Home Health Costs Topics

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.

Latest News

More KFF Health News

Stay informed.

Get KFF's latest on Health Costs

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

Stay informed.

Get KFF's latest on Health Costs

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

View the Latest: Health Costs

Filter

List Grid

391 - 400 of 1,589 Results

  • What Would Another Trump Presidency Mean for Health Care?

    Perspective

    In a new column in JAMA Health Forum, Larry Levitt, KFF’s executive vice president for health policy, explores what a second Trump presidency might mean for health policy based on his record and remarks, including potentially weakening the Affordable Care Act, reducing federal Medicaid costs, and restricting access to abortion.

  • Charges for Emails with Doctors and other Healthcare Providers

    Issue Brief

    Patient-provider email messaging accelerated early in the COVID-19 pandemic as more patients sought medical care remotely, and the addition of billing codes for digital health services and subsequent changes in insurers’ payment policies have enabled providers to bill insurers and patients for messaging. This analysis examines the typical cost of patient-provider email messaging in 2020 and 2021 using private health insurance claims data. The typical cost for an email messaging claim was $39 in 2021,…

  • Medicare Spending on Ozempic and Other GLP-1s Is Skyrocketing

    Policy Watch

    This policy watch analyzes the latest data on Medicare Part D spending on GLP-1 drugs, initially approved to treat diabetes but in high demand as treatments for obesity, and shows how spending on these drugs has increased substantially in recent years.

  • What is Medicaid Estate Recovery?

    Issue Brief

    Under estate recovery, state Medicaid programs are required to recover the costs of long-term care and related hospital and prescription drug services for enrollees ages 55 and older. KFF examines the wide variation in estate recovery practices across states as well as the criticisms of this policy, which have led to federal proposals to modify or reduce it.

  • 2023 Employer Health Benefits Chart Pack

    Feature

    This slideshow captures key data from the 2023 KFF Employer Health Benefits Survey survey, providing a detailed look at trends in employer-sponsored health coverage, including premiums, employee contributions, cost-sharing, abortion coverage, offer rates, wellness programs, and other employer practices.

  • Probing the Power and Practices of Pharmacy Benefit Managers

    Event Date:
    Event

    Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) are increasingly scrutinized intermediaries in the U.S. health care system, negotiating discounts on prescription medications for health insurers and employers while collecting rebates from drugmakers. On June 14, two experts joined KFF’s The Health Wonk Shop and series moderator Larry Levitt in a 45-minute discussion about the power and practices of PBMs.

  • Large Majorities Across Parties Favor Allowing the Federal Government to Negotiate Drug Prices, Even After Hearing Common Arguments About It

    News Release

    Most of the Public Lacks Confidence that President Biden, Congressional Democrats or Republicans Will Do the Right Thing on Drug Prices Allowing the federal government to negotiate with drug companies to lower drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries and people enrolled in private plans – a key cost-saving proposal in the Democrats’ massive reconciliation bill – is favored by large majorities across political partisans, even after they hear arguments from both sides, a new KFF Health…

  • Half of All Hospitals Have Charity Care Costs That Represent 1.4% or Less of Their Operating Expenses

    News Release

    Half of hospitals reported that the cost of providing charity care to patients represented 1.4% or less of their operating expenses in 2020, though the rates vary widely from hospital to hospital, a new KFF analysis finds. Based on a review of hospital cost report data, the analysis finds some hospitals provide little or no charity care (0.1% or less of operating expenses at 8% of hospitals), while others provide far more charity care (at…

  • Health Care Inflation in the U.S.

    Event Date:
    Event

    The pressures of inflation are far reaching, affecting providers, insurers, government programs such as Medicaid and Medicare, and, ultimately, the American people. Over the coming months, health care providers and insurers will wrap up pricing negotiations and set premiums for the next year. Amid these negotiations, there remain big questions as to how economic policy and legislation such as the Inflation Reduction Act will influence pricing and payment for insurance and health care, including prescription…