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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.”

New and noteworthy

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.

Health System Tracker

Among adults 18 - 64 with private insurance, mental health and substance use treatment accounted for 10% of all overnight stays at hospitals or other medical facilities in 2023.

Cost and Utilization of Inpatient Mental Health and Substance Use Treatment This analysis describes the most common diagnoses for inpatient treatment and total associated costs.

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 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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  • How Well Does the Employment-Based Health Insurance System Work for Low-Income Families?

    Other Post

    Part 2 Even when insurance is offered to low-wage workers, its costs to these workers may be substantial, and, for some, a barrier to coverage. In 1996, workers had to contribute an average of $1,615 per year for family coverage, or about 30% of the total premium.5 Thus, a worker who earned $10 an hour in 1996, with annual wages of about $20,000, would have had to spend 8% of earnings to buy family coverage.*…

  • Medicare Chartbook

    Report

    The Medicare Chartbook includes data and background information critical to understanding the Medicare program and the challenges it faces in keeping up with the rising costs of health care and in ensuring the program s future financial security.

  • Health News Index – May/June 2001

    Poll Finding

    Health News Index May/June, 2001 The May/June 2001 edition of the Health News Index includes questions about major health stories covered in the news, including the Supreme Court ruling regarding the distribution of medical marijuana and the debate in Congress over a Patients Bill of Rights. This edition also includes findings on public support for certain prescription allergy medicines being sold over the counter. The Health News Index is designed to help the news media…

  • Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard University National Survey of Americans’ Views on Consumer Protection in Managed Care – News Release

    Other Post

    Kaiser/Harvard National Survey of Americans' Views On Consumer Protection In Managed Care Public Supports Broad Range Of Proposals For Federal Consumer Protection In Managed Care, But Potential Consequences Raised By Critics Also Hit Home Embargoed for release until: 9:30 a.m. ET, Wednesday, January 21, 1998 For further information contact: Matt James or Tina Hoff Access to Specialists Public's Number One Consumer Protection Priority Washington, DC -- As the debate over regulation of the health care…

  • Kaiser/Harvard National Survey of Americans’ Views on Managed Care

    Report

    A survey of Americans' attitudes toward managed care, including comparisons between consumers in managed care versus those in traditional fee-for-service plans. The survey was designed and analyzed by researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard University and conducted by telephone by Princeton Survey Research Associates with 1,204 adults nationwide between August 22 and September 23,1997. A sample of 500 adults in California and 500 adults in Massachusetts were also surveyed. The toplines for California…

  • Understanding Individual Health Insurance Markets

    Other Post

    : Structure, Practices, and Products in Ten States New Study of Individual Health Insurance Market: Major Barriers Identified in Individual Health Insurance Market for People with Health Problems. Rates and Regulations Vary Across Ten States Studied Denials, Waiting Periods, and High Premiums Pose Problems for Pre-Medicare Population For Immediate Release Tuesday, March 17, 1998 Washington, DC - For many people who have health problems or who are approaching the age of retirement, coverage through the…

  • NPR/Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard Kennedy School of Government Survey on Health Care – Summary of Findings

    Poll Finding

    New NPR/Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard Kennedy School of Government Survey on Health Care A new survey by NPR, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and Harvard s Kennedy School of Government finds that many Americans have real problems when it comes to accessing and paying for health care, and even if they haven't yet faced a problem, many worry about getting and paying for care in the future. The survey also shows that, while people think helping seniors…

  • Beneath the Averages: An Analysis of Medicare and Private Expenditures

    Report

    This report compares Medicare and private health insurance per capita spending between 1970 and 1997, demonstrating that Medicare has done better or as well as the private sector in controlling the growth in health spending. Using National Health Expenditure accounts data, the analysis reveals the cumulative increase in per capita health care spending was lower for Medicare than the private sector between 1970 and 1997. Medicare most likely maintained its cumulative advantage, due to the…

  • Managed Care and Low Income Populations in Texas: 1996-1998 Update

    Report

    This report, Managed Care and Low-Income Populations in Texas: 1996-1998 Update, updates our 1996 case study of Texas' Medicaid managed care initiatives and their affect on low-income populations. The authors conclude that Medicaid managed care in Texas has had mixed results. It is one of a series of reports from the Kaiser/ Commonwealth Low-Income Coverage and Access Project. This project examines how changes in the Medicaid program have affected health insurance coverage and access to…