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

Subscribe to KFF Emails

Choose which emails are best for you.
Sign up here

Filter

771 - 780 of 896 Results

  • New Analysis Examines Proposed Changes to Workplace Wellness Programs

    News Release

    As Congress considers legislation that would change federal rules governing workplace wellness programs that gather information about workers’ health and risk status, a new Kaiser Family Foundation brief explains how workplace wellness programs could be affected and possible implications for workers with sensitive health conditions. Among the findings: Seven in 10 (71%) large employers providing health benefits collect personal health information through wellness programs, according to the annual Kaiser Family Foundation/HRET Employer Health Benefits Survey.…

  • The Effects of Ending the Affordable Care Act’s Cost-Sharing Reduction Payments

    Issue Brief

    This analysis estimates that total federal spending on Affordable Care Act marketplace subsidies would rise $2.3 billion, or 23 percent, in 2018 if payments for the cost-sharing reduction program were eliminated and insurers increased premiums to compensate. Established to reduce out-of-pocket costs for marketplace enrollees with lower incomes, the cost-sharing payments are being challenged in a lawsuit from the U.S. House.

  • Federal Government Could See Net Increase of $2.3 Billion in Costs in 2018 if ACA Cost-Sharing Reduction Payments Eliminated

    News Release

    Ceasing payments for the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) cost-sharing reduction program could save $10 billion, but cost an additional $12.3 billion in premium tax credits – an estimated net increase of $2.3 billion, or 23 percent, in federal spending on marketplace subsidies – in 2018, if insurers continue to participate in ACA marketplaces, according to a new analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation. The cost-sharing subsidies, established to reduce out-of-pocket costs for ACA marketplace enrollees…

  • Poll: Majority Opposes Hard-Ball Negotiating Tactics to Replace the Affordable Care Act, But Republicans Support It

    News Release

    Somewhat More Want President Trump and Republicans to Continue Working on ACA Repeal and Replace than Want Them to Move onto Other Priorities With President Trump and Congress continuing to discuss repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, a majority of the public opposes using hard-ball tactics as a way to force Democrats in Congress to negotiate a replacement, the latest Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds. President Trump recently suggested that his administration and Congress…

  • The Biggest Health Issue We Aren’t Debating

    From Drew Altman

    In an Axios column, Drew Altman raises a health care issue that isn’t being debated, a large share of the public don’t have the assets to cover the cost sharing in their health plan if they get sick.

  • ACA Mandate Repeal May Be Less Popular Than GOP Thinks

    From Drew Altman

    In this Axios column, Drew Altman discusses how public opinion seems to flip on eliminating the individual mandate as part of the tax legislation, from for it to against, when the public considers the consequences.

  • National ACA Marketplace Signups Dipped a Modest 3.7 Percent This Year

    News Release

    Overall ACA marketplace signups for 2018 dropped by 3.7 percent compared to last year’s enrollment period, a new analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation finds. 11,760,533 people signed up for 2018 health insurance coverage on the ACA individual marketplaces, amid steep reductions in federal funding for outreach and navigators, an enrollment period half as long, and a climate of political uncertainty surrounding the law. The federal government also terminated cost-sharing subsidy payments to insurers in…

  • New England Journal of Medicine: Undermining Genetic Privacy? Employee Wellness Programs and the Law

    Perspective

    In this May 2017 post, Karen Pollitz and co-author Kathy L. Hudson discuss how H.R. 1313, the Preserving Employee Wellness Programs Act, could substantially change current legal protections for the collection and treatment of genetic information and other personal health information under workplace wellness programs. The post is now available from the New England Journal of Medicine.

  • Premiums for Employer-Sponsored Family Health Coverage Rise Slowly for Sixth Straight Year, Up 3% but Averaging $18,764 in 2017

    News Release

    Workers Covered By Smaller Firms Pay More Toward Family Premiums and in Cost Sharing Than Those in Larger Ones Menlo Park, Calif. – Annual family premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance rose an average of 3 percent to $18,764 this year, continuing a six-year run of relatively modest increases, according to the benchmark Kaiser Family Foundation/Health Research & Educational Trust (HRET) 2017 Employer Health Benefits Survey released today. This year’s premium increase is similar to the rise in…