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Affordability and Spending

Public Views on Prescription Drug Costs: Regulation, Affordability and TrumpRx

Amid the Trump administration’s focus on lowering prescription drug costs, including its new TrumpRx website, KFF’s Health Tracking Poll finds that most Americans (59%) are worried about affording prescription drugs and support more regulation of prescription drug pricing (72%). Looking ahead to the 2026 midterm elections, the Democratic party currently holds the advantage when it comes to who voters trust to address the cost of health care, including prescription drugs.

Affordable care act

Poll: Health Care Costs, Expiring ACA Tax Credits, and the 2026 Midterms

Heading into this midterm election year, the cost of health care tops the public’s economic anxieties, and more than 4 in 10 voters say the issue will have a major impact on their vote, a new KFF Health Tracking poll finds. Two thirds of public say Congress "did the wrong thing" by not extending ACA enhanced tax credits, but Republicans largely say Congress “did the right thing.”

Health System Tracker

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.

 

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 Do Health Expenditures Vary Across the Population? Five percent of the population made up nearly half of all health spendings, pending an average of $72,918 annually in 2023.

NHE explorer

National Health Spending Explorer: Get up-to-date information on U.S. health spending by federal and local governments, private companies, and individuals.

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  • Taking Stock of Essential Workers

    Policy Watch

    The COVID-19 outbreak has changed the reality of working life for most of the U.S. workforce, with essential workers at the forefront of performing crucial services for the public in the midst of the pandemic. This post examines who essential workers are and what challenges they are facing in light of coronavirus.

  • Update on COVID-19 Funding for Hospitals and Other Providers

    Policy Watch

    This blog is an overview of the outstanding questions related to the $100 billion for hospitals and other providers in the CARES Act and whether there will be meaningful protections for the uninsured and people with private coverage who could face surprise bills.

  • Interactive Maps Highlight Urban-Rural Differences in Hospital Bed Capacity

    News Release

    As the U.S. coronavirus outbreak spreads beyond densely populated metropolitan areas, a new KFF analysis finds that rural areas typically have fewer intensive care hospital resources than their urban counterparts, and populations at greater risk of developing serious illness and complications from COVID-19. While metro and non-metro areas have similar numbers of hospital beds per capita (23.

  • Urban and Rural Differences in Coronavirus Pandemic Preparedness

    Issue Brief

    The coronavirus outbreak has hit densely populated urban areas of the United States first and hardest. Some health systems have experienced surges of patients, raising concerns that there are not enough hospital beds, staffing, and equipment.

  • What Testing Capacity Do We Need?

    Policy Watch

    This post looks at potential benchmarks for estimating the number of coronavirus tests needed in the United States and compares them to current national, and state level, testing levels.

  • How Health Costs Might Change with COVID-19

    Issue Brief

    As the coronavirus spreads rapidly across the United States, private health insurers and government health programs could potentially be burdened with higher health care costs. However, the extent to which costs grow, and how the burden is distributed across payers, programs, individuals, and geography are still very much unknown.