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 Health Care Chartbook: Key Data and Trends

    Report

    This chartbook provides California and U.S. data and trend analysis on a broad range of health system and financing indicators, including demographics and health status data, insurance coverage and the uninsured, employer health insurance premiums and offer rates, Medicaid and Medicare enrollment and spending, and health care industry trends. Chartbook (.

  • How Do Facility Fees Contribute To Rising Emergency Department Costs?

    Issue Brief

    With the high costs of emergency department visits of significant importance to consumers and policymakers, this analysis examines claims data from privately insured individuals with large employer health plans, to examine the role that facility fees play in rising cost of emergency care.

  • Snapshots: Employer Sponsored Health Insurance – A Comparison of the Availability and Cost of Coverage for Workers in Small Firms and Large Firms

    Issue Brief

    Employer Sponsored Health Insurance – A Comparison of the Availability and Cost of Coverage for Workers in Small Firms and Large FirmsNovember 2008 The majority of businesses in the United States are small businesses. Of the over three million firms with three or more workers, roughly 98% have between three and 199 employees.

  • The Public, Managed Care and Consumer Protection

    Other Post

    The Kaiser Public Opinion Update -Revised, 2000 This new and revised Public Opinion Update summarizes key findings from surveys conducted between 1997 and 2000, a period in which the intensity of public debate and media attention paid to managed care issues varied substantially.

  • How Many Employers Could Be Affected by the High-Cost Plan Tax

    Issue Brief

    The high cost plan tax (HCPT) sometimes referred to as the Cadillac tax, is an excise tax on the cost of employer health benefit exceeding certain threshold. The HCPT provides a powerful incentive to control health plans costs over time, whether through efficiency gains or shifts in costs to workers. While many employers do not expect that the tax will take effect in 2022, others are already amending their health programs in anticipation. We estimate if the tax takes effect in 2022, 21% will be subject to the tax, increasing to 37% by 2030 unless firms reduce costs. Larger shares would be affected when counting workers' voluntary contributions to Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)