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KFF Health Tracking Poll: Health Care Costs and the Midterms

This KFF poll finds that health care costs continue to top the public’s list of affordability worries, even as concerns about gas prices have risen in recent weeks, with two-thirds of the public expressing worry over affording health care costs. Majorities say health costs will influence their vote this election. Voters favor Democrats on the issue, while Republicans hold an advantage on addressing fraud and abuse.

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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  • Measuring the Quality of Healthcare in the U.S.

    Issue Brief

    The quality of the U.S. health system is improving in many areas, but comparable countries continue to outperform the United States on key measures. In this brief on the Peterson-Kaiser Health System Tracker, analysts from the Kaiser Family Foundation compile an overall picture of health care quality in the United States, using the best available data from numerous sources on health outcomes, quality of care, and access to services.

  • US Improving in Health Care Quality, But Still Lagging Behind Other Countries, New Analysis Finds

    News Release

    A new brief on the Peterson-Kaiser Health System Tracker finds that the quality of the U.S. health system is improving in many areas, but comparable countries continue to outperform the United States on key measures. Analysts from the Kaiser Family Foundation compiled an overall picture of health care quality in the United States, using the best available data from numerous sources on health outcomes, quality of care, and access to services. The brief, Measuring the…

  • Why Higher Drug Costs Are Consumers’ Biggest Cost Worry

    News Release

    In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal's Think Tank, Drew Altman discusses why public concern over drug prices is the “tip of the iceberg” representing broader concerns about out-of-pocket health care costs. All previous columns by Drew Altman are available online.

  • Why Higher Drug Costs Are Consumers’ Biggest Cost Worry

    From Drew Altman

    In this column for The Wall Street Journal's Think Tank, Drew Altman discusses why public concern over drug prices is the “tip of the iceberg” representing broader concerns about out-of-pocket health care costs.

  • Analysis Estimates 1 in 4 Employers Offering Health Benefits Could Be Affected by the ‘Cadillac Tax’ in 2018 if Current Trends Continue

    News Release

    Share of Potentially-Affected Employers Could Grow to 30% in 2023, 42% in 2028, Analysis Finds New projections from the Kaiser Family Foundation estimate that one in four employers (26%) offering health benefits could be subject to the Affordable Care Act’s tax on high-cost health plans, also known as the "Cadillac plan" tax, in 2018 unless they make changes to their plans. The analysis also estimates that the share of employers potentially affected by the tax…

  • How Many Employers Could be Affected by the Cadillac Plan Tax?

    Issue Brief

    As fall approaches, we can expect to hear more about how employers are adapting their health plans for 2016 open enrollments. One topic likely to garner a good deal of attention is how the Affordable Care Act’s high cost plan tax (HCPT), sometimes called the “Cadillac plan” tax or "Cadillac tax," is affecting employer decisions about their health benefits. The tax takes effect in 2018. The potential of facing an HCPT assessment as soon as…

  • Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: August 2015

    Feature

    With renewed discussion of the high cost of prescription drugs recently, the August Kaiser Health Tracking poll finds that most Americans feel that drug costs are unreasonable and that drug companies put profits before people. At the same time, the public largely values the role prescription drug companies play, with most saying that prescription drugs developed in the past two decades have made the lives of people in the U.S. better, including about 4 in…

  • Most Say They Can Afford Their Prescription Drugs, But One in Four Say Paying is Difficult, Including More Than Four in Ten People Who are Sick

    News Release

    Large Bipartisan Majorities Support Range of Policy Changes They Believe Would Curb Drug Costs Opinion on the Affordable Care Act Remains Largely Unchanged In August About half of Americans (54%) report currently taking a prescription drug, and a large majority of them (72%) say their prescriptions are very or somewhat easy to afford. However, about a quarter (24%) say paying for their drugs is difficult, and the share facing difficulties rises among those with low…

  • At CMS, the Mission Is Broader Than Medicare and Medicaid

    News Release

    In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal's Think Tank, Drew Altman discusses whether the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' broad new responsibilities implementing the Affordable Care Act and a more proactive approach to Medicare payment signals that it’s time for (another) name change. All previous columns by Drew Altman are available online.

  • At CMS, the Mission Is Broader Than Medicare and Medicaid

    From Drew Altman

    In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal's Think Tank, Drew Altman discusses whether the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' broad new responsibilities implementing the Affordable Care Act and a more proactive approach to Medicare payment signals that it’s time for (another) name change.