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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

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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  • How are Large Private Insurers Covering At-Home Rapid Tests?

    News Release

    Less than a week after a new federal mandate to cover such products took effect, about half of the nation’s largest private insurers allow enrollees to directly obtain rapid at-home COVID-19 tests from specific sources without having to pay anything upfront, a new KFF analysis finds. The new coverage requirement took effect Jan. 15, just five days after the Biden administration released detailed guidance about implementing the new requirements originally announced on Dec. 2.. The…

  • How Are Private Insurers Covering At-Home Rapid COVID Tests?

    Policy Watch

    This policy watch provides an early look at how top private insurers are implementing a new requirement to cover the cost of at-home COVID-19 tests. Initially about half offer a direct coverage option and half require an enrollee to pay upfront and then seek reimbursement.

  • Surprise Medical Bills are Ending, But Controversy Continues

    Perspective

    In this column for the JAMA Health Forum, Larry Levitt examines how the No Surprises Act that prohibits unexpected out-of-network charges for patients could lead to lower payment rates and revenues for some doctors and other care providers.

  • Why Medicare’s Aduhelm Coverage Decision Could Increase Pressure on Officials to Roll Back the Record Part B Premium Increase for 2022

    News Release

    In a new Policy Watch, KFF experts explain why Medicare’s preliminary decision to cover a new Alzheimer’s drug only for a limited group of beneficiaries is likely to intensify pressure on officials to reconsider the increase in the Medicare Part B premium for 2022. Earlier this week, CMS issued a preliminary National Coverage Determination that would limit coverage of the new drug, Aduhelm, to beneficiaries with mild cognitive impairment who participate in approved clinical trials…

  • Unvaccinated COVID patients cost the U.S. health system billions of dollars

    Issue Brief

    This updated analysis for the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker estimates that the preventable costs of treating unvaccinated patients in hospitals total $13.8 billion during the six-month period from June through November when the delta variant led to a surge in admissions.

  • Updated Health Spending Explorer Features the Latest National Data

    News Release

    New 2020 data on U.S. health spending are now available on the Health Spending Explorer, an interactive tool that allows users to explore trends in health expenditures by federal and local governments, insurers, service providers, and individuals. The data, which span from 1960 to 2020, are based on the just-released national health spending report from the federal government. The new data reflect the country experiencing a global pandemic which impacted health care spending and policymaking…

  • “Breakthrough” COVID-19 Hospitalizations Among Fully Vaccinated Patients Occur Most Often among Older Adults and Involve People with Chronic Health Conditions

    News Release

    “Breakthrough” hospitalizations involving COVID-19 among people who are fully vaccinated against the disease most often affected older adults and people with other chronic health conditions, finds a new analysis of hospital data from June through September by KFF and Epic Research. More than two-thirds (69%) of breakthrough COVID-19 hospitalizations occurred among people ages 65 and older, who are more likely than younger age groups to have gotten vaccinated. A fifth (21%) of breakthrough hospitalizations occurred…

  • Health Employment Continues Slow Recovery Since the Beginning of the Pandemic

    News Release

    Unlike past recessions, the health sector saw a big drop in employment in early 2020 similar to other sectors as the COVID-19 pandemic shut down much of the nation’s economy and remains below expected employment levels through November 2021, a new KFF chart collection shows. The chart collection takes a deep dive into the Bureau of Labor Statistics data to analyze how jobs and wages in the industry shrank and recovered compared to other sectors.…