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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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  • Section 2: Health Insurance Enrollment

    Other Post

    Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 next > Exhibit 2.1: Trends in Health Coverage for the Nonelderly Population, 2002 and 2003 The percent of the nonelderly population without insurance rose from 17.3% in 2002 to 17.7% in 2003 (or 44.7 million uninsured), an increase of 1.4 million over 2002. The proportion of Americans with employer-based insurance declined from 63.3% in 2002 to 61.9%…

  • Managed Care For Low-Income Populations with Special Needs: The Tennessee Experience

    Report

    This paper provides a targeted review of Tennessee's experience providing health care to individuals with special needs under TennCare, its Medicaid managed care initiative. The first part reviews the experience of TennCare Partners, the behavioral health carve-out program created in 1996. The second part reviews how TennCare's structure affects the disabled and chronically ill.

  • Responding to the Threat of Bioterrorism:  Is California’s Public Health System Ready? — Issue Brief

    Issue Brief

    Responding to the Threat of Bioterrorism: Is California's Public Health System Ready? -- Issue Brief A 4-page issue brief which looks at the threat of bioterrorism and the public health system s role in responding to such an attack. The issue brief also addresses what can be done nationally and in California to prepare for a possible bioterrorist attack. The brief lists the panel for a California Health Policy Roundtable to be held in Sacramento,…

  • National Survey of Small Business Executives on Health Care

    Report

    A survey of 800 small business executives on their views on health care and the coverage they offer their employees. The survey also asked small employers how they feel about current proposals to protect consumers and regulate managed care. CHARTPACK Download TOPLINE Download NEWS RELEASE Download

  • Lessons From the Election About Voters and Health

    From Drew Altman

    In this column, KFF president and CEO Drew Altman explores why health costs weigh heavily among voters' economic concerns, even in an election where health was not a flashpoint. The need to reframe health as a pocketbook issue for voters will be central to the competition for the votes of working class Latino voters, two groups very focused on the cost of living.

  • How Medicare Negotiated Drug Prices Compare to Other Countries

    Issue Brief

    This analysis finds that Medicare's negotiated prices for 10 high-expenditure prescription drugs are lower than what private Medicare drug plans had been paying, but still much higher than the prices available in 11 other wealthy nations.. It is available on the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker.

  • Snapshots: Distribution of Out-of-Pocket Spending for Health Care Services

    Issue Brief

    How much people should pay out-of-pocket for health care is a much-debated issue in health policy. New health insurance products with higher out-of-pocket shares are becoming more evident in the private market, and some states are considering ways to increase enrollee financial responsibility in state Medicaid programs.  This paper presents information about current out-of-pocket spending by individuals with the purpose of providing context for future health policy discussions. Current proposals suggest that increasing the amount that…

  • Medical Debt Among Insured Consumers: The Role of Cost Sharing, Transparency, and Consumer Assistance

    Perspective

    This policy insight examines medical debt among insured consumers, exploring how high cost sharing in health insurance plans can contribute, and explaining how greater transparency could help consumers avoid some financial pitfalls. It also provides an update on provisions of the Affordable Care Act meant to increase health plan transparency and bolster consumer assistance.

  • High Health-Care Prices: More Talk Than Action

    From Drew Altman

    In this column for The Wall Street Journal's Think Tank, Drew Altman explores how price is the major factor that distinguishes the cost of our health care system from those in other developed nations, yet most efforts in the U.S. to address health-care costs don’t focus on price much at all.

  • Costly GLP-1 Drugs are Rarely Covered for Weight Loss by Marketplace Plans

    News Release

    Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace plans rarely cover GLP-1 drugs approved solely for obesity treatment, according to a new KFF analysis of 2024 federal plan data. Wegovy, a drug that is approved for weight loss, is covered by just 1% of Marketplace prescription drug plans, compared to 82% of Marketplace prescription drug plans for Ozempic, which contains the same active ingredient as Wegovy (semaglutide) but is approved only for diabetes. When GLP-1 drugs are covered…