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Affordability and Spending

Beyond the Data: Are the Tradeoffs from Prior Authorization Worth It? 

In his latest column, President and CEO Dr. Drew Altman asks if prior authorization review could be eliminated entirely, discussing how it might be done and the tradeoffs. He writes “Nothing makes American health care consumers more frustrated using the health system than prior authorization review. I know because they told us that, ranking prior authorization review far ahead of any other problems they have getting care and navigating the health care system, including getting appointments and understanding their bills.”

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 that these 2025 Marketplace enrollees are experiencing following the expiration of the enhanced premium tax credits. The survey 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

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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  • How Obamacare May Be Holding Down Costs

    From Drew Altman

    In his latest column published in Politico, Kaiser President and CEO Drew Altman examines the recent historic slowdown in health-care costs and discusses whether Obamacare is a contributing factor.

  • Kaiser Family Foundation/NBC News Survey Questions

    Poll Finding

    The Kaiser Family Foundation partnered with NBC News to ask several survey questions of the U.S. public about their feelings towards the 2010 health care law, as well as their worries about affording health care more generally. These questions were asked as part of the September 2013 Kaiser Health Tracking Poll.

  • The Rising Cost of Living Longer: Analysis of Medicare Spending by Age for Beneficiaries in Traditional Medicare

    Report

    This analysis provides a detailed look at per person Medicare spending on the nearly 30 million beneficiaries over age 65 who are enrolled in the traditional Medicare program. Among the key findings of the report is that per person spending rises with age, peaking at age 96. But this rise is not entirely explained by Medicare spending on end of life care, which declines with age. What Medicare spends money on also changes as beneficiaries age. Hospital care is the largest component of Medicare spending throughout the age curve, up to age 100, but there is less spending on physician services and more on home health, skilled nursing and hospice care as beneficiaries age.

  • Health Care Spending is More Than Just the Parts You See

    From Drew Altman

    In this Axios column, Drew Altman looks at total family spending for health including taxes and health benefits, and why people need to understand it to assess proposals like Medicare-for-All.

  • Health System Dashboard

    Interactive

    The Peterson-KFF Health System Dashboard examines the U.S. health system's performance in four areas: access and affordability, health and well-being, health spending, and quality of care. Users can explore trends over time, as well as disparities and differences across demographic groups.

  • 2012 Employer Health Benefits Survey

    Report

    This annual survey of employers provides a detailed look at trends in employer-sponsored health coverage, including premiums, employee contributions, cost-sharing provisions, and other relevant information. The survey continues to document employer’s implementation of health reform with question on the percent of firms with grandfathered health plans and enrollment of adult children due to the new health reform law. The 2012 survey included 3,326 randomly selected public and private firms with three or more employees (2,121 of which responded to the full survey and 1,205 of which responded to an additional question about offering coverage).