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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  • Millions of Uninsured Americans are Eligible for Free ACA Health Insurance

    Policy Watch

    Amid the ongoing pandemic and high unemployment, this poste xamines how many uninsured people would be eligible for free health insurance during in a typical year, including those who qualify for Medicaid or for tax credits that cover the full cost of an ACA Marketplace plan.

  • For 3rd Year in a Row, More Insurers are Entering the ACA Marketplaces, Creating More Options for Consumers

    News Release

    For the third straight year, more insurers are entering the Affordable Care Act’s marketplaces and expanding their service areas, creating more options for consumers seeking to buy their own insurance for 2021, a new KFF analysis finds.  The analysis finds 30 insurers joining the marketplace across 20 states, and another 61 insurers are expanding their services within states that they already served. More than a third of counties (1,207, or 38%) will have more insurers…

  • Insurer Participation on the ACA Marketplaces, 2014-2021

    Issue Brief

    For the third straight year, more insurers are entering the ACA Marketplaces or expanding their service area in 2021, creating more choices for consumers shopping for coverage during the 2021 open enrollment period.

  • Cost-Sharing Waivers and Premium Relief by Private Plans in Response to COVID-19 (Nov. 2020 Update)

    Issue Brief

    An updated issue brief estimates the number of enrollees in individual and fully-insured group market plans that have waived cost-sharing – out-of-pocket costs including coinsurance, copayments, and deductibles – for COVID-19 treatment. The analysis also estimates the number of enrollees whose insurer is offering various forms of premium payment relief. The updated analysis finds that, as of November 2020, about half (49%) of fully-insured plan enrollees have coverage that waives cost-sharing for COVID-19 treatment through…

  • 2021 Premium Changes on ACA Exchanges and the Impact of COVID-19 on Rates

    Issue Brief

    This brief summarizes premium rate filings in all 50 states and the District of Columbia and finds the majority of rate changes for 2021 are moderate, with increases or decrease of a few percentage points. Insurers say the COVID-19 pandemic is putting both upward and downward pressure on health costs in 2021.

  • KFF Health Tracking Poll – October 2020: The Future of the ACA and Biden’s Advantage On Health Care

    Report

    The poll examines the public's views on the Supreme Court case to overturn the Affordable Care Act and its protections for people with pre-existing conditions. Less than a month from the results of the 2020 presidential election, this poll examines the top issues for voters (the economy, the coronavirus pandemic, health care, criminal justice and policing, among others) as well as which candidate, Biden or Trump, they think has the better approach to handle key…

  • Tracking Poll: A Large and Growing Majority, Including Republicans, Does Not Want the Supreme Court to Overturn the ACA’s Protections for People with Pre-Existing Conditions

    News Release

    As the Senate considers Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court, the October KFF Health Tracking Poll finds a large majority (79%) of the public do not want the Court to overturn the Affordable Care Act’s protections for people with pre-existing medical conditions, up 17 percentage points since last year when 62% held this view. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments a week after Election Day in a challenge to the…