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“...the search for a single top issue through polling questions — whether it’s health costs, or gas prices, or the cost of food — is artificial. People worry about and experience these costs together. There is no top issue, unless that issue is the catchall, ‘cost of living.’” — Drew Altman, KFF Founding President and CEO

Are Health Care Costs THE Top Issue for Voters?

In a new column, Dr. Drew Altman, Founding President and CEO, analyzes the polling on health costs as a voting issue and concludes that there is no one top voting issue. He writes: “I have come to the conclusion that the search for a single top issue through polling questions—whether it’s health costs, or gas prices, or the cost of food—is artificial. People worry about and experience these costs together. There is no top issue, unless that issue is the catchall, “cost of living.”

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How Unaffordable is Health Care and What Can We Do About It?

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On Tuesday, July 21, three experts joined Health Wonk Shop series moderator Larry Levitt in an hour-long discussion of health care affordability. During the discussion, panelists considered affordability from a variety of perspectives, including how to define affordability and the question of affordability for whom, how to measure it, and what can be done to address affordability and the underlying cost of health care.

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  • Data Note: Prescription Drugs and Older Adults

    Issue Brief

    This data note explores the attitudes and experiences of older adults, ages 65 and up, when it comes to prescription drugs and related policy proposals being discussed. Experiences across different demographic groups are explored, such as household income and health status.

  • Health Care Costs as Much as a New Car

    From Drew Altman

    Health care for a family covered by a large employer cost, on average, $22,885 last year. That’s $2,000 more than the sticker price for a brand-new Volkswagen Beetle. Drew Altman discusses why it matters in this Axios column.

  • KFF Prescription Drug Advertisements Poll: January 2025

    Poll Finding

    KFF’s January 2025 Prescription Drug Advertisements Poll looks at the public's experiences with prescription drug advertisements, whether they've talked to a doctor about advertised drugs, and how this has influenced the care they receive.

  • How Many People with Employer-Sponsored Insurance Use the Drugs Slated for Medicare Price Negotiations

    Issue Brief

    Among the 167 million people with employer-sponsored insurance in 2022, 3.4 million used at least one of the first 10 drugs identified for Medicare price negotiations, according to a new analysis. The most used drug for people with employer-sponsored health insurance was Jardiance, a drug used to treat diabetes and heart failure, which was taken by more than 911,000 enrollees. The analysis uses the Merative MarketScan 2022 commercial claims to estimate the number of enrollees…

  • Beyond Cost, What Barriers to Health Care do Consumers Face?

    Issue Brief

    High cost-sharing and expenses not covered by insurance leave some people with expensive medical bills. But costs are not the only barriers to health care access. According to KFF's new analysis, many adults can face logistical barriers to care, like work schedules or finding a doctor in network or appointment. In 2022, about 1 in 5 adults under age 65 experienced at least one barrier to accessing care aside from cost. The full analysis and…

  • 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.

  • How Unaffordable is Health Care and What Can We Do About It?

    Event Date:
    Event

    On Tuesday, July 21, three experts joined Health Wonk Shop series moderator Larry Levitt in an hour-long discussion of health care affordability. During the discussion, panelists considered affordability from a variety of perspectives, including how to define affordability and the question of affordability for whom, how to measure it, and what can be done to address affordability and the underlying cost of health care.

  • 5 Key Facts About Medicaid Coverage for People with Medicare

    Issue Brief

    The recently passed House budget resolution targets cuts to Medicaid of up to $880 billion or more over a decade to help pay for tax cuts. Major cuts to Medicaid may impact coverage for the almost 1 in 5 Medicare beneficiaries (12.2 million) who are also enrolled in Medicaid.