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.”

View all of Drew’s Beyond the Data Columns

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  • California’s Uninsured on the Eve of ACA Open Enrollment

    Report

    This report presents the findings of a baseline survey of California’s uninsured adult population just before the start of the first open enrollment period under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). It will be followed by three other surveys over the course of the next two years that will capture the changing experiences and attitudes of this same group of 2,000 people over time, whether they obtain coverage or remain uninsured. The report analyzes the uninsured…

  • Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: February 2014

    Feature

    The February 2014 Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds that those who are most likely to be customers in the Affordable Care Act (ACA)’s new insurance exchanges (the uninsured and those who purchase their own coverage) are more likely to prefer less costly plans with narrow provider networks over more expensive plans with broader networks, while the public overall has the opposite preference. Overall opinion of the ACA remains about the same as it has been…

  • 2016 Survey of Health Insurance Marketplace Assister Programs and Brokers

    Report

    In its third year, the survey tracks the experiences of assistance programs signing people up for Affordable Care Act coverage during open enrollment and, for consumers who qualify, during special enrollment periods. This year, for the second time, the survey includes health insurance brokers who helped people apply for non-group coverage in an ACA marketplace.

  • New KFF/Los Angeles Times Survey Highlights the Financial Challenges Facing People with Employer Health Benefits

    News Release

    A new KFF/Los Angeles Times survey of Americans with employer health benefits finds that although most are largely satisfied with their employer plan, many report financial challenges related to their health care costs, particularly among those facing high deductibles or suffering from chronic health conditions. The survey captures the experiences of the roughly 156 million Americans who get their health coverage through their employers, rather than through the individual market or government programs such as…

  • Individual Insurance Market Performance in 2018

    Issue Brief

    Individual market insurers are expecting to return to consumers a record total of about $800 million in medical loss ratio rebates for 2018, a year in which the insurance companies posted their best annual financial performance under the Affordable Care Act to date. Financial results for 2018 suggest that insurers in the individual market are generally returning to or exceeding profitability levels seen before 2014, when ACA insurance market rules took effect, including the requirement…

  • The Silent Affordability Crisis Facing Sick People

    From Drew Altman

    In this Axios column, Drew Altman shows that employer coverage for lower wage workers is much worse than ACA marketplace coverage for similar populations. It’s a bigger problem we need to talk about more, he says.

  • Deductible Relief Day: How Rising Deductibles are Affecting People with Employer Coverage

    Issue Brief

    This analysis examines how health insurance deductibles are affecting consumers with employer-sponsored insurance. Deductibles have risen in recent years and become an increasingly prominent feature of job-based health plans. "Deductible Relief Day" refers to the date by which average spending for people with employer-sponsored health insurance is sufficient to satisfy the average deductible.

  • JAMA Forum: Medicare-For-All or Medicare-For-More?

    Perspective

    In this May 2019 post for The JAMA forum, Larry Levitt examines how the early discussion and positioning among the presidential candidates offers a glimpse into how a debate about Medicare-for-all might play out.