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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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  • 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.

  • Why the U.S. Doesn’t Have More Hospital Beds

    From Drew Altman

    With much of the news focused on the surge capacity of the nation’s hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic, Drew Altman’s Axios column examines why the nation has a shortage of hospital beds and what can be done about it.

  • How Prepared is the U.S. to Respond to COVID-19 Relative to Other Countries?

    Issue Brief

    Compared to most similarly large and wealthy countries, the U.S. has fewer practicing physicians per capita but has a similar number of licensed nurses per capita. Looking specifically at the hospital setting, the U.S. has more hospital-based employees per capita than most other comparable countries, but nearly half of these hospital workers are non-clinical staff.