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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?

Event Date:

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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  • Marketplace Insurers are Proposing a 7% Average Premium Hike for 2025 and Pointing to Rising Hospital Prices and GLP-1 Drugs as Key Drivers of Costs

    News Release

    ACA Marketplace insurers are proposing a median premium increase of 7% for 2025, similar to the 6% premium increase filed for 2024, according to a new KFF analysis of the preliminary rate filings. Insurers’ proposed rate changes – most of which fall between 2% and 10% – may change during the review process. Although the vast majority of Marketplace enrollees receive subsidies and are not expected to face these added costs, premium increases generally result…

  • Poll: 1 in 3 ACA Marketplace Enrollees Say They Would “Very Likely” Shop for a Cheaper Plan If Their Premium Payments Doubled; 1 in 4 Say They “Very Likely” Would Go Without Insurance

    News Release

    If the amount they pay in premiums doubled, about one in three enrollees in Affordable Care Act Marketplace health plans say they would be “very likely” to look for a lower-premium Marketplace plan (with higher deductibles and co-pays) and one in four would “very likely” go without insurance next year, finds a new survey of Marketplace enrollees fielded shortly after open enrollment began in the first weeks of November. The survey captures the views and…

  • The New ACA Repeal and Replace: Health Savings Accounts

    Policy Watch

    Proposals from some Republicans in Congress would effectively repeal some or all of the ACA premium tax credits and replace them with contributions to Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) or something similar. Senator Rick Scott proposes “Trump Health Freedom Accounts” and Senator Bill Cassidy proposes HSA contributions available only for people who enroll in bronze level ACA plans to pay for out-of-pocket health care costs.

  • COVID-19 Vaccines Could Cost Billions of Dollars More Each Year If the Federal Government Ends Its Bulk Purchasing Program

    News Release

    If the federal government runs out of money to purchase COVID-19 vaccines, the per-dose price likely would skyrocket and could increase spending on vaccines by billions of dollars a year, a new KFF analysis finds. To date, the federal government has spent more than $30 billion on COVID-19 vaccines to encourage their development, guarantee a market, and ensure that the public can access them at no charge. The Biden administration has said it can no…

  • Hospital Charity Care: How It Works and Why It Matters

    Issue Brief

    This issue brief examines the role that hospital charity care programs play in helping patients who are unable to afford their care. It describes how hospital charity care programs work, the amount of charity care that hospitals provide, relevant federal and state regulation, the role of Medicare and Medicaid in helping hospitals afford charity care expenses, and policy proposals related to charity care programs.

  • 2022 Employer Health Benefits Chart Pack

    Feature

    This slideshow captures key data from the 2022 KFF Employer Health Benefits Survey survey, providing a detailed look at trends in employer-sponsored health coverage, including premiums, employee contributions, cost-sharing provisions, offer rates, wellness programs, and employer practices.

  • 2021 Employer Health Benefits Chart Pack

    Feature

    This slideshow captures key data from the 2021 KFF Employer Health Benefits Survey survey, providing a detailed look at trends in employer-sponsored health coverage, including premiums, employee contributions, cost-sharing provisions, offer rates, wellness programs, and employer practices.