Home Health Costs Topics

Health Costs

COSTS and Affordability

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

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.

Latest News

More KFF Health News

View the Latest: Health Costs

Filter

List Grid

941 - 950 of 1,570 Results

  • Massachusetts Health Care Reform: Six Years Later

    Issue Brief

    In 2006, then-Gov. Mitt Romney signed Massachusetts' comprehensive health reform designed to provide near-universal health insurance coverage for state residents. Building on a long history of health reform efforts, the state embarked on an ambitious plan to promote shared individual, employer, and government responsibility.

  • Snapshots: How Changes in Medical Technology Affect Health Care Costs

    Issue Brief

    Health expenditures continue to grow very rapidly in the U.S.  Since 1970, health care spending has grown at an average annual rate of 9.8%, or about 2.5 percentage points faster than the economy as measured by the nominal gross domestic product (GDP).  Annual spending on health care increased from $75 billion in 1970 to $2.

  • Pulling it Together: Teaching An Old Dog New Tricks

    Perspective

    Way back in the eighties when I was Human Services Commissioner in New Jersey, I established something called the Garden State Health Plan (GSHP).  It was the first — and I think the only — federally qualified state-run HMO for Medicaid beneficiaries.

  • Emergency Departments Under Growing Pressure

    Issue Brief

    This issue brief relies on interviews with practicing clinicians to explore the impact of the recession on hospital emergency departments that are under growing pressure as patient volume increases, health coverage declines and medical costs present new challenges to unemployed families. Issue Brief (.

  • Pulling it Together: What Conservatives Are Winning

    Perspective

    Conservatives are out of sorts these days about the direction in which health care is headed. They think the new health reform law expands the role of government too much and spends too much at a time when they believe deficit reduction should be a higher priority.

  • Cost of Health Insurance: Section 1 – Page 3

    Report

    Employer Health Benefits 2003 Annual Survey View All Charts for This Section Monthly Premium Costs of Single and Family Coverage In 2003, average monthly premiums for single and family coverage (including worker and employer share of premium) are $282 and $756 respectively (Exhibit 1.12). The cost of family coverage is now nearly $9,100 per year.