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“...the search for a single top issue through polling questions — whether it’s health costs, or gas prices, or the cost of food — is artificial. People worry about and experience these costs together. There is no top issue, unless that issue is the catchall, ‘cost of living.’” — Drew Altman, KFF Founding President and CEO

Are Health Care Costs THE Top Issue for Voters?

In a new column, Dr. Drew Altman, Founding President and CEO, analyzes the polling on health costs as a voting issue and concludes that there is no one top voting issue. He writes: “I have come to the conclusion that the search for a single top issue through polling questions—whether it’s health costs, or gas prices, or the cost of food—is artificial. People worry about and experience these costs together. There is no top issue, unless that issue is the catchall, “cost of living.”

New and noteworthy

How Unaffordable is Health Care and What Can We Do About It?

Event Date:

On Tuesday, July 21, three experts joined Health Wonk Shop series moderator Larry Levitt in an hour-long discussion of health care affordability. During the discussion, panelists considered affordability from a variety of perspectives, including how to define affordability and the question of affordability for whom, how to measure it, and what can be done to address affordability and the underlying cost of health care.

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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  • KFF Prescription Drug Advertisements Poll: January 2025

    Poll Finding

    KFF’s January 2025 Prescription Drug Advertisements Poll looks at the public's experiences with prescription drug advertisements, whether they've talked to a doctor about advertised drugs, and how this has influenced the care they receive.

  • Congressional District Interactive Map: How Much Will ACA Premium Payments Rise if Enhanced Subsidies Expire?

    Issue Brief

    This analysis and interactive map illustrate how much more enrollees in Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace plans would pay in premiums at the congressional district level if the enhanced subsidies were to expire in 2026 as under current law. The tool presents scenarios for an older couple who would lose subsidy eligibility due to their income level and for a single person with a $31,000 income. It also presents net average premium payment increases in…

  • A Look at Federal Health Data Taken Offline

    Policy Watch

    This post looks at federal government databases with key health data that went offline on Jan. 31, 2025, including several related to HIV, some of which had returned by Feb. 2, 2025. It briefly describing the affected databases, which include widely used, large-scale national health surveys, indices, and data dashboards, that inform research, policy making, and media coverage about health care and public health.

  • KFF Health Tracking Poll: Public Weighs Health Care Spending and Other Priorities for Incoming Administration

    Feature

    With the incoming Trump administration and Republican-led Congress looking to ways to reduce federal spending, this Poll finds that the Medicare and Medicaid programs remain broadly popular, and more people favor more spending on those programs than less spending. Among potential actions on health, the public sees price transparency and limiting chemicals in food as top priorities. Few say so about cuts to Medicaid and restrictions on abortion.

  • As Congress Looks to Reduce Federal Spending, Medicare and Medicaid Remain Broadly Popular, and At Least Twice as Many People Want to Increase Spending Rather Than Cut It

    News Release

    With the incoming Trump administration and Republican-led Congress looking to ways to reduce federal spending, a new KFF Health Tracking Poll finds that the Medicare and Medicaid programs remain broadly popular, and more people favor more spending on those programs than less spending. About eight in 10 Americans overall view Medicare (82%) and Medicaid (77%) favorably. This includes majorities across partisans, including most Republicans (75% view Medicare favorably and 63% view Medicaid favorably). About half…

  • The Semi-Sad State of Consumer Protection In Health Care

    From Drew Altman

    In this column, KFF President and CEO Drew Altman explores the state of consumer protections in health care and explains why, even with consumer frustration clear, Congress is unlikely to pursue major new health insurance protections but there could be some modest steps.

  • How Medicare Negotiated Drug Prices Compare to Other Countries

    Issue Brief

    This analysis finds that Medicare's negotiated prices for 10 high-expenditure prescription drugs are lower than what private Medicare drug plans had been paying, but still much higher than the prices available in 11 other wealthy nations.. It is available on the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker.

  • Hospital Margins Rebounded in 2023, But Rural Hospitals and Those With High Medicaid Shares Were Struggling More Than Others

    Issue Brief

    This data note examines trends in hospital margins from 2018 through 2023 and how operating margins varied across different types of hospitals in 2023. It shows the industry overall experienced a rebound in 2023 after margins fell sharply the previous year, though some hospitals – particularly those in rural areas and those who see many Medicaid patients – continue to struggle.

  • Going It Alone: A Conversation About Growing Old in America

    Event Date:
    Event

    KFF Health News’ Navigating Aging columnist, Judith Graham, spent six months this year talking to older adults who live alone by choice or by circumstance — most commonly, a spouse’s death. They shared their hopes and fears, challenges, and strategies for aging solo. KFF Health News and The John A. Hartford Foundation held a 90-minute interactive, virtual event called “Going It Alone." The event featured frank conversation with five of the people featured in Graham’s…