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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

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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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  • 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.

  • The Connection Between Health Coverage and Income Security

    News Release

    Using data from a new Kaiser Family Foundation panel survey following the uninsured in California who gained coverage since 2010, Drew Altman's latest column in The Wall Street Journal's Think Tank shows how expanding health coverage and improving economic security for working Americans are connected even though they are often part of separate policy debates.

  • The Connection Between Health Coverage and Income Security

    From Drew Altman

    In this column in The Wall Street Journal's Think Tank, Drew Altman shows how expanding health coverage and improving economic security for working Americans are connected even though they are often part of separate policy debates.

  • How to Think About Higher Growth in Health-Care Spending

    News Release

    In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal's Think Tank, Drew Altman explains that just as we should not have expected historically low rates of health spending increases to continue, we should not dramatize a return to higher rates in coming years. All previous columns by Drew Altman are available.

  • How to Think About Higher Growth in Health-Care Spending

    From Drew Altman

    In this column for The Wall Street Journal's Think Tank, Drew Altman explains that just as we should not have expected historically low rates of health spending increases to continue, we should not dramatize a return to higher rates in coming years.

  • 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 the leading cause of years lost to disability, while cancer and circulatory diseases are the leading causes of years of life lost.

  • Early Analysis In Eleven States Finds Modest Increases For ACA Silver Plans

    News Release

    A Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of Affordable Care Act (ACA) plans in major metropolitan areas in 11 states where data are available, including the District of Columbia, finds that preliminary 2016 premiums for benchmark silver plans grew modestly, but increased more sharply this year than last year. The average increase for benchmark plans across the cities is 4.4 percent for 2016 compared with a 2 percent increase nationwide in 2015.

  • Analysis of 2016 Premium Changes and Insurer Participation in the Affordable Care Act’s Health Insurance Marketplaces

    Issue Brief

    This analysis provides an early look at premium changes for individuals in the health insurance marketplaces, created under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), in major cities in 10 states plus DC. Premium changes for the benchmark silver plans vary significantly across the sample cities. The benchmark rates will increase 4.4 percent on average in 2016 without accounting for tax credits, a relatively modest amount but greater than the average increase for 2015.