Concerns about rising costs aren’t new, yet somehow we keep paying the bill. In this video, KFF’s Larry Levitt explains how we got here, who bears the consequences and why reining in spending systematically may be central to the next big health care debate. KFF’s Larry Levitt, Executive Vice President for Health Policy, explains how we got here, who bears the consequences and why reining in spending systematically may be central to the next big health care debate.

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.

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.

Stay informed.

Stay informed.

https://js.hsforms.net/forms/embed/292449.js

Filter

1,571 - 1,580 of 1,595 Results

  • Managed Competition In California and Small-Group Insurance Market

    Report

    Reprinted from HEALTH AFFAIRS, Volume 16, Number 2 (March/April 1997) This paper describes the early experience of the Health Insurance Plan of California (HIPC), a small-employer purchasing cooperative established in 1993. Report: Managed Competition In California's Small-Group Insurance Market

  • Medicaid and Managed Care: Implications for Low-income Women

    Report

    This commentary reviews Medicaid's role for low-income women and examines the implications Medicaid managed care on the delivery of health services to this vulnerable population. Today 40% of the Medicaid population, mostly poor women and their children, is enrolled in managed care. Medicaid agencies are hoping managed care will control spending and address longstanding problems with access to care. Low-income women have a number of characteristics that make them doubly vulnerable to have trouble accessing…

  • Managed Care And Low-Income Populations: A Case Study of Texas

    Report

    This study is part of a larger initiative, funded by both the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and The Commonwealth Fund. Case studies of seven states that are restructuring their health care systems for the Medicaid and uninsured populations: California, Florida, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Tennessee, and Texas, are designed to provide early insights and timely analyses that will help states and other efforts shape rapidly evolving managed care systems and health reform programs for…

  • Making Medicaid Managed Care Work:  An Action Plan for Persons Living with HIV

    Other Post

    Making Medicaid Managed Care Work: An Action Plan for Persons Living with HIV This report, by the National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA) with support from The Kaiser Family Foundation, describes nine key points for people living with HIV to keep in mind when trying to influence the development of a managed care system that will serve them effectively. Senator John Chafee (R-RI), an acknowledged ally of NAPWA, gratefully accepted the report upon its…

  • Post-Election Survey of Voters’ 1997 Health Care Agenda

    Poll Finding

    Post-Election Survey of Voters' 1997 Health Care Agenda A nationally representative sample of 1000 voters, conducted immediately after the 1996 election, examines voters' priorities for the new Congress. Balancing the budget, cutting taxes and spending on public education top the list of voters priorities. The survey also looks at public support for regulating managed care, expanding health insurance coverage, Medicare spending, and the welfare reform law passed last year. Topline Download

  • Managed Care and Low-Income Populations: A Case Study Of Managed Care In Florida

    Report

    This study is part of a larger initiative, the Kaiser/Commonwealth Low-Income Coverage and Access project funded by both the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and The Commonwealth Fund, to gauge the impact of health restructuring on access and health insurance coverage for low-income populations in seven states through surveys, focus groups and case studies. The aim of the studies is to provide early insights and timely analyses that will assist other states and other efforts…