Private Insurance

Health Care Affordability

BTD Health Policy in 2026

Health Policy in 2026

President and CEO Dr. Drew Altman forecasts eight things to look for in health policy in 2026. “First and foremost,” he writes, “is the role health care affordability will play in the midterms.” And, he notes: “The average cost of a family policy for employers could approach $30,000 and cost sharing and deductibles will rise again after plateauing for several years.”

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  • Visualizing Health Policy: Recent Trends in Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance Premiums

    News Release

    This Visualizing Health Policy infographic charts recent trends in employer-sponsored health insurance premiums. Between 1999 and 2015, premiums increased by 203 percent, outpacing both inflation and workers’ earnings. However, growth of premiums for family coverage slowed toward the end of that time period, from an average of 11 percent a year between 1999 and 2005, to 5 percent between 2005 and 2015. In recent years, deductibles rose faster than both premiums and wages, with the…

  • Visualizing Health Policy: Recent Trends in Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance Premiums

    Other Post

    This Visualizing Health Policy infographic charts recent trends in employer-sponsored health insurance premiums. Between 1999 and 2015, premiums increased by 203 percent, outpacing both inflation and workers’ earnings. However, growth of premiums for family coverage slowed toward the end of that time period, from an average of 11 percent a year between 1999 and 2005, to 5 percent between 2005 and 2015. In recent years, deductibles rose faster than both premiums and wages, with the…

  • New Kaiser/New York Times Survey Finds One in Five Working-Age Americans With Health Insurance Report Problems Paying Medical Bills

    News Release

    Among the Insured with Medical Bill Problems, 63% Report Using Up Most or All Their Savings and 42% Took on an Extra Job or Worked More Hours Half of People Without Health Insurance Report Problems With Medical Bills, and They Face Similar Financial and Personal Consequences As Those With Insurance Among people with health insurance, one in five (20%) working-age Americans report having problems paying medical bills in the past year that often cause serious…

  • The Burden of Medical Debt: Results from the Kaiser Family Foundation/New York Times Medical Bills Survey

    Report

    To date, there has been little research providing a quantitative look at the causes of medical bill problems and the impacts they have on people’s families, their finances, and their access to health care. To fill this gap, the Kaiser Family Foundation and The New York Times conducted an in-depth survey with 1,204 adults ages 18-64 who report that they or someone in their household had problems paying or an inability to pay medical bills…

  • Survey of Kentucky Residents on State Health Policy

    Poll Finding

    This survey of Kentucky residents gauges their views on health care policy in the state, including their preferences for the future of the Medicaid expansion and the state-based health insurance marketplace, Kynect. Kentucky has received national attention as the only Southern state to fully embrace the Affordable Care Act, though the state elected a new governor in November 2015 who campaigned on rolling back the Medicaid expansion and ending Kynect.

  • Half of Kentucky Residents Hold Unfavorable Views of the Affordable Care Act, But Seven in Ten, Including Most Republicans, Don’t Want to Scale Back Medicaid Expansion to Cover Fewer People

    News Release

    Half of Residents Want to Keep the State's Insurance Marketplace Kynect, While a Quarter Favor Switching to Federal Healthcare.Gov Marketplace Instead Many Believe Coverage Expansions Have a Negative Impact on the State’s Budget A Kaiser Family Foundation poll of Kentucky residents finds that after much discussion of the issue in the state, health care is the top issue residents want state lawmakers to address, and a strong majority opposes scaling back the state's Medicaid expansion…

  • Average Individual Mandate Penalty to Rise 47 Percent to $969 in 2016 for Uninsured People Eligible for ACA Plans

    News Release

     3.5 Million Could Have a Zero-Dollar Premium Contribution or Pay Less for Health Insurance than Penalty Due to Premium Subsidies; 7.1 Million Would Pay More to Get Coverage A new analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that among uninsured people who are eligible for an Affordable Care Act marketplace plan, the average penalty for remaining without coverage in 2016 would be $969 per household – 47 percent higher than the 2015 estimated average of $661.…

  • The Cost of the Individual Mandate Penalty for the Remaining Uninsured

    Issue Brief

    This analysis provides estimates of the share of uninsured people eligible to enroll in the Affordable Care Act marketplaces who will be subject to the individual mandate penalty, and how those penalties are increasing for 2016. It also provides estimates of the number of people who could have a zero-dollar contribution or pay less for health insurance than the penalty, due to premium subsidies, and the number of people who would pay more for a…