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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  • Surprise Medical Bills are Ending, But Controversy Continues

    Perspective

    In this column for the JAMA Health Forum, Larry Levitt examines how the No Surprises Act that prohibits unexpected out-of-network charges for patients could lead to lower payment rates and revenues for some doctors and other care providers.

  • JAMA Forum: Of SCOTUS and Chicken

    Perspective

    Larry Levitt's March 2015 post explores what could happen if the U.S. Supreme Court rules for the plaintiffs in the King v. Burwell case, the lawsuit that challenges the federal government’s authority to provide financial assistance to people who buy insurance in federally-operated marketplaces created by the Affordable Care Act.

  • The Health-Care Enrollment Story Is in the States

    News Release

    In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal's Think Tank, Drew Altman examines the variation among states beneath the national Affordable Care Act’s Marketplace enrollment numbers released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. All previous columns by Drew Altman are available online.

  • National Survey Finds 10.6 Million People Helped By Navigators and Assisters During the Affordable Care Act’s First Open Enrollment Period

    News Release

    An estimated 10.6 million people nationally received personal help from navigators and assisters during the Affordable Care Act's first open enrollment period, finds a new Kaiser Family Foundation survey of navigators and assister programs nationally. The survey estimates that the 4,400 assister programs operating nationally had an estimated 28,000 full-time staff and volunteers, suggesting each assister would have helped more than 370 people on average during the six-month open enrollment period that ran from October 1 through March 31.

  • Survey of Non-Group Health Insurance Enrollees

    Report

    Executive Summary January 1, 2014 marked the beginning of several provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) making significant changes to the non-group insurance market, including new rules for insurers regarding who they must cover and what they can charge, along with the opening of new Health Insurance Marketplaces (also known as “Exchanges”) and the…

  • KFF Election Tracking Poll: Health Care in the 2018 Midterms

    Feature

    In an expansive look at the 2018 midterm elections, this month's KFF Health Tracking Poll includes an in-depth examination of the role health care may be playing in midterm elections nationally, as well as in Florida and Nevada, two bellwether states in which candidates from both parties are talking about health care issues. Health care remains a top priority for Democrats and independents, but ranks lower for Republicans, behind immigration and the economy and jobs. However, when it comes to specific health care issues, lowering health care costs and maintaining protections for pre-existing conditions have bipartisan support. In addition to exploring the role of health care issues in the election, the KFF Health Tracking Poll also finds large shares of voters say candidate characteristics, President Trump, and party control over Congress will be major factors in their voting decisions.