Health Costs

The MIDTERMS

Democrats Hold a Nearly 2-to-1 Advantage Over Republicans on Handling the Cost of Health Care

Poll: Cost of Health Care and Gas Top Voters’ Midterm Concerns; Democrats Hold Significant Advantage on Health Care Costs and Cost of Living 

Prior to the 2026 midterm elections, health care costs remain tied with gas as voters’ top midterm concerns and the Democrats hold a clear edge over the Republicans Party on who voters trust to handle many top electoral issues, including the cost of health care and the cost of living. Two-thirds of U.S. adults now favor Medicare-for-all, a new high in KFF Polling, but support shifts when competing claims from critics and proponents are heard.

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Health System Tracker

Is This A Healthcare Economy?

Health care employment has grown faster than other sectors of the economy, with jobs in physician offices, hospitals, outpatient care centers, home health, and other settings increasing over the past year even as the rest of the job market plateaued. 

U.S. Health Spending Is Expected to Reach $9 Trillion by 2034

How Much is Health Spending Expected to Grow?

This chart collection explores how much health spending is expected to grow in the coming years, with a look at growth in prescription drug spending, out-of-pocket spending, and related trends.

How TrumpRx Brand-Name Drug Prices Compare

TrumpRx prices for brand-name drugs are about as likely to be higher as lower compared to average prices in other wealthy countries, according to an analysis that compares 32 brand-name drugs.

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  • Pulling It Together: The “R” Word Is Back

    Perspective

    Longer ago than I care to admit, I got my start in health policy at M.I.T. when I wrote a book about health care regulation. The book was about a long forgotten attempt to rationalize the health care system through an elaborate health planning program set up in the seventies under the National Health Planning and Resources Development Act. It established a system of federal, state and regional planning bodies to control health care costs by limiting the supply of…

  • Retiree Health VEBAs: A New Twist On An Old Paradigm

    Issue Brief

    This issue brief provides an overview of stand-alone Voluntary Employees' Beneficiary Association trusts, through which employers have been able to rid themselves of future obligations to pay retiree health benefits in exchange for making a significant payment to designed to approximate the projected cost of these benefits. The paper include three case studies, including the VEBAs at the Big Three automakers. Issue Brief (.pdf)

  • Explaining Health Care Reform: Questions About Health Insurance Exchanges

    Issue Brief

    The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), signed into law in March 2010, made broad changes to the way health insurance will be provided and paid for in the United States. PPACA created a new mechanism for purchasing coverage called Exchanges, which are entities that will be set up in states to create a more organized and competitive market for health insurance by offering a choice of health plans, establishing common rules regarding the…

  • Holiday Reminder

    Perspective

    Like you, the holidays always make me think about those who are less fortunate.  Last year around this time, I wrote a"Holiday Reminder" column about the health reform debate and people's economic difficulties.  The drive to pass the health reform law was struggling, and it would struggle even more in the following weeks after the senatorial special election in Massachusetts.  I wondered whether we had lost track of what propelled health care to the top of…