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A Preview of the Role Health Care May Play in the 2026 Election

Ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, this KFF issue brief examines the role health care has played in previous elections and what that may suggest about its potential role in 2026. KFF polls have consistently found that the cost of health care is an important part of voters’ economic concerns.

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

In 2024, life expectancy in the U.S. reached an all-time high of 79 years but remained years behind the average in comparable countries

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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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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  • Health of the Healthcare System

    Video

    Health of the Healthcare System is a diagnostic look at the state of our healthcare system. How does the U.S. healthcare system compare to health systems of other high-income countries, and how has it fared over time? Kaiser Health News and former-NPR reporter, Julie Rovner, takes us through a check-up of our system by assessing four key areas: how healthy we are, the quality of care we receive, how much it costs, and how accessible it is.

  • Potential Savings from Actively Shopping for Marketplace Coverage in 2016

    Issue Brief

    This analysis looks at how the premiums for the lowest-cost silver plans in Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplaces changed between 2015 and 2016. The analysis examines premiums of the 2015 lowest-cost silver plans (in states that used Healthcare.gov in both 2015 and 2016) for a single 40 year-old adult to see how much these premiums increase in 2016 and whether enrollees could obtain lower premiums by switching plans.

  • Patient Cost-Sharing in Marketplace Plans, 2016

    Issue Brief

    This brief and accompanying slides examine cost sharing - deductibles, copayments and coinsurance - in 2016 insurance plans sold on the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) federally-facilitated marketplaces. The analysis looks at out-of-pocket limits, as well as cost sharing for hospital stays, physician visits, emergency room visits, and prescription drugs, for plans across the metal levels (platinum, gold, silver and bronze).

  • The Good and Bad of Those Ubiquitous Drug Ads

    News Release

    In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman examines the public’s mixed views about prescription drug ads and their impact on prescribing patterns, based on a new Kaiser Family Foundation survey. All previous columns by Drew Altman are available online.

  • The Good and Bad of Those Ubiquitous Drug Ads

    From Drew Altman

    In this column for The Wall Street Journal's Think Tank, Drew Altman examines the public’s mixed views about prescription drug ads and their impact on prescribing patterns, based on a new survey.

  • Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: October 2015

    Feature

    This month’s Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds that the affordability of prescription drugs continues to be at the top of the public’s priority list for the President and Congress, picked by majorities across political parties. Issues specific to the ACA, such as repealing provisions of the law or repealing the law entirely, fall much lower on the list. The survey also probes the public's experiences with drug advertisements. A large majority (82%) report they’ve seen or heard such advertising, and 28 percent say they have talked with a doctor about a specific drug they saw advertised. Favorable and unfavorable views of the health care law are tied this month with 42 percent favorable and 42 percent unfavorable. Few uninsured (15 percent) are aware that the third ACA enrollment period begins in November, however many (49 percent) say they expect to get health insurance in the next few months despite the fact that about half (51 percent) say they have been uninsured for 2 years or more.