Home Health Costs Topics

Health Costs

The MIDTERMS

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.

Latest News

More KFF Health News

Stay informed.

Get KFF's latest on Health Costs

Stay informed.

Get KFF's latest on Health Costs

View the Latest: Health Costs

Filter

List Grid

721 - 730 of 1,582 Results

  • New Interactive Provides Essential Facts and Trends Related to Medicare Spending

    News Release

    A new KFF interactive provides essential facts and trends about spending on Medicare, the federal health insurance program that covers 65 million seniors and people with disabilities, or nearly 1 in 5 Americans. In 2020, Medicare spending accounted for 12 percent of the federal budget and 20 percent of national health care spending. Given its size and importance, the program is often part of discussions about how to better manage total federal government spending, health…

  • 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.

  • Retiree Health Benefits in 2003: Employer Survey

    Report

    This survey, conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Hewitt Associates between June and September 2003 provides detailed information on retiree health programs offered by large private-sector employers. The data in this survey reflect the responses of 408 large firms (private-sector employers with 1,000 or more workers) and provides information on eligibility, benefits, premiums, and total cost in 2003, and offers insights as to what changes employers say they are likely to make in the…

  • The Distributional Consequences of  Medicare Premium Support Proposal

    Other Post

    The Distributional Consequences of a Medicare Premium Support Proposal This article analyzes the expected distributional impact of enacting a premium support proposal for Medicare based on legislation introduced by Sen. Breaux and Sen. Frist in 1999. This legislation suggested that the Federal Employees Health Benefits plan be used as a model for Medicare. The article simulates impacts in three areas: among beneficiaries who choose to retain fee-for-service coverage, between different geographic areas, and according to…

  • Retiree Health Benefits Examined: Findings from the Kaiser/Hewitt 2006 Survey on Retiree Health Benefits

    Report

    This includes the full report on the 2006 Kaiser/Hewitt survey of large businesses that provide retiree health benefits to their workers. The Kaiser/Hewitt study, the fifth joint survey since 2002, analyzes responses from a non-probability sample of 302 businesses with 1,000 or more employees that offer retiree health benefits. These large firms collectively provide health benefits for 5.2 million retirees and dependents, including 3.4 million Medicare-eligible retirees. Together they account for more than one quarter…

  • Program Integrity: Preventing Health Care Fraud and Abuse

    Event Date:
    Event

    Headlines regularly call attention to pockets of fraudulent activity in the health care arena - scams that amount to millions and potentially billions of dollars. The stories typically focus on catching the crooks but not so much on efforts to prevent fraud, waste and abuse in health care programs. Both types of efforts are important. With continued concerns about rising health care costs and the current focus on deficit reduction, how much money can be…

  • Public Strongly Favors End-of-Life Conversations Between Doctors and Patients, With About Eight in 10 Saying Medicare and Other Insurers Should Cover These Visits

    News Release

    Six in 10 Oppose 'Cadillac Plan Tax' on High-Cost Health Plans Set to Take Effect in 2018, But Cost Savings Argument Can Change Some Opinions Views on the Affordable Care Act Remain Divided: 45% Unfavorable, 41% Favorable As the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services prepares to finalize a plan to pay physicians for discussing end-of-life treatment options with Medicare patients, the latest Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds an overwhelming majority supports such coverage. The…

  • Two Substantive Sides to Debate Over Obamacare’s ‘Cadillac Tax’

    From Drew Altman

    In this column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman says debate about whether to keep or repeal the Cadillac tax is more than a debate between sound policy and good politics, there are strong substantive arguments on both sides.

  • Prescription Drug Costs Remain Atop the Public’s National Health Care Agenda, Well Ahead of Affordable Care Act Revisions and Repeal

    News Release

    28% of Public Report Asking Doctor about a Drug They Saw Advertised, and 12% Say Their Doctor Prescribed It Few Workers Expect Raises if Employers Reduce Health Benefits to Avoid Cadillac Tax as Many Economists Predict With some presidential candidates laying out details of their health care platforms, the cost of prescription drugs remains at the top of the public's health care priority list for the President and Congress, the October Kaiser Health Tracking Poll…

  • What do we know about the burden of disease in the United States?

    Feature

    This slideshow examines disease burden in the United States and comparable countries as measured by Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs), which take into account years of life lost due to premature death and years of productive life lost to poor health or disability. Although the U.S. disease burden rate dropped 14 percent between 1990 and 2010. comparable countries saw an average decrease of 18 percent. In the United States, mental health and musculoskeletal disorders are…